A Rejection of Suffering: The Cost of a Comfortable Christianity

I recall when I first began certification and training towards being a biblical counselor.

A mentor within the intensive program gave us an introduction, which included an overview of what to expect in learning how to counsel others biblically. His initial introduction for this class and training experience was short and to the point:

"There are two reasons why people go to counseling: To prevent suffering or to stop it from currently happening."

I sat there in that moment. Incredulous. Surely things weren't really this simple? They couldn't be.

The more I began formally counseling others, however, it quickly became apparent to me that this wasn't a gross oversimplification. Christians - just people for that matter - want to do whatever it takes to avoid the act of suffering.

Those who reside here in the Western world have grown rather accustomed to this avoidance - in the pews and in our daily living. The culture itself perpetuates and douses us with easy, comfortable, and fast-paced living. No time to think deeply or be able to move thoughtfully through a difficult season.

Think of every single infomercial today that promises us quick results with minimal work! The whole marketing strategy for most beauty products, weight loss fads, or even fancy kitchen tools is this premise of little effort with huge payoff - and people flock to it. Stranger and more concerning yet - this messaging has even infiltrated counseling offices, self-help books, and pulpits across the globe.

The messaging here is loud and clear: If there is any hard work or suffering involved, then it must be all wrong. We have gravitated towards a life of comfort rather than holiness. The biblical narrative of trials and perseverance has faltered in the 21st century Western world.

Recently, I have been trudging through the concept of suffering in the Christian life. To be honest, not only has it consumed a lot of my thoughts and studies, but I personally have been experiencing and witnessing suffering in different aspects.

I am in the same boat as many others - I do not purposefully seek out or relish in suffering. If anything, I am pretty quick to find ways to minimize it or numb it entirely. It can feel just too painful, too time consuming, and I can be deceived into thinking it has little to no benefit for me. This echoes many modern people today.

At this point in my walk with Christ, my mentor's words don't seem too simplified.

He was exactly right.

Christians make it a point to typically reject suffering as soon as it is placed before us. Why is this problematic? Doesn't God want us to be happy and feel good at all times? The short answer is no - and this matters for us.

I have recently been meditating on the story of Job, and particularly a verse within the second chapter. Job is contending for the Lord despite his own wife's suggestion to, "Curse God and die!" Job replies to her:

"Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Job 2:10, NIV

It's easy to accept good things from the Lord as blessings from Him, because He is the giver of good gifts as a dear Father (Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13). It's a different story when we think about suffering. Job poses an interesting question not just to his wife, but to all of us: Why should we be so eager and ready to receive the good things in life, but then to shy away and reject the pain of suffering?

Why does our entrance into and acceptance of suffering matter in this life? Because, ultimately, suffering makes us more like Christ and brings us to His feet.

Isaiah writes of our Messiah Jesus and prophesies his very nature:

"He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted." Isaiah 53:3-4, NIV

This passage wrings our hearts when we consider what Jesus endured on the Cross for us. It's a reminder of the pain and affliction he took up on our behalf so that we could come near to the Holy One. But can we read this passage and not consider Jesus' call to his disciples to follow him, and what this truly implies? (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23)

To follow Christ means we should want to look more like him in every way we can - that is we should desire to express the communicable attributes of God such as love, patience, kindness, faithfulness, etc. Notice how we usually leave being a "suffering servant" off the list? That's the one area of Christ's life most Christians in the West prefer not to touch.

Here in the Western world, Christians are much too occupied with what I have heard described as the "positivity gospel". It's a focus upon following Christ and being joyful and happy always, with no emphasis on struggles, lament, or suffering of any kind. We even hear it in our worship music or any worship radio station - it's all about "positive and encouraging" music! When do you hear songs of lament or suffering in church, or on the radio for that matter?

We cling to the promises of God with all of the blessing and benefits of the kingdom, and yet we reject the refining and the valleys that run parallel. We want the growth without the pruning. The fruit without the waiting. The peace without the chaos. The perseverance without anything to endure. We are selling ourselves the "infomercial" version of a life with Christ - a "comfortable Christianity".

If Jesus is called "a man of sorrows", and we are to follow in his footsteps, why should we not expect to be a people of sorrow that joins in his sufferings? The Apostle Peter puts it this way:

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin...Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." 1 Peter 4:1,12-13, NIV

Peter reminds us to not be surprised about the various trials and difficult encounters we are promised to face. Curiously, he asks us to rejoice as we become linked to Christ through our own sufferings. How can we rejoice in this? Because not only are we more intimately connected to Jesus, but we are also revealing this growing tension of the "already but not yet".

Jesus has not yet returned for his Bride, but He is coming soon. We have been promised sonship and adoption through his sacrifice, but await the full picture and experience in eternity. Creation now groans in the suffering and troubles of this world, but redemption is on the horizon. It is already, but not yet.

Peter is saying that our current experience of tragedy, loss, grief, disease, bullying, aches, pains, divorce, sickness, crime, miscarriage, rejection, natural disaster, or even death is but a kaleidoscope that enables Christ's glory to shine brightly. We can be glad or even rejoice in our sufferings because it is that which enables us to see Christ clearly, in all His wonderful magnificence.

I am not sure what suffering you have endured today, friend. I am not familiar with the horrors you have seen or heard from a groaning world. I can't possibly know what grips your heart in ache or grief.

But I know that in all of those things, Christ remains near and ever present. And not only this, but he understands suffering. Even more than we do.

Our Great High Priest not only conducted the sacrificial ceremony, but became the once and for all Sacrifice. He put on flesh to be our representative for the great exchange, but also to sympathize with our weaknesses. I like how 1 Peter 3:18 puts this:

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God..."

His suffering mattered. His suffering brought us healing, freedom, and redeeming love. His suffering brought us to God.

As followers of the "man of sorrows", our suffering in this life matters. We must not relegate the holy act of suffering to a life of "comfortable Christianity". Rejecting suffering and participating with Christ is not without a cost.

Don't deny yourself the opportunity to be more like Jesus, and intimately know him. Join in the participation of his suffering so that his glory and grace shines - blazing into the darkness.

Endure and hold fast, dear friends. Your suffering matters.

I dedicate this blog post to my dear, departed friend - my precious dog, Elsa. You taught me much about God's love and now the importance of suffering. You will be forever missed, always remembered.

Elsa 2014-2025