God Didn’t Make a Failure

To live in this world is to suffer at some point in your life. Every man, woman, and child who walks on this rock will endure hardship. Scripture promises this repeatedly, and we read story after story of Jesus, His disciples, and His followers suffering for the Kingdom of God. This is an honor—to be counted among the men and women who have endured for the King. Your suffering in this life accomplishes many things. I personally like to focus on three of them. The first thing hardship does is bring you to the end of yourself. At some point, we all reach the conclusion that we are not enough. You cannot be a good father, husband, or man without God. God is goodness; there is no goodness apart from Him. Our trials make this abundantly clear and usually drive us back to the foot of the throne. This is what happens to non-believers, but even believers who continue to walk in the flesh will find their suffering serves as a reminder—a call back to the throne where they once found peace. These brutal moments become catalysts for change, igniting genuine dependence on Jesus and a renewed search for purpose. A quest, so to speak, for why we’re here. For a more seasoned follower, suffering becomes refinement. This is how warriors are forged. Every soldier, airman, marine, and sailor in our armed forces attends basic training. The MTIs break you down to raw material and rebuild you into something they can wield as a weapon. The King’s army is no different. If He is calling us to endure, to resist the ways of this world, and to love people who are difficult to love, then we must be refined by adversity, temptation, and hardship. Again, this is a privilege—to be counted as a warrior for the Crown. These experiences proclaim the greatness of God to everyone watching, listening, and walking beside us. That brings me to the final focal point. For the seasoned combat veteran of the faith, suffering becomes a battle cry for the warriors coming behind us. Our scars become medals pinned to our chest—symbols of hope and examples for other men and women of God to follow. We will eventually reach a point where we delight in suffering, eager to see what good God will bring from our situation and how He will use us as instruments of love in this world. Our suffering becomes a beacon of light in the darkness. We become living examples of what God can do with a fisherman, a sinner, or a shattered heart.