How Do We Deal with Suffering?

My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers have swept over me. Psalm 42:6-7

How do we deal with suffering? How ought we to think about suffering? These have been key questions that have been wrestled with by all humanity since Genesis 3. How are we supposed to think when we experience loss? How are we supposed to stand in the midst of overwhelming waves of emotion? Suffering is our greatest reminder of the state of our world and our inability to fix it.

Psalm 42 wrestles with the topic of suffering. Some scholars believe that David wrote Psalm 42 for the Sons of Korah, the lead musicians of the temple. David was likely running for his life from either Saul or Absalom, his own son. He was kicked out of his home and severed from God’s temple. Certainly, it wasn’t a part of God’s plan to have the anointed king of Israel, the man after God’s own heart, fleeing from place to place in the land that he was promised to rule. Maybe you remember feeling this way or are feeling this way now. ‘God, surely this isn’t a part of the plan.’

The author of the psalm recognizes the state of his heart and throws himself before God: “My God, my soul is cast down within me”. It is at times like these when it is easy to fall into despair. But there is a shift with this keyword: “therefore”. While the situation of the psalmist has not changed, there is only one response he can have that can bring him true peace in the turbulence: he remembers God. No matter where his situation drags him and regardless of how he is feeling he remembers God. Even from the farthest north tip of Israel, in the land Hermon, near the Jordan River and Mount Mizar, he remembers God is in control.

He uses the dangers of water as imagery for his struggle. The upper part of the Jordan River was known to flood violently from time to time when waterspouts occurred. These waterspouts would occur in the latter part of the summer or the beginning of autumn and pour down a flood of rain that sweeps all before it. It has even been described as a bursting of a cloud. No wonder many translations use the word “waterfall” to describe it. The waves of the flood would devastate the area in rapid fashion. Rocks would be thrown, trees uprooted, cattle drowned, precious food would be swept away, and mills destroyed by the sudden deluge.

If we are honest, this is often how suffering hits us. It comes suddenly and leaves a wake of destruction in its path. But God is in control. Interestingly, the psalmist attributes all of these different forces to God: “your waterspouts/waterfalls”, “your breakers”, and “your waves”. Although it is the result of sin in the world that causes suffering, God is sovereign and allows suffering to occur. Nothing happens on this earth or in the universe without His knowledge and permission.

But that brings us back to the question of why. Why would an all-powerful and all-good God allow suffering to His people? The Bible offers many answers to this question, but ultimately God allows suffering for His own glory. God is glorified when suffering molds us and shapes us more into the likeness of Christ. God is also glorified when He is able to work through the darkest of situations to bring about His plan and His good.

Our Lenten season is pointing us to this reality. God took the greatest tragedy ever, the murder of Jesus Christ on the cross, to bring about good for all who would believe in His name. Through the cross, we have access to the throne room of the Father who is sovereign and gives us mercy and grace in our time of need; the Son who can sympathize with our suffering and intercedes on our behalf; and the Holy Spirit who comforts us. As Christians, we do not suffer as those without hope. No matter where our circumstances bring us, we can trust and remember that God is in control and working in the situation.

Heavenly Father, Precious Savior, and Holy Spirit, give us Your grace and mercy in the midst of suffering. Help us to remember that You are in control in every situation. We thank You for the cross which reminds us of how You can work through the darkest of situations to bring about Your glory and plan. Give us faith to trust You and pour our hearts out to You in our time of need that we may receive Your comfort and strength.