There are many stories of sufferings of different types. We cannot completely understand each situation; we have different personalities, experiences and ways of coping with it. But the question is, why do we suffer?

I believe it is because we NEED it.

Here is a beautiful story of the Israelite’s suffering recorded in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 5 New International Version (NIV) Bricks Without Straw

¹⁷ But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹ The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.” ²⁰ As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. ²¹ The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

²² Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? ²³ Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”

Moses’ question is exactly my question! God wants to rescue His people from slavery but it turned out that they suffered more! So why did the Israelites have to go through suffering, when God can actually freeze the Egyptians so they can go? Why do we NEED to suffer?

1. We tend to forget God’s goodness (Exodus 4:31 vs Exodus 5:22) and most of the time, we take His blessings for granted (Exodus 3:12a). We have a shallow understanding of who God is (Exodus 3:13), that is why we need to experience suffering as a way to know Him deeper, truly worship Him and be humbled (Exodus 15:1-21 –Song of Moses and Miriam) . When we encounter painful experiences and God removes us out of it, the scar from our deep wound reminds us how our great God has healed us and we become grateful to Him. Seeing God’s glory pulls us closer to Him and we become amazed of His greatness. We recognize Him as our healer, our protector, our refuge, our banner, our only savior. If we do not see suffering as a blessing and consider God as our enemy when we face trials, we are missing the point why God allowed that suffering to happen to us. He allowed it so we can look at Him as our only savior in every situation. We need to feel the pain, so we would be grateful for our big and small blessings, and knowing Him is the greatest blessing we can receive (John 17:3).

You might say, “I know God and I have a relationship with Him, so why do I need to suffer?”

2. We are being used to partner with God to bless others. God does not need us, but He chose us (John 15:16-17 ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other – NIV). God has chosen Israel and He has partnered with them so that the world may see His greatness (Exodus 14:31), His power (10 plagues in Exodus 7 to 11, crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:15-31 among others) and His salvation (As you know, Jesus came from the nation of Israel; please see Acts 4:10-12). It is awesome that the creator of the universe will choose us, not only to receive His blessing of knowing Him through our sufferings, but to also be a blessing to others. When we share God’s hope and love to the people who are experiencing the same pain you have or had, you become a beacon of His light and people will see the beautiful glory of God that shines radiantly, you are part of His light! Through our suffering, we see our purpose, we see our worth.

You might say, “I am sharing His word, in fact my life is dedicated to Him already, why do I still need to suffer?”

3. We need to suffer so we may exercise His gifts. What are gifts if we do not use them right?! 🙂 The Bible tells us of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit (see Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8–10, 1 Peter 4:11 among others) and only those who have truly accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have these gifts. There are also the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23a which says “²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.”  We validate our relationship with God through our suffering, when we see these gifts and fruits in our life. We are being assured, and we can say “Ahhh, I have the Holy Spirit, I have the seal of His salvation (Ephesians 1:13). I am saved and I have hope, that one day, I will be complete and will be with my Father in heaven, see Him face to face.” We look forward to God telling to us, after we have endured all the sufferings for His name’s sake, “My good and faithful servant.”

Some may say, “Jesus suffered already for me, so why do I need to suffer? I do not want to use these gifts, it is enough that I already have Jesus in my life.” True, Jesus is more than enough, but to those who have died and have been buried and made alive again, “it is no longer I who live but Jesus lives in me (Galatians 2:20).” Jesus’ example at the garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22:42 while he was suffering, he said “”Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” We must be willing to accept and follow the examples of Jesus, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less (John 3:30)”. We must take pride in our sufferings (Romans 5:3). Believe Jesus when he told us, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  (John 16:33)”

Let us remember, we live in a temporary world, this is not what God has prepared for us (John 14:2), but while we are still here and suffer (Genesis 3:19), God promised he will always be with us, never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6b). We must believe that God looks for our good; we must depend on Him and hold on to His many promises. Let us not dwell on our feelings, instead, let us seek His presence and draw closer to Him, so we can realize that suffering is a blessing, and we need this blessing.

P.S. Please share your thoughts. 🙂 If this has helped you in any way or you know someone who needs this story, please share this and bless others. 🙂 God bless you! Enjoy His blessings!