The Blessing of Suffering?

Dear Fellow Travelers,

Roughly seven years ago, I was introduced to the writings of Richard Wurmbrand, from which the following is an excerpt:

I thank God for the years I passed in solitary confinement. I was, for three years, thirty feet beneath the earth. I never heard a word. I never spoke a word. There were no books. The outward voices ceased. The guards had felt-soled shoes; you did not hear their approach. Then, with time, the inner voices ceased. We were drugged, we were beaten. I forgot my whole theology. I forgot the whole Bible. One day I observed that I had forgotten the “Our Father.” I could not say it anymore. I knew that it began with “Our Father . . . ,” but I did not know the continuation. I just kept happy and said, “Our Father, I have forgotten the prayer, but You surely know it by heart. You hear it so many thousand times a day, so You assign an angel to say it for me, and I will just keep quiet.” For a time my prayers were, “Jesus, I love you.” And then after a little time again, “Jesus, I love You. Jesus I love you.” Then it became too difficult even to say this because we were doped with drugs that would destroy our minds. We were very hungry. We had one slice of bread a week. There were the beatings, and the tortures, and the lack of light, and the things. It became impossible to concentrate my mind to even say so much as, “Jesus, I love You.” I abandoned it because I knew that it was necessary. The highest form of prayer I know is the quiet beating of a heart that loves Him. Jesus should just hear the “tick-a-tock, tick-a-tock,” and He would know that every heartbeat is for Him. [The Triumphant Church (Bartlesville, Oklahoma: The Voice of the Martyrs, 1999), p. 24-25]

In the first place, I cannot imagine the suffering one would endure being confined for three years inside a very small cell, thirty feet beneath the earth. Furthermore, I cannot imagine what it would be like to endure three years without hearing a voice; that silence would be deafening! How one would keep from going “mad” is beyond me. To be sure, I have no idea how one could physically or mentally survive on a diet that consisted of only one slice of bread per week. Add to all of this, the beatings, the drugs, the tortures, the lack of light, and I have a difficult time believing that story is true.

This, however, is what intrigues me about this man: in all of his suffering, his pursuit of Jesus never diminished, it only intensified! Even after he was too weak to repeat the simple prayer, Jesus, I love You, he never lost his passion for Jesus. Oh, I am sure that there were times when he wondered where God had gone. I am also sure that there were times when he wondered why God did not deliver him from this relentless suffering (he actually spent 14 years in prison because of his refusal to deny Jesus); however, after 14 years of imprisonment and torture, his response was this: I thank God for the years I passed in solitary confinement.

Although none of us have suffered like this man suffered, and certainly none of us have suffered for the reason he suffered, most of us have suffered to some lesser degree and, I might add, suffering is suffering. Somehow, the whole of Christianity is built on the foundation of suffering. In Hebrews, we read these intriguing words: Although He (Jesus) was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8; parenthesis mine). Obviously, Jesus, Himself, suffered—relentlessly suffered. Then there is the host of other men and women of God who have, without exception, suffered because of their stand as Christians. We simply cannot get around the fact that suffering is a part, a vital part, of Christianity. Why, therefore, should we think that we are somehow exempt from it?

Yes, I realize that there are various kinds of suffering. Some suffering is the fruit of our foolish choices, while other suffering is the fruit of our faithfulness. Even so, suffering is suffering, and it always hurts. It is never pleasant! It is never enjoyable! Fortunately, however, God uses our suffering for our benefit and for His glory. In other words, God never wastes our suffering—NEVER!

Richard Wurmbrand suffered because of his faithfulness, his refusal to deny Jesus. Even though it was motivated by love, it was very painful, even debilitating; however, in the end, he could say with integrity, “I thank God for my suffering.” Obviously, God did not waste his suffering.

I guess I just wanted to remind you to stop and thank God for your suffering. Oh, I know that you have probably already thanked Him for many things, but have you thanked Him for the suffering He has allowed you to endure? If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to thank Him because your suffering is not without purpose—His Sovereign Purpose. Did you notice one of the fruits of Wurmbrand’s sufferings? He came to know the highest form of prayer—the quiet beating of a heart that loves Him.

MY PERSPECTIVE: Our suffering just might be our greatest blessing.