She suffers patiently. I'm not sure that I could under her circumstances.

Though a relatively young woman, my wife suffers from numerous health issues. Fibromyalgia makes each day painful. Several hernia surgeries prevent her from doing heavy lifting. Asthma makes exercising outside nearly impossible. The "ritis" brothers, degenerative and osteo, make moving on any given day a new experience in pain. In spite of medication, the pain remains intense, which, in turn, can affect her emotional moods. Yet, I'm continually amazed at how patiently she suffers. She refuses to allow the pain to master her, and she even does things that she knows will intensify her pain, things that she perceives as being associated with being a wife, mother, and grandmother.

Suffering accompanies life. How we respond to it speaks volumes about our character and our trust in God.

James 5:10 – For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (NLT)

The sources of suffering vary. For the prophets of old, as well as current propagators of the gospel, it was sinful people who demonstrated hatred for the gospel by harming or killing its carriers. A sin-tainted world manufactures suffering. Things don't last — neither do our bodies. Decay is inherent in all things and people. My poor choices can lead to suffering, leaving me to languish in emotional or financial pain. And, of course, God can use suffering as a disciplinary measure to get my attention. Sometimes, we may not now know the reason.

Suffering patiently comes by stopping the sinful or poor choices I'm making as well as accepting the consequences. God normally doesn't remove these. If God is disciplining, I must seek out the lesson that He's attempting to teach me. Prayer, trusting God, and associating with other believers makes the suffering easier to endure and learn from.

May God teach us how to suffer patiently as we look forward to the day when all pain and sorrow will be erased.

Prayer: Merciful God, we anticipate with excitement our eternal home where pain will be absent forevermore. Until then, give us the strength and patience to endure this world's suffering. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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