I had someone ask the other day what my thoughts were regarding the connection that Scripture seems to make between suffering and joy.  It always seems so counter-intuitive when we come across something like James 1:2:

  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

Does anyone know anybody who accomplishes that?  How do we make sense of this sort of thing?  I think that a place to start may be with the apostle Paul, who has what appears to be as developed a theology of suffering as any writer in Scripture.  Take Romans 5:1-5 for instance:

 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

 Two things Paul tells us we can rejoice in.  1, the hope of the glory of God and 2, our sufferings.  The reason we can rejoice in our sufferings, according to Paul, is that it develops the character in us that leads to the realization of our hope.  So the argument goes full circle:  We rejoice in the hope we have that we will experience the glory of God for ourselves, and we rejoice in our sufferings because those are what will help to realize that hope.  The way they do that is through developing character as we persevere through them.  This precisely parallels James’ thinking, by the way, if we continue with the passage with which we began:

 Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:3)

 James indicates that the goal of the character development that comes from persevering through suffering is complete maturity.  Is this the same thing Paul means when he speaks of achieving the glory of God?  Or is that just something we experience in ther hereafter, and remains just a hope for us in the here and now?  That is what I’ve always assumed, but how is it really that we understand what Paul means by that?  Let me jump ahead in the systematic theology which is Romans 1-12, to chapter 8.  This is the seminal chapter that reveals for us, in my opinion, what the Christian experience really is boiled down to its essence.  It speaks of the dichotomy that exists between living to please the sinful nature and living in the Spirit.  The first 16 verses lays this out dramatically, underscoring the essential difference between a mind and hence a life, controlled by the sinful nature which is characterized by sin and leads to death, and a mind and life lived for the Spirit which leads to life and peace.  Then he says this:

 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (vv. 17,18)

 So here in the context of a discussion of the essential battle of our Christian existence—learning to put down our own selfish natures and live for God—Paul re-iterates that our sufferings can directly lead to sharing in God’s glory.  Given the context, one could easily conclude that Paul is, in fact, equating the glory of God in which we share with the spiritual maturity that James discusses.  Achieving spiritual maturity through our sufferings allows us to appropriate the glory of God in our lives.  But if we move on, we receive further clarification as to just what that means as he discusses just what it is that we pray for when we suffer.  Obviously, we normally pray to be released from it.

 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (vv 23-25)

 No question that we all do plenty of groaning to be released from our pain, especially of the physical sort that makes us yearn for the redemption of our bodies.  But then a very interesting thing happens.  In the context of a broad discussion of living in the Spirit, Paul clarifies a specific way the Spirit steps into our experience to help us, particularly in times of suffering:

 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.  (vv 26,27)

 Our natural inclination during suffering is to pray for release from it, but God in his graciousness steps in and repairs our prayers to actually conform with what he really wants for us.  Just what is that?

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.  (vv 28-30)

 Here are familiar verses which are normally used to say something like, “well, God is going to do something through these circumstances that will end up being good somehow.”  In reality, Paul reveals the specific work that God intends to do, and which the Spirit is helping to craft our prayers to accomplish, when we suffer.  It is simply this: to make us more like Jesus (be “conformed to the likeness of his Son”).  And as the process continues, guess where we land: being glorified. Achieving spiritual maturity through our sufferings allows us to appropriate the glory of God in our lives, and the glory of God which we appropriate is the likeness of Christ being formed in our lives.

 I conclude from this that the fundamental struggle of the entirety of our Christian lives and the process of our spiritual formation is one of turning away from our own selfish natures and becoming more like Christ.  The trials and sufferings we experience are not only possible, but indispensable elements of that process of becoming “mature and complete.”  Hebrews 5:8 tells us that even Jesus Christ benefited in this way:

Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

 I further conclude that Paul uses the notion of the glory of God as the result of the maturing process that comes through suffering and in which we can rejoice, as a metaphor for attaining the likeness of Christ.  Note what he says to the Corinithians in his second epistle in this regard:

 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  (4:16,17)

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect (or contemplate) the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 

There can be absolutely no question that the glory of God is, to Paul, the likeness of Christ, and that we can achieve this for ourselves.  Certainly in eternity, but not just that.  Also in this life through the incremental, daily process of spiritual formation that is accomplished, at least in part, by the trials through which we persevere.  Furthermore this should be the ultimate goal of our lives, because it is God’s ultimate goal for us.  And it is what we hope to achieve through walking in the Spirit. 

 So, getting back to the original question, how is it that we can consider it joy when we face trials?  I suggest that the answer lies in how we define joy.  For most contemporary people (including Christians) joy is defined as a positive emotional feeling that results from living in circumstances that conform to our desires.  Today in America that means that we are experiencing financial security, are living a relatively pain-free existence, and are able to do the things that give us physical pleasure (eat what we want, have sex, take naps in the sun on the beach, etc.)  While none of these are in and of themselves evil, I would suggest that living to accomplish or maximize them is akin to what Paul would see as living to please the sinful nature.  They aren’t bad things, but they are bad goals for our lives. 

 …to understand that this world, with all its “heartaches and the thousand natural shock that flesh is heir to,” an environment so manifestly not designed for the maximization of human pleasure and the minimization of human pain, may be rather well adapted to the quite different purpose of “soul-making.”

 Philip Yancey agrees with this in his book, “Where is God When it Hurts?”

 …the Bible consistently changes the questions we bring to the problem of pain.  It rarely, or ambiguously, answers the backward-looking question “Why?”  Instead, it raises the very different, forward-looking question, “to what end?”  We are not put on earth merely to satisfy our desires, to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.  We are here to be changed, to be made more like God in order to prepare us for a lifetime with him. 

 In reality, pain and suffering in and of themselves are not the biggest problem for us.  Human beings have proven themselves capable of enduring unbelievable things so long as they know the purpose it will serve.  It is the suffering for which we do not know the reason which leads to such anguish and hopelessness.  You can expound all the platitudes you like about the role of pain in the universe or the human condition, but in the end pain is like politics:  it is all local.  No amount of theological awareness will suffice for us if we are in the midst of personal suffering for which we do not receive an adequate response the question “why?” Scripture offers us no over-arching explanation for every piece of individual pain.  Is it punishment for bad behavior?  An assault by the enemy? The natural result of our own bad choices?  Of someone else’s bad choices? Is it simply part and parcel of life in a world in a state of broken-ness and disintegration because of sin?  No doubt in most cases we’ll never know which or how many of these and in what percentage it might be.  But in each case, although God may not offer us (or owe us) an explanation, in his mercy he fills each painful experience with a purpose.  That is what makes it tolerable.  And if it is our number one desire to become more like Christ, then he offers us the joy that comes from knowing that we are achieving our most significant goal. 

 It appears that although for most people a pain-free existence is what we really want, it could perhaps be said that is the last thing we should hope for. 

 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Rev. 1:12-16)

 We have said that the pain in our lives has as its purpose to fulfill the process of making us incrementally more like Christ, something which is also defined as achieving his glory.  Here we have a specific picture of the glorified Christ, given us in the symbols that characterize apocalyptic literature (the genre of literature which is the book of Revelation, a term which in Greek means Apocalypse.).  I content that if we look at the meaning behind these symbols that are used to describe this vision of Christ, we may be able to move toward a practical method of achieving God’s goals of Christ-likeness for us in the midst of difficult times. 

 Toward a process of spiritual transformation through trials

 One like a “son of man.”  This is a messianic title.  Christ was incarnated as the anointed one with a redemptive mission to accomplish on earth.  In times of trial, it helps to re-connect with our real purpose in life.  As noted, one of the (if not the) most important is the process of “soul-making” which even this trial that you are going through is going to help accomplish. 

 Dressed in a robe reaching down to his feat with a golden sash around his chest.  These are the priestly garments, indicating that Christ is our great high priest and now we have direct access to God without need of intermediaries other than him.  First of all, accessing forgiveness and salvation itself is essential to gaining the long term hope that sustains us as well as the purpose that gives us the will to endure.  This can only be achieved by the grace that comes through faith in Christ. In addition, it allows us access through the Holy Spirit who is the comforter as well as the one who conforms the prayers we make during our trials to conform to God’s will for us, as noted previously. 

 In addition, we ourselves must be willing to extend grace if there is any way in which our trials can be blamed on someone else.  Any lack of willingness to forgive will keep us embittered and our healing will elude us.

 His eyes were like blazing fire.  This is the piercing gaze of God that reveals and refines the sin out of our lives.  If there is any willful, ongoing sin in our lives this will always keep us at a distance from God, be a barrier to our prayers, and may even be part or all of the cause of our trials.  When things get hard for us that should be the time when are most motivated to live the holy lives that God has for us. It is an essential pre-requisite to God accomplishing anything in us or through us, including and perhaps especially redeeming the difficult times in our lives. 

His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  This is a picture of God embracing his mission of going and telling the good news.  One of the things that worsens and elongates our pain is the way it tends to make us self-focused.  At those times is when we need to set our sights and point our feet toward service to other people.  Helping others, especially in a way that helps to accomplish God’s redemptive agenda, will lessen the pain as we spend more time considering what we can do for others and less focused on our own troubles. 

 In his right hand he held seven stars.  This speaks of God as the one true God, the creator of the universe and is set in direct opposition to the worship of any other deity, including the heavenly bodies that were commonly associated with the pagan religions of the day.  Painful experiences can sometimes serve to strip us of our dependence on anything other than God, be it physical health or financial security or whatever.  If the difficult things in our lives cause us to fall at the feet of the one true God, because that is all we have left and the only one we have to turn to, then we dare not miss that powerful and essential result of our sufferings. 

Out of his mouth came a sharp, double-edged sword.  Here is the word of God.  If we fail to come back to God’s word in times of trial, we miss a powerful and essential resource to sustain us.  How many people have found solace in reading through Job’s trials, or listening to Paul speak from prison in his epistles, or reading through the laments that are such a large percentage of the book of Psalms, or connecting once again with the immense suffering that even God himself in the form of Jesus Christ went through?  Deep, meditative reflection on God’s word becomes even more powerful for us in times of trial--- times which can serve to re-commit us to that which we so often set aside when times are good.

For those who feel as if their suffering is some kind of spiritual oppression by the enemy, here we remind ourselves that God is over and above every spiritual power in the universe and we can rightly claim the power and authority we have vis-à-vis our position with him. 

 His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  The bright countenance of Christ can serve to remind us that we never feel our way into right behavior, but always behave our way into right feelings.  Putting on a bright countenance and behaving positively even if we aren’t feeling it is not hypocrisy, but God’s design.  This is the genius of the apostle Paul when he tells us to rejoice and pray with thanksgiving in the midst of anxious times (Phil. 4).  Stories are legion of the transformation and restoration that has happened for people who give praise and thanks to God in spite of their circumstances. 

 
·        A supportive group of believers

·        Re-connecting with our real purpose

·        Experiencing God’s saving work by grace and extending that grace to those who hurt us

·        Spiritual faithfulness to draw near to God

·        Refining sin from our lives

·        Focusing on ministry to others

·        Being stripped of reliance on anything other than God

·        Devotion to the word of God

·        Positive behavior and a life of praise and thanksgiving

It seems to me that here we have a comprehensive plan for spiritual transformation in the midst of our trials which will ultimately allow us to discover the joy that comes with that.  I’m sure you’ll never find a commentator who will be willing to admit that John’s intention in giving to us this vision of the glorified Christ in his apocalypse was to offer us a pattern for therapy.  But you will find many who will acknowledge that the broad purpose of Revelation was to encourage the church during a time of tribulation.  So perhaps this interpretation isn’t so far fetched.  In any event, it appears to me to be a series of valid and practical steps to help us walk through the dark valleys and make us more like Christ.  And that is what God wants for us.  And that is what we should want for ourselves.  And it is in accomplishing that we will find real joy and the fulfillment of God’s purposes in our lives as we continue to fit ourselves for the eternity when “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” And “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  (Revelation 21:4)