Flourishing in the Fire: Anger, Suffering, and Rejoicing can Coincide
Suffering is often inescapable. None of us will leave this life untouched by the pain and consequences of suffering. In upcoming issues of the VoS Newsletter, the Flourishing in the Fire section will explore ideas and practical applications related to growing and even flourishing amidst our sufferings.
In the New Testament, James instructs the church to “Consider it all joy (full or greatest joy), my brothers, when you meet fiery trials of various kinds.” Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the Jewish exile to Babylon in 586 B.C. provides a raw, first-person account of the city's devastation and the horror endured by its remaining inhabitants. The prophet confronts God about what He has done, pulling no punches as he indicts God for the unspeakable destruction of the city and the resulting personal anguish he experiences. Consider Jeremiah’s charges against God in chapter three: “He is a bear lying in wait for me,” “He . . . tore me to pieces,” “He made me chew on gravel,” “He drove arrows into my kidneys,” “my endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” Could there be a clearer description of the suffering and agony of hopelessness that Jeremiah is experiencing in his circumstances?
Then—in the very next verse—the gate of hope swings open on the hinge of God’s goodness when Jeremiah confesses:
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
The prophet remembers that, despite what he sees and experiences, he truly has hope—even in this life—because he knows the One in whom hope rests.
But how is this not a contradiction? How can we reconcile the “greatest joy” in the fiery trials James instructs us to have, or square Jeremiah’s shaking his left fist of rage and accusation against God on one hand and the extended right hand of praise and hope on the other? How can both exist simultaneously?
In our work on suffering, Heidi and I describe this as the great “both-and.” The Bible consistently teaches us to take a “both-and” perspective in all suffering (e.g., Romans 5:3-5, 2 Cor 4:17, 1 Peter 4:12-13). We are called both to be honest with ourselves and God about our painful circumstances and, more than that, to grow and flourish through them. What may initially seem like an unsolvable paradox actually reveals the point of all suffering: that the Lord is at work toward outcomes in and through all suffering that could not have been accomplished through any other means. What do you think about this? Share your thoughts with us!
