Called to Suffer: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven (#18)
[A note from our Managing Editor: Tim Shorey, pastor and author, is one of our Gospel-Centered Discipleship staff writers. Tim is also currently battling stage 4 prostate cancer. On Facebook and CaringBridge, he’s writing about his journey. We’re including some of his posts in a series on our website called “The Potter’s Clay: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven.” To preserve the feel of a daily journal rather than a published work, we have chosen not to submit these reflections to a rigorous editing process.]
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Called to Suffer
January 24, 2024
Dear Journal,
In these days of trial and sorrow, I am re-hearing a calling that the Lord placed upon my life years ago, one that is still upon me today. This is not a calling that was chosen by me, but one that was chosen for me. I have been called to suffer—and I should make as much out of it as I possibly can. Here’s how various Bible writers put it:
“For it has been granted to you for the sake of Christ that you should . . . suffer for his sake . . .” (Phil. 2:29). In other words, in Paul’s mind, suffering for the sake of Christ is a gift or bestowment granted to me; a type of calling bestowed upon me by Christ.
“But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Pet. 2:20b–21). Peter says that I have been called to suffering and then to follow the example of Christ while in his sufferings.
“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him” (1 Cor. 7:17). According to Paul, God calls us to various assignments. The apostle then mentions various callings like spiritual privilege or disadvantage and freedom or bondage. He says that the Lord assigns various callings—pleasant or otherwise—that we are to fulfill as best we can until such a time when God chooses to change our circumstances.
“They rejoiced because they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name . . .” (Acts 5:41). God counted early believers worthy to suffer, which implies that there is a certain privilege in being asked to endure it. Suffering for the sake of Jesus’s glory is not a curse or bad thing or sign of weak faith. It is an honor bestowed.
“Let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Pet. 4:19). Sometimes it is God’s will that we suffer for his sake. He calls us to it.
“. . . that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this . . .” (1 Thess. 3:3). Afflictions are the present momentary destiny of every believer on their way to glory on the other side. Current trials prepare us for coming glory (2 Cor. 4:16–28).
These texts teach that suffering, and suffering well, form a calling granted to us. It is the Lord’s “assignment” for us. It is something that the Lord considers us worthy of (i.e., it is an honor bestowed upon us). It is the “will of God.” Indeed, suffering is our “destiny,” and—to add one more text—is one of the hard and unpleasant “times” (i.e., seasons of life) that God makes beautiful “in his time” (Eccles. 3:1–11). Sometimes we are called to weep and others to laugh, sometimes to dance and sometimes to mourn, sometimes to embrace and sometimes to let go. God sovereignly and freely assigns the times of our lives.
What does this say to me? The first take-home for me is to reject the popular notion that some hold that my suffering—whether it be via sickness or poverty or betrayal by others—is often or usually a sign of weak faith. That is fundamentally misguided. Sickness, poverty, and various other hardships are not evils I need to “speak against” or can “command to leave” if only I have enough faith. They are callings bestowed upon me, either for a season or for the duration. Suffering is not evidence of weak faith; it is a divine calling and an opportunity to shine forth the power of God and the sufficiency of his grace (John 11:4; 2 Cor. 12:7–10).
This doesn’t mean that I am obligated to stay stuck in unhappy callings. Suppose I can gain my freedom from sad and dire circumstances, experience healing, get out of horrific or tyrannizing working conditions, or escape various other hardships without violating integrity, truth, holiness, or love in the process. In that case, I should feel free to do so (so Paul says in 1 Cor. 7:17–24). But it does mean that I should see my present circumstances as my current calling, at least for the time being, and then make the very most out of them that I can.
As for me, truths like this have made the difference between keeping my sanity and losing my mind! They are the difference between me feeling and living like a victim of a mean cosmic prank void of purpose and me living like a victor, one who has been given ears to hear the call and then grace to carry out God’s purposes in my pain—come what may.
* You can read all the posts in this series here.
Tim Shorey is married to Gayline, his wife of 45 years, and has six grown children and 14 grandchildren. After over forty years of pastoral ministry, he recently retired from Risen Hope Church in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Among his books are Respect the Image: Reflecting Human Worth in How We Listen and Talk; The Communion Truce: How Holy Communion Addresses Our Unholy Conflicts; 30/30 Hindsight: 30 Reflections on a 30-Year Headache; his award-winning An ABC Prayer to Jesus: Praise for Hearts Both Young and Old. To find out more, visit timothyshorey.com.