Generally, nobody wants to suffer. Had I known that suffering is part of life, why would I even want to be born at all? It just doesn’t make sense. There’s a reason why our parents worked so hard in order for us to experience a convenient and more comfortable life. But suffering does not only talk about economics. It has different faces and forms at different times.

Some people grow up with less while others are privilege.

Some people experience excruciating pain while others are healthy.

Some people are going through famine while others are plentiful.

And some people are broken mentally, emotionally and spiritually while others are whole.

When suffering hits us hard, it renders us immovable. More often, we get paralyzed by our situation. We feel like it is the end of the world. In other words, suffering makes us human.

You talk to an Olympian and you will understand how difficult it is to prepare your body in 4 years just to run for 100 meters in less than 10 seconds. Talk to someone who has cancer and you’ll find out how painful it is going through chemotherapy sessions.  Immerse with people who are less fortunate than you and see how they manage to feed their family with one can of sardines every single day. And have a dialogue with people who are broken and somehow you might understand what it feels like to be broken.

The gravity of pain from suffering is different from one another. Whether you are rich or poor, there is no question that you’ll go through hardships in life.

BUT WHAT DOES SUFFERING DO TO YOU?

IT HUMBLES YOU.  We want to be self-sufficient and in control of our lives. However, we have the tendency to be proud and wear our self-made crowns to project how powerful and rich we have become. There are people who once lived a very luxurious life and lost it in an instant due to insurmountable debt and arrogance.

There are also those who never lost in any challenges but found it so hard to recover after they failed. When we experience things like this, we get to realize that we can’t have everything in life and that we can’t control the outcome no matter how hard we prepare.

YOU BECOME RESILIENT. Every season in life has a corresponding challenge that you have to go through. Nick Vujicic, a man born without arms and limbs can attest to that personal experience. Picture your life without the ability to walk, hug your loved ones or take care of yourself.

At a very young age, he struggled with depression. He even tried to end his life at one point. But today, Nick has accomplished so much. He is a speaker, an author, musician, and actor. Another fascinating about him is that he knows how to swim. By the way, he is also married and with children.

“If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart” – Nick Vujicic

YOU EMPATHIZE WITH OTHERS. No one can understand best someone who is experiencing suffering than the person who’s gone through it. We become more understanding of other’s pain. We become an instrument of hope rather than despair. Suffering brings out compassion in us.

YOU BECOME APPRECIATIVE OF LIFE. I have encountered people who had a second chance to live after they battled cancer, major surgeries, and accidents. Their situation allowed them to appreciate their life more and really start living.

Making every second’s count and living life to fullest has become their daily routine. Their time with their families has become their topmost priority. Time became the most expensive commodity.

YOU BECOME SPIRITUAL AND FAITHFUL. When people suffer, they cry out to God. This shows that no matter how tough the character of a person is, it melts in the midst of suffering. I have cried many times to God in different seasons be it in sickness, finances, career, family, or love life.

Just recently, I have prayed in person for an old man who has a tumor in his brain. He can no longer hear let alone speak. The prayer was written on a whiteboard and I pointed word per word until the last word. I can sense calmness and hope from this old man despite the pain that he is going through.

I don’t know all the reasons why God does not intervene in all of our sufferings and injustices in life but I do know this is not the way He intended the world to be. One thing for sure, God will intervene and will get rid of our pain and sorrow here on earth.

I had my fair share of sufferings in life. Until today, I still can’t believe how I was able to overcome all of them. I would not have been the person I am today if not for the hardships I went through and so are you.

In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul encourages us to “boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” -Romans 5: 3-4

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