Serving the Suffering

 
 
 
 

Chronic health issues, cancer, a wayward child, the death of a loved one, financial hardship, and the list goes on. How might we come alongside and serve those suffering? In part, we “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). We “encourage the fainthearted, help the weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). Suffering is as real as the people afflicted by it in this fallen world.

If “suffering is the soul’s response to experiencing evil”¹ or affliction, then how do we help or encourage the soul of one suffering (in the appropriate time and manner)? In line with Romans 8:18, Randy Alcorn notes that “while evil and suffering are not good, God can use them to accomplish good. Knowing this should give us great confidence that even when we don’t see any redemptive meaning in our suffering, God can see it—and one day we will too. We can trust that God has a purpose for whatever he permits.”² If we doubt, or fail to trust God’s good purposes in our suffering, we only add suffering to our suffering by looking instead to superficial fixes and false refuges. 

Beyond praying for and compassionately meeting tangible needs (Galatians 6:2; 1 John 3:18), we serve the suffering by encouraging them to trust God through their suffering (Proverbs 3:5-7). Jerry Bridges noted that “trusting God is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us.”³ By encouraging others to trust God, we help them look for help where real help can be found: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

How then might we encourage those suffering to look to and trust God,  especially when life hurts?

1) Rest Assured of God’s Sovereign Care (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28, 39)

Sufferings don’t separate us from God; they remind us of our dependence upon God and prepare us to be with God. As one author put it, “Everything we experience is already filtered through the loving hands of our heavenly Father.”

2) Keep an Eternal Perspective on Temporary Testings

Having suffered repeatedly and severely, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” In referring to 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, A. W. Pink wrote the following: “Afflictions are light when compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us.”

3) See Suffering as an Opportunity for Gospel Advancement (Hebrews 12:2)

Following in the footsteps of his Savior, Paul from imprisonment wrote that “what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). Throughout Acts, the Gospel advanced through the suffering of the saints. In more modern times, numerous souls have been either been saved or strengthened from Pilgrim’s Progress, which was written by John Bunyan during his twelve years of imprisonment.

 4) Prayerfully Meditate on and Memorize Key Verses Related to Suffering

Some favorite verses of suffering saints include: Psalm 5:1-3; 9:9-10; 18:1-3; 34:17-18, 42:8; 46; 59:16-17; 73:26-28; 88:13; 90:14; 91:1-4; 119:147; 121:1-2; 139:18b; 141:8; 143:8; Isaiah 43:1-2; Lamentations 3:19-26; Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 8:16-39; 2 Corinthians 1:3-8; Philippians 4:5b-7.

5) Provide Meaningful Music Related to Suffering

Explore hymn books such as Songs of Suffering: 25 Hymns & Devotions for Weary Souls⁴ and Then Sings My Soul.⁵ Songs like the following can be helpful encouragement during suffering:

  • "Be Still My Soul"⁶

  • "Nearer, My God To Thee"

  • "Amazing Grace"

  • "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

  • "Before the Throne of God Above"

  • "Great is Thy Faithfulness"

  • "Afflicted Saint to Christ Draw Near"

  • "Cling to Christ"

  • "Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul"

  • "He Will Hold Me Fast"

  • "How Deep the Father's Love for Us"

  • "I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130)"

  • "Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting"

  • “Lord I Need You"

  • "Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42)"

  • "Psalm 62"

  • "Whate'er My God Ordains is Right"

6) Consider Other Helpful Resources to Equip You to Serve the Suffering

  • Julie Gossack, Hope Beyond Despair: Finding Truth after a Loved One’s Suicide

  • Joni Eareckson Tada, Songs of Suffering: 25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls

  • Sue Delaney, Help! My Spouse Died (Booklet)

  • Elisabeth Elliot, Facing the Death of Someone You Love (Pamphlet)

  • Howard Eyrich, Grief: Learning to Live with Loss (Booklet)

  • John Flavel, Facing Grief: Counsel for Mourners

  • Robert Jones, Angry at God (Booklet)

  • Dan McCartney, Why Does it Have to Hurt? The Meaning of Christian Suffering

  • David Powlison, Facing Death with Hope: Living for What Lasts (CCEF Booklet)

  • David Powlison, God’s Grace in Your Suffering

  • David Powlison, Grieving a Suicide: Help for the Aftershock

  • Regular Baptist Press, Scriptures for Coping with Grief

  • R. C. Sproul, Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life

  • Wally Stephenson, Helping a Friend Who Is Grieving (Pamphlet)

  • Paul Tripp, Grief: Finding Hope Again (CCEF Booklet)

  • J. Aaron White, The Little Book of Great Comfort for Grieving Christians (Romans 8)

¹ Dan McCartney, Why Does It Have to Hurt? The Meaning of Christian Suffering (P&R: 1998), 7.

² Randy Alcorn, If God is Good: Why Do We Hurt? (Multnomah, 2019), 43.

³ Jerry Bridges, Trusting God, Even When Life Hurts (NavPress, 2008).

⁴ Joni Eareckson Tada, Songs of Suffering (Crossway, 2022).

⁵ Robert Morgan, Then Sings My Soul (Nelson, 2003).

⁶ Song suggestions provided by Kevin Hall, Minister of Music (gccministries.org).

 
 
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