3-Minute Devotions to Laugh and ReflectSýnishorn

Competitive Suffering

Has someone ever confided in you about a traumatic event he or she was undergoing and then you failed to respond in a helpful or encouraging way? Instead of listening patiently and offering a sympathetic ear, perhaps you quickly reacted by sharing a personal story of your own in an attempt to make a connection with or “one-up” the other person’s trying circumstance.

Many of us go through life discovering new levels of suffering. A preteen girl’s first rejection by a boy she likes is insignificant in the context of the world’s suffering, but it’s the worst pain she has yet endured. Later in life a divorce, bankruptcy, or job loss can seem like the end of the world. But then come deaths of loved ones, diagnoses of terrible diseases, and more. We may eventually learn that though our suffering is great, there are others who endure far worse.

Suffering attacks us in many ways, and it often brings pain, fear, loneliness, guilt, regret, anger, and hopelessness. Sometimes, like Job, we must endure suffering upon suffering with no adequate explanation. We naturally keep asking, “Why?”

Because we don’t always get answers, wise people learn to use suffering as a catalyst. The apostle Paul noted, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3–4).

Let’s not compete to see who has it worst. Instead, let’s see how quickly we can allow our sufferings to bring us closer to God.