The subject for my sermon yesterday was Finding Hope in Suffering. Not an easy subject, you may think! And you'd be right, yet a couple of things came up in my study I'd like to share.
One was St. Paul's theology on suffering, found in Romans 5:3. He says we can rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character and character produces hope. So there it was, without realising it when the title was chosen, St. Paul says you can find hope in suffering. And if you're thinking, "It's all very well for him!", then you need to also read St Paul's testimony on suffering, which he wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (around the same time he wrote his 'theology on suffering' in Romans). Here he tells of is own suffering, which he calls a 'thorn in the flesh' and which God didn't take away, but gave him grace enough to cope with it. Having accepted that, Paul did indeed rejoice in his suffering.
The second thing I found was a little book by Margaret Clarkson, Destined for Glory. She has suffered a terrific amount in her life but realises that God can turn it all to good (see Romans 8:28). She talks about God's alchemy. In the middle ages alchemists tried in vain to turn base metals into gold, but God transmutes suffering from Satan into good for his glory.
There are no easy answers to the problem of suffering but the above thoughts may help.
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