I have always resisted any teaching that insinuates God causes our sufferings in this life. The first reason is because I’ve always only known Him as a deliverer– at salvation, through a personal healing, and in my own soul. I’ve never known God as one that causes pain.

However, we can’t skip over scriptures that mention suffering as if they don’t exist. The Bible is God talking to us and His Word teaches, guides, corrects, and gives us help. It is an anchor in life. So what do verses about suffering actually mean? And better yet, how can they help us?

God uses suffering.

Peter said, “May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). I think this may be where people have mistakenly created a doctrine that says God “causes” suffering to teach us something. But Peter didn’t say that.

In context, Peter was talking about resisting the devil, and reminding us we are all in the same boat– no one is exempt from the onslaught of the enemy. “Resist [the devil], firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9). Peter is speaking to the trials and “sufferings” caused by Satan; and THEN he reminds us how God has called us to an eternal glory and will use these sufferings to “restore, support, strengthen… and place you on a firm foundation” (NLT).

The more I thought about this, I was reminded of my children. When they were infants, we needed to get each of them on a better sleep schedule and to do so, we had to allow them to cry for awhile. Obviously, all babies would prefer to be held all the time or sleep with mom and dad but their rest (and ours) wouldn’t be as good as when they can have uninterrupted sleep on their own. So we had to let them cry a while, then check on them to make sure they knew we were nearby, and then step out again, repeating this process little by little to help them.

In the same way–

God is our loving Father and He too, allows us to cry a little while. He’s always near. He never leaves us. But God, in His love, will “allow” (notice that’s very different from “cause”) us to “suffer awhile” that we might be perfected, established, strengthened, and settled.

I also thought of a plant as an example. New seedlings need extra care (much like infants). But over time, the roots of a plant grow deeper and get stronger so it can endure the elements such as storms, wind, rain, and cold. And in extreme weather, our local weatherman will remind us to bring in all potted plants so they won’t die. Why? Because their roots are land-locked, meaning they don’t have the same opportunity to get good and anchored in the ground like outdoor trees and plants.

Our spiritual lives are much like this.

Jesus said storms would come. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus also reminded us we have an enemy. He said, “Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you” (Luke 10:19, AMP).

Notice He didn’t say it would be easy to grow and strengthen our faith muscles. Growth takes time and these things are learned. Sometimes it can feel like a season of helplessness (or suffering) as you learn to use your authority over the enemy. But the authority is yours– so it’s important to use our weapons!

Honestly, I can look back over my life and remember tough seasons. I can also testify that although I have ZERO desire to go back and re-live any of those times, I am grateful for what I learned through them and the strength I possess now because of them. And THIS is what Peter meant when he said, “May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

So, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding glory” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

I’ll close with this: I don’t like to exercise. Partially because I’m lazy but also because it feels like “suffering.” BUT I know I need exercise. I understand I need to push my muscles so they will grow strong (and remain strong). In a spiritual sense, it’s the same thing– resistance (can we say sufferings?) causes growth– plain and simple.

So don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged. And don’t believe the lie that God is causing you harm. He’s a good Father and always has your best interest in mind. Always.