Friday Fight 248: Faith in the Fire
Every Friday morning, during my quiet time with the Lord, He faithfully places something on my heart that speaks to the subtle, internal battles many of us face. This is Friday Fight 248.
Faith in the Fire:
Have you ever believed God was good while simultaneously wondering where He was? If so, you are not alone. Faith and doubt often coexist in seasons of suffering. Suffering is an unwelcome guest in every human life. It disrupts our peace, challenges our faith, and often leaves us asking questions we never expected to ask. In seasons of pain, many of us move back and forth between confidently declaring who God is and quietly questioning where He is. Both responses can exist simultaneously.
Abuse, trauma, illness, and loss can leave us searching for God everywhere, but feeling like we find Him nowhere. Yet, Scripture reminds us that suffering is not evidence of God’s absence. It is part of a broken world shaped by sin, but it is also the place where God often does His deepest work.
The apostle Paul writes, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (Romans 5:3–4, NLT). Pain is never the goal, but God does not waste it. Suffering builds perseverance, shapes character, and produces hope only sustained by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
Christ Himself fully submitted to suffering. Before His ministry began, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where He fasted for forty days. There, Satan tempted Him three times—each offering a shortcut to success without obedience, patience, or suffering:
1. “Tell these stones to become bread” - Jesus was tempted with Provision without dependence
2. “Throw Yourself from the Temple” - Jesus was tempted with Recognition without faith
3. “Claim dominion over all kingdoms” - Jesus was tempted with Authority without sacrifice
Each temptation carried the same lie: you can have something for nothing. Jesus refused every shortcut. He chose obedience over immediacy, suffering over spectacle, and the cross over His comfort. Without His willingness to suffer, redemption would not have been possible.
A tangible picture of redemptive suffering can be found in everyday life. I once watched a dear friend give birth to her first child without pain medication. Each contraction was intense, and each movement deliberate. Watching her endure was difficult, yet unmistakably sacred. She suffered because she knew a new life would follow. Pain and promise existed together, showing how suffering can produce something beautiful.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit sustains us in suffering, reminding us that God is at work even through our pain. Christ redeemed suffering through His obedience, and because of Him, our suffering is not meaningless. Scripture shows a God who grieves, weeps, and whose heart is deeply moved by human pain.
Take this week to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where past or current suffering has challenged your understanding of God. Notice any areas where darkness has tempted you to take shortcuts rather than trusting God through the pain. God does not waste suffering; He redeems it.
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In His Grace,
Pastor Shannon
River Church