“I was sorry to hear what you’d been through when we last spoke,” my friend Adrian said as we walked. “How are you and Merryn doing now?” “On the whole,” I said, “we’re doing better. I guess we’re trying to focus on the upside of our situation and the opportunities it brings.”
Much had happened since Adrian and I had spoken a year ago. Back then, Merryn and I had been enduring the darkest moment of our lives, bringing our decade-long dream of having a family to an end. Merryn had been devastated, and we had relocated to the UK from Australia to start again.
“I can understand that,” Adrian replied. “But looking for the opportunities in your situation will take you only so far.” As we walked a little farther, Adrian talked about the harsh realities Jesus faced as He embraced the cross—something that didn’t lead Him to think of Himself. “He did something else entirely,” Adrian said. “Sheridan, have you ever noticed how many people Jesus ministered to as He hung on the cross?”
Adrian ran down the list. On the cross Jesus ministered to His mother by putting her into John’s care (John 19:26-27), to a thief hanging next to Him (Luke 23:39-43), to the people who crucified Him (Luke 23:33-34), to a Roman centurion (Luke 23:47; Matthew 27:54), and to all of us by forgiving our sins through His sacrifice.
“All of this was done in the middle of His suffering,” Adrian added, “before things got better at His resurrection.” I had never seen it like that before.
“There may be some benefits in your being childless,” Adrian said, “but at times you’ll find it lonely and difficult. Yet out of your suffering will come opportunities to serve people in ways you otherwise never could.”
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: John 11:1-36
More:
Read Hebrews 4:15-16 and consider how Jesus understands our suffering and what He tells us to do when we’re in the midst of it.
Next:
What comfort has God given you in the past that you can share with others? How might God use your pain so that you can serve people better today?
Tim Gustafson on August 18, 2015 at 7:59 am
Thanks for your personal, painful, hope-filled perspective. I can’t imagine the journey it has taken you to write about this. Simply beautiful.
Sheridan Voysey on August 27, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Thanks so much, Tim.
Tom Felten on August 18, 2015 at 8:46 am
Out of suffering came life, out of pain came restoration. What an amazing who can take our deepest hurts and use them to open the eyes and hearts of others! May God continue to bless you and Merry, Sheridan, as you touch others with a beauty that can only come forth from the ashes of struggle.
Winn Collier on August 21, 2015 at 4:33 pm
Yes, thank you, Sheridan. Tom, I think you do this as well. I’ve seen it.
Sheridan Voysey on August 27, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Agreed. Thanks to you both.
Roxanne Robbins on August 18, 2015 at 9:54 pm
Prior to reading this, had already been thinking much about suffering today, and what it means to trust Jesus and believe in His love in the midst of it. What a timely post, pointing out how Christ ministered to others as He hung dying on the Cross for sins he did not commit. Thank you, Sheridan!
Winn Collier on August 21, 2015 at 4:34 pm
I read these lines yesterday. Your words return me to it: “For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”
Sheridan Voysey on August 27, 2015 at 1:03 pm
Oh that’s so good. And so true.