I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times . . . the joyful anticipation deepens. The Message

Is it true that we can lift up our broken things to God, as a child offers a broken toy to a parent? Is it true that God will mend what is broken? Can we lift our suffering to Him?

Three gifts God offers to exchange for our suffering are (1) thankfulness, (2) empathy, and (3) hope.

The bad news, at least for me, is that God wants us to have continually thankful hearts. I have tried to grow in thankfulness, like putting a slip of paper in my pocket time and again to remember to keep it near. But no matter my efforts, the paper keeps falling out of my pocket. I can’t seem to maintain a thankful heart.

The good news is that thankfulness ironically gets a lot easier in suffering.

Suffering strips away what we take for granted.

I made supper for my family after two days of lying on the floor with a herniated disk in my back. In my health, my attitude was too often grumpy while I made supper for my family. It was another to-do item at the end of a long day, when I was already tired.

But this time, with a little suffering added to my day, thankfulness burst from my heart against my will. “I can serve my family! What a delight!”

And who is this person? I wondered, looking at myself in awe. A seed of thankfulness was planted in my heart, sprouted, and grew roots in a few short days of suffering. What else did I take for granted that I needed to be thankful for instead?

A few days later, I actually found myself thinking, “I can’t believe I was able to clean the bathroom!” Need I say more?

And joy continued to blossom in my garden.

The second way I looked at myself, wondering “Who in the world are you?”, during this short time of mild suffering, was noticing a growth in empathy.

You wouldn’t have done that before, God seemed to say, encouraging me to notice how I had grown in empathy. I waited for the elderly couple and offered to move my car so they could park closer to the event. I could empathize with their difficulty walking. My heart grew two sizes that day.

And so there is a little more love in the world because I have suffered.

There is a third gift God offers in exchange for our suffering.

Jesus said that even as he suffered, we also will suffer.

Jesus said, “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” The Message

He offers us the transformation of our suffering, if we choose this, even as his suffering was transformed to give us a ticket from death to life.

We follow in the footsteps of our suffering Saviour, and so our physical ailments prepare us for the glory that is to come as we plead with God to use our suffering for His good.

And so the third gift that God offers in exchange for our suffering is hope.

When we turn aside and leave the group because we won’t join in the gossip, we suffer rejection, but even an action this small has the power to transform culture. When another martyr loses their life, this suffering also has the power to transform culture. And so every suffering, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, whether large or small, contains within it the gift of hope.

Will you allow God to exchange His good gifts for your suffering?

He is holding out the gifts of thankfulness, empathy, hope, and many others. Will you put these gifts into your heart today, and give Him your suffering? Ask Him how. Share your hurt and heartache with Him. He longs to wrap His arms around you and show you His path forward from here. Will you take His hand?

Will you listen to His comfort? Draw nearer, He is saying to you.

Will you come?