Rejoicing in Suffering

Editor’s note: This week’s A word from… post is from AJ Fogg, FRCS senior and SLC member.

Six weeks ago I broke my finger playing powderpuff football during spirit week. This was the third year in a row I had done this, the fourth finger I had broken, and the second time I needed surgery to put correctional pins in my ring finger. This time was especially heartbreaking as it ended my senior season of softball about halfway through. For a little context, I have played softball for 10 years and have loved every minute of it. I was not ready for it to be over, especially so unexpectedly.

The day after I broke my finger, I was listening to some music and I heard the song “Ways Of God” by Abbie Gamboa for the first time. The chorus says: “The ways of God are wild / The ways of God are not like mine / And I love it that way / I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be okay”. I liked the song at first, but I felt myself begin to grow angry as the chorus went on. Immediately after I broke my finger, people began to tell me it was okay because God’s plan was greater; He was going to use this. To be completely honest, I knew they were right, and that’s what made me mad. I did not want God to use this. Everyone told me God would open a better door but I was confident in which one I wanted to enter: I wanted to play softball. But as time went on, my eyes were opened to the blessings surrounding me now. I was able to spend much more time with my parents on days recovering from surgery, I could be present with all three of my sisters, and I could go watch my friends play the sports they loved. There were so many good things about this season of life that were different from how I thought they would be. But I still missed softball so much. I knew it was okay to miss softball and feel down, but I also knew that there was something I was missing. Colossians 3:17 says “and whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” But how was I supposed to dedicate this season to God? With all of these mixed emotions, a question arose: how do I glorify God in grieving and how do I love Him in loss?

All my life, I had heard Christians talk about rejoicing in times of suffering but I didn’t truly understand what that meant or how to do it. So, I looked for Scripture-based answers. I soon found Colossians 1:24-25. Paul wrote this letter to a church in Colossae while he was sitting in prison; he told them “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known”. Jesus has ascended but His church continues to face the hostility of a broken world without Him. Paul views his own physical hardships and even his own imprisonment as the natural cost of carrying the Gospel to the Gentiles. He rejoices amidst his own trials because he feels as though it’s serving the church. Even though I’m sure his circumstances were difficult, Paul’s joy is so rooted in Christ that he is fulfilled by how his suffering can enable the Gospel to spread. I think that’s what it means to have your eyes and heart set on Christ, even in the worst of scenarios.

I knew it was okay to miss softball; it was okay to be upset that I couldn’t play anymore. But I had a choice to make: will I continue to be angry at God, or will I choose gratitude and joy and reflect Him even in my struggles? I hoped to intentionally take this time to be thankful for the blessings surrounding me and seek Him more. I’m still working on this, and in no way have I found all of the answers, but I think it’s a good start. My prayer for our community is that we would fall so in love with Jesus, and feel so motivated to sacrifice everything for Him, that our hard times would point us back to Him. I pray that we can be a school that encourages and carries one another’s burdens. May the joy of the Lord spur us on to consistently choose gratitude and love for one another. May we serve Him well.