Living in Faith
The Tallest Order
Stephen Lau
The Tallest Order
Stephen Lau
Faith To Overcome
Sorrow and Suffering
by
Stephen Lau
Sorrow and Suffering
by
Stephen Lau
Sorrow and suffering are painful emotions of life. They are as inevitable as death. Life is a cycle of suffering and redemption. It is only through sorrow and suffering that comes the redemption or the enlightenment from emotional pain.
According to Zen (not a religion, but an ancient Chinese philosophy), life abounds in sorrow and suffering, and one is expected to embrace both the good as well as the bad experiences. Human misery is a result of the futile attempt to choose only the good without accepting the bad; according to Zen, such choosing is a sickness of the mind.
This same philosophy of the reality of human sorrow and suffering is reflected in Christian faith. According to the Bible, Jesus personified human sorrow and suffering.
| ˇ | "He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." (Isaiah 53:3) |
| ˇ | Jesus experienced intense suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion. "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38), such that He sweated drops of blood. |
Jesus showed us that without the sorrow and suffering there would be no resurrection and no human redemption. Likewise, emotions are gifts from God, and it is through experiencing the full range of painful emotions engendered by sorrow and suffering that we become healed and re-connected to God and others.
According to Paul, good can come from sorrow and suffering: "The pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways . . . . . For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation . . . . . But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death." (2 Corinthians 7:8-11)
But sorrow and suffering must go through three stages before there is any healing or redemption from emotional pain:
According to Paul, good can come from sorrow and suffering: "The pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways . . . . . For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation . . . . . But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death." (2 Corinthians 7:8-11)
But sorrow and suffering must go through three stages before there is any healing or redemption from emotional pain:
| ˇ | The stage of numbness: The sorrow and suffering may be so sudden or profound, such as bereavement or tragedy, that one becomes numbed with shock or disbelief. |
| ˇ | The stage of real pain: After the initial numbness, reality begins to sink in, followed by real emotional pain. In this critical stage, there is a human tendency to deny or avoid the sorrow and suffering, as demonstrated by Jesus' own pleading: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me." (Matthew 26:39) |
| ˇ | The stage of recovery: Healing or redemption from painful emotions takes place only when one lets sorrow and suffering run their natural courses until one is able to not only experience the associated emotions and feelings but also express and share them with others to complement the healing process. Here, connections with God and with others hold the key to recovery from emotional pain. |
In the initial stage, many individuals can cope with the emotional pain. For example, immediately after the loss of a loved one, an individual may become so busy with taking care of the funeral and other things that there is hardly any time for grief. However, after a while, feelings of anger, guilt, remorse, or shame begin to emerge.
At this critical point, living in faith is essential. If an individual refuses to feel these painful emotions, they are not buried for good, and they are still there. To revert to the initial stage of numbness, that individual may choose distractions, such as overwork, sex, alcohol, or drugs. Thus, a vicious cycle of numbness and emotional pain will continue, because the three stages of sorrow and suffering have never been fully completed.
It is important, therefore, that as a Christian or a believer of faith in God, you have to die to self - that is, you have to give up your comfort zone, and experience the realm of emotional pain, just as Jesus did: "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)
Jesus wanted us to follow His example. That is the tallest order: it requires living in faith.
We will all experience loss, hurt, and rejection in our lives at some time or other - it is a reality we must all face, and living in faith is the only way to confront this reality. Remember, instant peace only leads to recurrent emotional pain because there is no real healing from painful emotions without the faith to die to self to fully embrace sorrow and suffering as Jesus did.
At this critical point, living in faith is essential. If an individual refuses to feel these painful emotions, they are not buried for good, and they are still there. To revert to the initial stage of numbness, that individual may choose distractions, such as overwork, sex, alcohol, or drugs. Thus, a vicious cycle of numbness and emotional pain will continue, because the three stages of sorrow and suffering have never been fully completed.
It is important, therefore, that as a Christian or a believer of faith in God, you have to die to self - that is, you have to give up your comfort zone, and experience the realm of emotional pain, just as Jesus did: "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)
Jesus wanted us to follow His example. That is the tallest order: it requires living in faith.
We will all experience loss, hurt, and rejection in our lives at some time or other - it is a reality we must all face, and living in faith is the only way to confront this reality. Remember, instant peace only leads to recurrent emotional pain because there is no real healing from painful emotions without the faith to die to self to fully embrace sorrow and suffering as Jesus did.
CopyrightŠ by Stephen Lau
The content of this site cannot be copied or reproduced in any form without the author's permission.
The content of this site cannot be copied or reproduced in any form without the author's permission.
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