The Christian faith has a hero complex.
Sometimes we can slip into believing that ‘suffering for God’ is all about proving how strong we are, how mature we are, or how unshakable our faith is in life’s storms.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds exhausting.
There are certain “Christain-ese” phrases that have circulated ideas like this and I want to untangle ourselves from one of them today. Though I believe the majority of these pithy phrases were penned in good faith without malicious intent, they still miss the mark and wound where they should heal.
Growing up I often heard different variances of the phrase, “God gives his hardest battles to his strongest warriors”. Anyone else? It was tossed out as a form of comfort when a member of the body of Christ was suffering. A death. A diagnosis. A dire situation.
This phrase somehow became a makeshift way to gauge how strong of a Christian you were; likening suffering to weights on exercise equipment at the gym—the more you can lift, the more you show off the strength you possess. Which translated to: the more suffering you endured, the closer you were to God.
There are many theological problems with this line of thinking, but the one that stands out the most to me today is arrogance.
We don’t boast in our suffering, we boast in the One who walks with us through it. We don’t pride ourselves on how much God can trust us with, we hide ourselves in His grace until the storm passes. We don’t show off our spiritual “muscles”, we abide in Jesus Christ because, without Him, we can do nothing.
It was never about God giving us suffering to make us stronger. It was always about Him giving us Himself.
God has given you Himself. The all knowing, all powerful, holy Creator looked on humanity in it’s wretched, death-destined state and said, “I will make a way to be with you.” And through Jesus He did.
“But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:4-7
He abundantly pours out His spirit on us through Jesus. Not because we’ve earned our proximity to Him through suffering. Not because we’re ‘strong’ and thus more worthy of intimacy with Him. Not because He has ordained through suffering can you gain “real” access to His heart.
It’s only through Jesus. Full stop.
Does this mean suffering is an indication of the opposite—that experiencing hardship means we’re living in unrepentant sin and feeling the brunt of God’s wrath? Not necessarily.
Sometimes our suffering does come from the consequences of choosing to live outside the will of God, yes. And sometimes our suffering comes from the reality of living in a broken world. But the amount of suffering in your life is never a metric to gauge how strong you are in God.
The idea that God reserves the most devastating losses or arduous seasons for those closest to Him is a lie we can let go of. Instead of perpetuating the idea that God is pleased to make us suffer, we can promote the truth that He stands ready to redeem any hardship we endure—and furthermore, promises to walk with us through it.
Instead, let’s boast in Christ. Let’s give Him the glory in trials and tranquility knowing that through both He desires to anchor us deeper into His heart.
We, of all people, have reason to rejoice. Through Jesus we’re accepted as co-heirs into the grace of God; a grace we cannot earn or gain access to no matter how strong we are while enduring bad things. To believe anything less is to offend the work Jesus did on the cross.
It was never about you having to play the hero because He’s giving you His “hardest battles”.
It was always about Him giving you Himself so you’ll never have to face them alone.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” -John 15: 9-11
I loved every word, Breanne. The “warrior”
Complex in Christian faith is one I often feel uncomfortable with. Sure, I want to be seen that way- strong confident and powerful… but the older I get the more I realize those labels can promote detachment from our need for a Savior. You’ve shined light on this beautifully today. I’m so encouraged and the verse from John with the last few lines weaving glorious truth about God’s joy are a breath of deeply fresh air.