CASTIMONIA

Sexual Purity Support & Recovery Group

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Courage to Suffer – The Path to Meaning

https://applyingmybeliefs.wordpress.com/2015/05/02/courage-to-suffer-the-path-to-meaning/
by applyingmybeliefs

In his insightful book “Man’s Search for Meaning” concentration camp survivor Victor Frankl said this:

  • But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.

Recovery veterans will probably understand and recognize that suffering and courage are bedfellows in effective recovery programs.  Without the courage to enter into new emotional pain and the suffering that comes from that, progress in dealing with compulsions and addictions does not happen.

12-Steppers will know this, in many of the Steps a person has to do something only they can do; step out in courage and suffer as they confess, ask for help, develop their inventory and make amends.  This is why the encouragement, the putting of courage into others, of the group and the sponsor are so vital.  Without the courage to go forward into new pain and suffering the individual will remain in their struggle and not see healing. Scripture says this:

1 Thess 5:11(a) – Encourage one another and build one another up.

One aspect of courageous suffering that rarely gets spoken about is the spiritual aspect, and yet it may be the most important factor in understanding the need for suffering.  This is what God says:

Rom 5:3-5 – Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Suffering produces endurance, which then produces character, which then produces hope and in this changing of our inner person shame is removed from us through the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is one way of defining healing; the removal of shame.  And the removal of shame is meaningful because it changes us.  We are changed from people who believe we are unworthy to people who believe God loves us, that we are valuable to Him.

So then do you believe Frankl was right?  Is there no greater courage than the courage to suffer willingly?

Talk about your choice or choices to suffer, to endure new pain.  Was it worth it?  Did your journey give you a sense of meaning in your life that was missing before?  Are you able to experientially encourage others to choose the path of suffering in order to gain meaning from their troubles and receive some measure of healing?

 

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Castimonia Saturday Morning Meeting Topic – May 12, 2012

Jesus Calling – May 10th

Do not resist or run from the difficulties in your life.  These problems are not random mistakes; they are hand-tailored blessings designed for your benefit and growth.  Embrace all the circumstances that I allow in your life, trusting Me to bring good out of them.  View problems as opportunities to rely more fully on Me.

When you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to your need for Me. Thus, your needs become doorways to deep dependence on Me and increasing intimacy between us.  Although self-sufficiency is acclaimed in the world, reliance on Me produces abundant living in My kingdom. Thank Me for the difficulties in your life, since they provide protection from the idolatry of self-reliance.

John 15:5; 2 Corinthians 1:8-9; Ephesians 5:20

This was the devotional read by one of my accountability partners during our most recent accountability meeting.  WOW!  How amazing is our God, who works all things for our good.  This also reminds me of how we define “Joy” at my church.  Joy is the steadfast assurance that God is in control.

Sometimes (or a lot of times) in my life, difficulties occur.  Prior to entering recovery, I relied only on myself, not on my God!  This is the way I grew up, relying only on me, because nobody else was going to watch after me, so I had to do it for myself.  Now, as a broken individual working towards wholeness, I must fully rely on God.  One of the many blessings from my recovery program is the thought that every single day, I need to be willing to turn my life and will over to the care of God.  It doesn’t always happen, from time to time I try to take my will back.  However, I acknowledge that I am willing on a daily basis, and my recovery is based on progress, not perfection.

The biggest blessing was when I hit rock bottom.  I was desperate, I wanted to run away, I wanted to go home, I wanted to live, I wanted to die.  Actually, I was in such turmoil that I didn’t know what I wanted, but God knew what I needed.  Again, He used my problems and mistakes to my benefit and growth.  I have seen time and time again how when I trust God to the fullest, he pulls me through every single difficulty I have faced and will face.  My sponsor always tells me, “it’s going to be OK, and if it’s not, then God is not finished.”  Keep in mind that “OK” to God, is not always the same “OK” it is for me.  I might not like what God’s version of “OK” is, but I need to keep in mind that it is in my best interest and maintain that “Joy” in my heart.  If it took me hitting rock bottom and going through that pain and suffering to bring me closer to God, to help me trust Him, to bring about an intimate connection that I didn’t have before, then it was all worth it and I would do it again.

Take what you like and leave the rest.

References:

John 15:5 – “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 – 8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.

Ephesians 5:20 – And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.