As a pastor or ministry leader, you surely have experienced times where the constant demands and difficult decisions begin to weigh you down. Or when you have the God-filled opportunity to walk alongside suffering people, yet begin to feel crushed by the pain being carried by so many. In our calls, there are certainly times when hope feels distant. Those times when every challenge seems to pile up, threatening to crush our spirit. It’s easy in those moments to wonder, “Where is God in all this? Where does hope come from when everything feels dark?”
It’s in these times – especially these times – where we need to lean on our trust in God and the hope we receive as a child of God – a hope that Paul writes about in Romans 5. Paul reminds us that suffering can be a sacred space where hope is born and God’s presence is made real. Paul’s reminder can help fuel how we lead, care, and renew ourselves in God’s grace. So let’s dive in.
Where do we find hope? Many expect hope to come from joyful moments, success, or positive experiences. But Paul offers a different perspective: hope is born out of suffering.
“We boast in our sufferings,” Paul writes, “because suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
Suffering is not the absence of God but often the very place where God’s presence can become most real. As pastors and leaders, we encounter this truth daily, whether it be in hospital rooms, in grief, or in ministry crises, and these often challenge how we teach, care, and lead.
The gift of suffering is the strength it can give us – in our relationships and our leadership. I once had a couple tell me, “When our daughter was born and she was in the NICU for three weeks, me and my husband were never closer than those three weeks.” When we recognize God’s presence in those hard moments, our relationships deepen, our priorities become more clear, and we discover what truly matters.
Suffering can strip away the distractions – those emotions that lead us into thinking the worst of the situation – and point us toward God’s enduring presence. It invites us into experiencing the Divine glory(kavod) – the nearness – of God that surrounds and sustains us.
When we recognize God’s presence in those hard moments, our relationships deepen, our priorities become more clear, and we discover what truly matters.
There’s a reason why we have a cross in our sanctuaries. It’s a sign of capital punishment and suffering – one that reminds us that the resurrection means nothing if there wasn’t suffering and pain. It’s a reminder that the story of God is not one where everything is sunshine and roses, but rather, one that, no matter where we go, God is with us – especially in our suffering, especially when we are struggling. That is where God can become most present for us, and that it is through the cross that we have a resurrection.
Whether you are experiencing some hopeless moments, or you are ministering to a community needing a message of hope, here is what I have to say. Endure, persevere, hang on, and look to see the people and the ways in which God will show up for you in this – the helpers, healers, and community. Through this time, you can actually begin to develop compassion and joy. You can learn new things about you.
Hope is not naive optimism. It is the deep, sustaining assurance that God works through suffering to bring about transformation and new life.
Whether you are celebrating mountaintop moments or wrestling in the depths, remember: You are standing on holy ground. Christ meets us in suffering and promises, “I am with you.” This is where hope lives.
(This blog was curated from the episode “Where Does Hope Come From” from Pastor Jay’s podcast, The Good Courage Podcast. For more, visit this podcast episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bBiHBkS7SSL5cP8GTQtQE?si=d9aec425f14e4dba)
