Perseverance sounds admirable—when looking back. But in the middle of suffering, it feels unbearable. If I’m honest, I don’t want to be resilient; I want life to be easy. I want relief, not another lesson in endurance.
I used to believe resilience was something people either had or didn’t—an innate trait that separated the strong from the weak. But suffering has a way of exposing what we think we know. If trials were meant to build resilience, why did I often feel weaker, not stronger?
The Weight of Suffering
Pain has a way of making us question everything. We search for meaning, asking why we feel this way and how to make it stop. A good counselor can help us navigate these questions, but we must be careful not to let our suffering define us. Naming our struggles can bring clarity, but labels can also become a ceiling instead of a stepping stone.
Paul reminds us in Romans 5:3-4:
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
Rejoice in suffering? That feels impossible. How could anything good come from something so painful?
In his new book, The Deepest Place, Dr. Curt Thompson helps us consider this,
“Paul is not suggesting that all suffering produces perseverance as a matter of course. For many, suffering is the end of the road, not the path to hope. But it is absolutely the case that hope, in the most imperishable form, is necessarily born out of suffering, even of the faintest kind. No growth happens without pain, and growth into character and hope is no different."
Perseverance provides the bridge between suffering and hope.
This means suffering doesn’t automatically produce perseverance. Left unprocessed, pain can leave us stuck. But when suffering is met with perseverance, hope begins to take root.
Growth Through Trials, Not In Spite of Them
Science confirms what Scripture has said all along: resilience isn’t something we’re born with—it’s something we build. Our brains adapt and rewire through hardship, a process called neuroplasticity. Each time we push through trials, our minds become stronger and more capable.
We are not stuck.
Suffering isn’t just something to endure—it’s something that, when engaged with, leads to growth. The hardship you face is changing you, shaping you, strengthening you in ways you may not yet see.
Faith and Science Agree
Just as the brain builds resilience through struggle, faith is forged in difficulty. A faith untested is a faith unproven. It is in the pressing, the struggle, and the perseverance that both our minds and our spirits grow stronger.
This is why Paul could say “we rejoice in our sufferings”—not because suffering is easy, but because it is not wasted. Your trials are not meaningless. They are shaping you into who you were meant to be.
Moving Forward: Cultivating Resilience
Instead of seeing trials as something to escape, we can begin to reframe them as the very thing making us stronger. Here’s how:
1️⃣ Be Careful With Labels – Naming your struggles can bring clarity, but don’t let them define you. You are capable of change.
2️⃣ Engage With the Struggle – Instead of fearing hardship, ask: What might this be teaching me? Growth begins when we stop running from our pain and start learning from it.
3️⃣ Find Strength in Others – Healing happens in relationships. Surround yourself with people who encourage, challenge, and walk with you through the fire.
4️⃣ Anchor Yourself in Truth – The world may call you broken, anxious, or weak. But God calls you an overcomer (John 16:33). His promises do not fail.
You were never meant to stay stuck in suffering. Whether through faith or neuroscience, one truth remains: it is through trials that we grow.
0 Comments