The Privilege of Granted Suffering
Like clay pressed into a mold, suffering in God’s hands shapes us into something purposeful and beautiful.
Devotional Credit: In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Paul’s words in Philippians 1:29-30 shift our perspective on suffering. Instead of framing it as a burdensome duty, he calls it a gift, something “granted” to us for the sake of Jesus. E. Stanley Jones reminds us that suffering for the Lord is not a mark of shame but of honor. Just as faith is granted, so also suffering is granted. Both are woven into the privilege of belonging to Him.
Jones explains that Jesus Himself was granted suffering. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah spoke with Him about His departure, His death at Jerusalem, which Luke notes He would “accomplish.” Death was not a resignation to defeat but an accomplishment, the completion of His mission. The cross, more than all His miracles and teachings, was the channel through which His broken heart healed the world.
Jones’s reading encourages us to view even the smallest pinprick or deepest stab of suffering as something entrusted to us. We are not called to waste it in self-pity or complaint, but to let it be used by God for His purposes. Like Jesus, we accomplish something eternal when we accept suffering as granted by God.
Thank you, E. Stanley Jones, for pointing us to a perspective that sees suffering not as meaningless pain but as an opportunity for glory. When handled in union with Jesus, trials become achievements, shaping us into people who reveal His life in the midst of hardship.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, do not despise the suffering that comes your way. It is not random. I have granted it to you as part of sharing in the life of My Son. Just as faith was My gift to you, so suffering is also entrusted to you, not to crush you but to accomplish something through you.
Look at Jesus. His death was not merely endured, it was accomplished. Through His suffering, life was released to the world. When you bear trials in Him, they too become an accomplishment, for I work all things together for your good and for My glory.
Every hardship is an invitation to lean into Me. Every sorrow becomes a place for My comfort to flow. Every loss becomes a channel for My life to be displayed. Do not see these things as waste, but as opportunities for eternal weight of glory being formed in you.
You are united with Jesus, and in Him, suffering is never meaningless. It is granted, and I am faithful to use it for My purposes as you abide in Me.
Scripture References: Philippians 1:29-30, Luke 9:31, Romans 8:17-18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 1 Peter 4:12-13, Colossians 1:24, John 16:33, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:4-11.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of clay pressed into a mold. The pressure is uncomfortable, but it gives shape and form that could not come otherwise. Left unpressed, the clay would remain shapeless. In the same way, suffering presses us, but in the hands of God, it shapes us into something beautiful and purposeful.
Today, when discomfort or loss weighs on me, I can quietly whisper, “Lord, I trust You to accomplish Your life through me in this moment,” and let Him use the pressure to mold me according to His design.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that suffering is not meaningless but granted with purpose. I rejoice that I share in what was entrusted to Jesus, and I trust that You use trials to accomplish eternal good. Thank You that in You, every hardship is turned into glory, every sorrow into hope, and every pressure into shaping for Your purposes.