At one point or another, all of us will go through a time of suffering. It is part of the human condition and to be honest, it seems to be one of the ways that we grow as people of faith. Whether our suffering is physical, mental emotional or spiritual God has a way to get us through it and not just through it but to overcome.
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." James 5:13
Have you ever noticed that the tone of James letter is different than the other letters? The reason being James was a Pastor the other letters were written by Apostles. As a Pastor, he dealt with people's day to day problems and helped them focus to get through them.
The word James uses for suffering here means something that is so evil it produces a devasting result in the person's life it may have to do with sickness or disease, or it may be much more than that. It is the idea of a day in and day out being harassed by a problem that is wearing you out and down.
The challenge James saw in his church was people floating from person to person telling their problems. They were getting some kind of dysfunctional need met but weighing others down with their problems rather than seeking for real answers. We all need to have people in our lives that we trust with whom we can share our struggles and know that they will take them to the Lord for us. James is saying while that is nice and appropriate to have spiritual mentors in your life that will do that, we must take responsibility for ourselves.
James challenges us in our suffering to "pray!" The word used for prayer here is an intimate word. It is not a request but a command. The word means to draw close and intimate to God and to do so by bringing an offering. The culture of the day understood how when they were coming to a "god" they make any and all sacrifices to create an altar so a gift might be given that would be pleasing to their god. James chose this word specifically, but his implication is slightly different. It is the idea of breaking your intense suffering by honestly surrendering yourself and all that you are going through to God.
Suffering in the life of a Christian is always used to draw us closer to Him. He does not cause the suffering, but the idea James is conveying is when we are in the suffering, and we draw intimately close to God we allow Him to change us. We offer ourselves to Him, and He takes and changes us more into His image, showing us how to overcome by becoming more like Him. He causes growth and maturity, molding us, so we become a greater reflection of Him. In turn, we grow in grace, strength, power, and authority as we overcome one more obstacle the world, the flesh, or the devil have thrown our way. Our suffering ends, and victory is ours as we see our suffering in light of Him and draw close to Him giving ourselves even more to Him and His plan for our lives.
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