Have you ever been hit by a season of life that knocked the wind out of you? Maybe it was an illness, a betrayal, or a time when you felt like nothing was going right. Or maybe it wasn’t even your own suffering—it was the weight of everything around you. The poverty, the injustice, the heartbreak you see every day in ministry.
As missionaries, we know tough times are part of the job, but somehow, when they show up, they still take us by surprise.
Suffering is something we all go through, but in missions, it comes with a different weight. We walk through our own hard times while also stepping into the struggles of others. It can be exhausting. Sometimes, it even messes with our faith, and makes us question things we thought we were sure about. Maybe even God himself.
So how do we hold onto faith when life doesn’t turn out how we thought it would? How do we make sense of the pain we see and experience while still believing God is good?
How do we keep suffering from making us bitter or burned out?
How We See Suffering Matters
On a recent episode of our podcast, we sat down with Scott Shaum, who has spent years wrestling with these questions. He’s been through his own deep suffering, and he’s walked alongside countless missionaries in theirs. One of the biggest things he’s learned is this: Our Western mindset about suffering can actually make it harder to endure.
In much of the West, we’re taught that suffering is a problem to be fixed.
We have medicine, technology, and resources that give us this sense that we can control our circumstances. But when things don’t get better right away—when healing doesn’t come, when the situation doesn’t change—it can shake us to our core.
But in other parts of the world, suffering isn’t seen as something to escape. It’s just life. There’s no expectation that things will always be comfortable. And while suffering is never easy, there’s something we can learn from those who know how to endure without falling apart.
When Suffering Hits Home
While working in Asia, Scott picked up a virus that wrecked his health. Chronic fatigue, neurological issues, heart problems—you name it. Doctor after doctor had no answers. He found himself crying out to God, asking, Really? I serve you, and this is what I get?
At first, silence. And that silence? That can be the hardest part. We want answers. We want resolution. But oftentimes, God doesn’t hand us a quick fix. Instead, He asks us to trust Him in the unknown. When Scott finally heard from God, it wasn’t an explanation. It was a question: Are you willing to follow me, even in this?
That’s a question we all have to answer. When suffering comes, will we resist God? Will we fight what’s happening? Or will we lean in and trust Him, even when it doesn’t make sense?
Faith vs. Surrender
One of the toughest things to figure out in suffering is the balance between faith and surrender. We believe in a God who heals, provides, and delivers. We’ve seen Him do it! But what about when He doesn’t? How do we keep trusting when the breakthrough doesn’t come?
Faith isn’t about controlling God. It’s not about praying the right prayers so He’ll do what we want.
Faith is trusting His character, even when life is hard. It’s believing He’s still good, even when everything around us says otherwise.
It’s also about embracing mystery. The same Bible that tells us to pray for healing also tells us suffering is part of the Christian life. Paul, who healed so many people, wasn’t healed when he asked God to remove his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Timothy had a chronic illness (1 Timothy 5:23). Even Jesus, the Son of God, suffered.
Jesus himself prepared us for suffering when He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Suffering is inevitable, but Jesus reminds us that we are never alone in it, and He has already won the ultimate victory.
Suffering Changes Us—If We Let It
Scott’s suffering wasn’t wasted. Through it, God reshaped his identity, deepened his faith, and taught him to rely on Him in ways he never had before.
Suffering strips away the things we think define us and shows us what really matters. It focuses us. It draws us closer to God.
And it makes us better at walking with others through their own pain.
Think about it—who do you trust more? Someone who’s had an easy life or someone who’s been through fire and still clings to Jesus? Suffering gives us a depth we can’t get any other way.
What Do We Do in the Middle of It?
When suffering hits and you feel like you’re drowning, what do you do?
- Acknowledge the pain. Don’t minimize it or try to push past it too quickly. God never asks us to pretend suffering isn’t real.
- Ask “how” instead of “why.” Instead of demanding answers, ask God, How do I walk with You in this?
- Lean into community. Don’t suffer alone. Find a mentor, a counselor, a spiritual director—someone who can help you process what’s happening.
- Hold onto God’s character. Your circumstances don’t define Him. He’s still loving, still good, even when life is painful.
We Were Made for This
As missionaries, we weren’t called to an easy life. We were called to step into hard places, to engage with suffering, and to bring the hope of Jesus into the darkness. But we aren’t meant to do it alone, and we aren’t meant to do it without hope.
So if you’re in the middle of suffering right now, take heart. You were made for this—not to suffer aimlessly but to suffer with Christ. To find Him in the pain. To become more like Him in the fire. And to come out stronger on the other side.
And if you’re not suffering right now? Look around. Who’s hurting? How can you walk with them? How can you be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone in their hardest moment?
We don’t have to be afraid of suffering. We don’t have to run from it. We can face it with faith, knowing that no matter where it came from or how it happened, whether he supernaturally heals us from it or beautifies us through it, if we let him, God will use it for our good, for His glory, and to bless those around us.
Who will you become through your season of suffering? How do you want it to shape you? What does it look like for you to walk in faith right now? What kinds of questions do you have for God? What is this revealing to you about your ability to trust Him? Pour out your heart to him today.
You can watch Scott’s episode here:
