Knowing It Is Coming

This morning I heard a wise man say something profound…

Sometimes what hurts the most about suffering is knowing that it is coming.

Knowing that suffering is coming is an agonizing ordeal.

Wow. Think about that for a second. It can be true, right? When thinking of a lighter example to share, I kept going back to an uncomfortable rite of passage that many of us face in our late teens…wisdom teeth extraction. I shudder just thinking about it. Showing up at the oral surgeon’s office, going under for the operation, waking up with a bloody mouth, and then the 1-2 week rehabilitation process of soreness and soft foods. Man, it really sucks.

But the lead up to the extraction day isn’t a picnic either. At least from my personal experience, the couple weeks prior to my procedure became defined by nervousness, angst, and dread. The combination of generally knowing the discomfort that awaited but not knowing its full extent messed with me immensely.

Of course, in life, pre-suffering can be much more intense and scary than just getting your teeth pulled. A cancer diagnosis, incarceration sentence, or upcoming deployment can drown even the strongest person in anxiety and fear. Awaiting the initial round of chemo or the first day in prison can be terrifying, lonely, and depressing. It can be a very dark road.

Let’s take time to pray for those people who we know are in a pre-suffering stage right now. May they look to Jesus Christ who knew the unfathomable suffering he would eventually endure. Don’t Blink.

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