God Is Bigger Than Your Suffering?
There are many unhealthy cliches about suffering in Christianity. Cliches are phrases that convey a popular thought or idea. Many of these are stereotypes that lack nuance. And suffering is full of nuance.
One of the most common cliches about suffering that I hear is...
"God is bigger than your ______." Suffering. Pain. Depression. Anxiety. etc.
Every time I hear someone say this, I immediately want to ask them what they mean by that statement. Does that mean that God's "bigness" somehow overshadows our pain? Does that mean that God's "bigness" will immediately relieve our pain? Does that mean that in light of God's "bigness" we should somehow ignore our pain and focus on Him?
To be honest, I find this saying to be entirely unhelpful to someone walking through moments of suffering of any kind. Additionally, I don't find anything in the narrative of scripture that teaches us to focus on God's nature and at the same time ignore our human experience. That is a false duality.
Here are a few reasons why this cliche is unhelpful and why it should not be perpetuated.
This saying is a form of dismissing the difficulties in suffering. We don't want people to dismiss or minimize what they are going through. Those are not spiritually, mentally or emotionally healthy ways to process pain.
God never teaches us to dismiss our pain in light of His nature. We don’t look at God and then forget our human experience. We certainly interpret our human experience through the reality of God, but God is not detached from human suffering.
God is not detached or disinterested in human pain, rather He deeply cares and draws near to people in pain. While it is true that God is all-powerful, it is equally true that He is a God of compassion and comfort. These attributes do not compete with each another, rather they compliment each another. “God’s power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
God does not exist in these human constructed dualities. He can share His nature and comfort a person in pain at the same time. He can be all-powerful and deeply compassionate at the same time. “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted.” (Psalm 34:18)
Humans should not exist in these unhelpful dualities. We can love God’s nature and be honest about our human experience at the same time.
The psalms of lament teach us that God wants followers of Jesus to be completely honest in our suffering. He does not want us to dismiss our thoughts, emotions or experiences of suffering. We should bring those to Him in an honest manner. There is something beautiful and healing about suffering honestly.
Jesus is the ultimate example of human suffering. And he always invited his Father into his painful moments. He communicated openly and honestly about what he was experiencing. In all of the narratives of Jesus suffering, He never dismissed or minimized His suffering in light of God's "bigness." In fact, on the cross, He cried out in deep pain and lament, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
As followers of Jesus, we need to think more critically about how we approach suffering. People matter. Pain matters. And we want to convey to people in pain that they have a God who is present and deeply cares about what they are walking through. He never dismisses their experience. And He would never want us to teach others to dismiss or minimize their suffering in light of God's nature. God is not "bigger" than your pain. God is present and deeply involved with you in your pain. And Jesus is our ultimate example of suffering. Jesus walked through the most intense and severe levels of human pain. He understands. And anyone who understands pain will never teach you to ignore your pain.
There Are Better Days Ahead.
Much Love + Peace,
Wesley Towne, Speaker + Founder