October 21, 2026
Few things are more difficult for a pastor than watching people hurt. The number of times I have stood by when a loved one takes his last breath is too numerous to count. Bad diagnoses, broken marriages, rebellious children, abusive relationships, and significant losses are but a small sampling of the heartaches that seem increasingly common in our broken world. Hardships like these can leave us reeling.
Providence is a word describing God’s interaction with and supervision over the events of the world generally and people specifically. Simply put, God guides and directs every step we take according to His purposes and design. Understanding this reality raises questions about suffering, but it also provides great comfort when we discover the eternal benefits of our hardships.
Admittedly, none can understand the mind of God (Rom 11:33-36), and most of us have some level of frustration with the Lord when life begins to unravel. Often, our questions remain unanswered, and personal despondency looms on the horizon as a weapon against our faith in God. Like a plague of unwanted confusion, the question “why?” haunts us.
Why did my spouse die? Why did I lose my job? Why is my family in disarray? Why is my health declining? Why? Why? Why? Trusting God’s providence, however, can liberate us from the burdens of doubt and anxiety over what we do not understand. Realizing that God is working, even when we cannot fully comprehend how, enables us to face trials with the certainty of winning regardless of the outcome.
Doing so requires confidence that God is trustworthy to give us what we need even when what we want may be different. You can live knowing that, though God’s providence is sometimes hard, it is always good.
Consider the strange encouragement of Philippians 1:29: “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake . . .” Really? God “grants” us the opportunity to suffer for His sake? The idea is that sometimes we suffer not because we deserve it (though sometimes we do) but because God graces us with the privilege. How can this be?
Perhaps we could live with the fact that God requires, plans, or even forces difficulties upon us. But who celebrates the notion that God grants us the improbable blessing of suffering? Why should we receive this as a gracious invitation? After observing the burdens that so many people carry, it seems insensitive and crude to hint that trials of any kind could be an honorable, even blessed reality.
Contextually, these words remind us that God allows Christians to represent Him to others through the witness that adversity provides (See Phil. 1:12-14). Even greater, however, is the indication that earthly burdens are a unique means to know God better than we could otherwise. The Apostle Paul spoke of his difficulties as a unique invitation to a deeper relationship with the Lord in Philippians 3:10: “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
While the power of Christ’s resurrection is something all people desire in their lives, few are eager to embrace the fellowship of His sufferings to know Him better. Yet, unleashing the power of Jesus’ resurrection begins on the road of heartache. Don’t forget that our Savior had to experience the agony of Golgotha before He reveled in the glory of an empty tomb. Likewise, the prerequisite to walking in the power of His resurrection is the willingness to fellowship with Christ through our greatest trials.
Thus, when hardship comes . . . Everything gained should be counted as loss for Christ (Phil 3:7). Likewise, everything should be considered loss compared to knowing Jesus personally (Phil 3:8). The ultimate goal is “that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:11). Far from casting doubt on our confidence for future resurrection, these words highlight the resurrected reality that those who suffer for Christ can enjoy right now.
When we die to sin, selfishness, pettiness, dreams, aspirations, and goals, then we are free to know Christ and live the resurrected life with Him today. Paul’s progression teaches us that all of life’s difficulties are: for the sake of Christ . . . (Phil 3:7); that I may gain Christ . . . (Phil 3:8); that I may be found in Him . . . (Phil 3:9); that I may know Him . . . (Phil 3:10).
Furthermore, the old apostle offers numerous concessions. 1) He hasn’t already obtained this level of fellowship with Christ (Phil 3:12). 2) He willingly forgets anything in the past that would hinder him (Phil 3:13). 3) He reaches forward to what lies ahead in order to know Christ better (Phil 3:13-14).
The implications here are profound. God providentially allows hardships in our lives that are the opposite of what we desire because He knows they will meet our greatest need of knowing Him more intimately. Ironically, when God seems most distant due to what we face, He is often most active in our lives. When we least understand what God is doing, we are better positioned to know Him at a more personal level because of the faith it requires. God’s goal is not our comprehending Him more completely, but our trusting Him more deeply.
So, the next time the wound is deep, try to lean in. When you want to run from God, run to Him instead. And if nothing seems to make sense and your heart is full of doubt, be open to experiencing God like you never have before. His hard providence is working for your good, and His dark grace will soon yield to the light of eternity.
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Dr. Adam B. Dooley is pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, TN, and author of Hope When Life Unravels. Contact him at adamdooley.org. Follow him on Instagram @DrAdamDooley. This column first appeared in Kentucky Today.
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