From my friends of Finnish descent, I have learned a special word: sisu (pronounced seé-soo). While it’s been said that there is no equivalent word in the English language, sisu means something like “persistence in the face of adversity.”
I think that all of us would like to be known for having the quality of sisu as we deal with life’s difficulties. The reality, however, is that we don’t always demonstrate sisu, or even patience, in the face of hardship. The car breaks down, we are diagnosed with a serious health condition, we run short of money, there’s trouble in the family, and we wonder: Why me? What did I do to deserve this?
We may even assume that God has abandoned us. In our deepest sorrow it is not uncommon to ask, as the writer does in Psalm 13: “How long, O Lord; will you forget me forever?”
Perhaps we might respond differently if we felt that there was some purpose in our suffering?
A story is told about a man who was the lone survivor of a shipwreck. He washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He was exhausted. He cried out to God to save him. Every day he scanned the horizon, searching for help. Finally, he managed to build a rough hut and put his few belongings in that hut.
One day, coming home from hunting for food, he was stung with grief to see his little hut in flames and a cloud of smoke. The worst had happened. But early the next day, a ship drew in and rescued him.
He asked the crew, “How did you know I was here?”
They replied, “We saw your smoke signal.”
It may be that the setbacks, the frustrations, the disasters that we are facing now, will, in some way, be used by God to benefit us and others in the long run!
The story of Joseph, from the book of Genesis, offers another illustration of this possibility. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, forced to live in a foreign land, even sent to prison unjustly.
After several years, however, Joseph came into a position of leadership in Egypt and was instrumental in preventing a famine. When his brothers were forced to travel from Palestine to Egypt to obtain food, Joseph provided grain for them. Reunited with his brothers, he was able to recognize the hand of God in his life, saying: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
God can bring good out of our difficulties also. In Romans 5:1-5, the Apostle Paul talks about his relationship with God and the purpose of suffering: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
These verses give us additional insight into God’s work in our lives. Apparently God desires to use the suffering that comes our way to build qualities like perseverance, character and hope into us, as we allow God’s love to be poured into our lives.
Laura Story deals with the subject of suffering in her song entitled Blessings (you can listen to it on YouTube). She addresses God, asking a thought-provoking question: “What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?” Her lyrics contrast our limited understanding with God’s good purposes for us: Blessings We pray for blessings We pray for peace Comfort for family, protection while we sleep We pray for healing, for prosperity We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering All the while, You hear each spoken need Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things ‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?
Each week a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This week our contributor is Pastor Deborah Lunde of Zoar Lutheran Church.
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