The recent howling winds are reminiscent of looming papers, presentations and final exams. Around this time anguish takes on a more visible form, as students become walking zombies. Every student is experiencing some form of suffering whether it is physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. In the face of suffering, we must persevere as nature perseveres.

Trees endure harsh conditions but continue to stand strong. Trees require both sunlight and precipitation to grow. Man, too, fully develops his relationship with God through the experience of pain and pleasure. In fact, controlled burning of trees helps to control the spread of tree disease. Even the most devastating events in the interim can be life sustaining in the long term. The Christian God is an omniscient, omnipotent and wholly good being. Therefore, God is aware of the fires that rage in your life and yet allows them.

Earth is described as the temporal kingdom. Hence anything experienced on earth is but a spot on the eternal spectrum of existence. Reactions to those spots are critical in reflections on suffering.

During times of weathering, we have three choices: succumb to the outside world like leaves turning colours and falling; stand alone, vulnerable; or actively seek to deepen our roots. Shallow roots make trees more susceptible to the weather. Not only will strengthened roots aid our endurance against the blustery winds of the surface realm of existence, but they will also increase our capacity to support others facing similar conditions.

Some may wonder why we face turmoil at all. Why did God create a world where evil exists? One of the most common reasons given is the existence of free will. Adam and Eve chose to sever their relationship with the temperate paradise, and relocate into the tempest; God has respected that choice.

It is clear humanity is rather pathetic at predicting the weather. We can analyze the clouds and gauge the air pressure, but we will still be caught off guard every now and then. Similarly, there is suffering that we are aware of that, unlike the trees, we may be the cause of – like all-nighters. However, stormy weather flows in and can shatter our world. We have no explanation and are left wondering why. While we may be unable to connect these events to our actions, we are still offered a choice: pull away or burrow into the love of God.

Romans 5:3 states, “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
I personally have struggled with migraines for over six years. Recently they have played an extremely prominent and unsolicited role in my life. I have always persevered in the common use of the term; to the best of my abilities, I remain determined to complete a task. Where is God in that? The fact that one develops the ability to power through an undertaking hardly seems worth the pain. Instead, perseverance is the diligent search and reliance on God is faith.

Of course it would be wonderful if we could magically blow every cloud out of sight and remove or resolve all of our pain. However, the ensuing sunlight will last only temporarily until the haze inevitably will blacken the sky once again. For now we can place our faith in God and seek to strengthen roots that extend into His everlasting grounds of love. In this way, we can better weather the impending storms.