Quotes of the Day for January 16, 2026 – Thoughts on suffering and Christ with us
- Michael Haldas
- 19 hours ago
- 3 min read
“I am so cautious when it comes to a certain strain of Christian thought that glorifies suffering as a good in itself. Too often, I have heard people say to other grieved people that God is ‘using’ their suffering to accomplish some end, as if it were a hammer with which he intended to nail them into godly place. This is the instrumentalist view of suffering: that it’s somehow a pragmatic necessity in God’s plan, something he intends in order to accomplish his ends. If you’ve read much of my other work, you know I don’t find this to be a helpful understanding. In fact, I think it obscures the goodness of a God who cannot be tempted by evil, betrays the radiant beauty of his love for his broken people.” (Sarah Clarkson)
“ In this Gospel lesson [Luke 13:10-17] Christ rejects the idea that suffering is good for us, but rather clearly attributes this woman’s suffering to Satan – He releases her from that suffering…Christ clearly blames Satan for inflicting this poor woman for 18 years. Christ teaches that suffering belongs to the fallen world, it is not part of the Kingdom of God – which is why Christ heals the sick and gives power to His disciples to do the same (for examples, see Matthew 4:24; Luke 4:40 and 9:1). Christ’s healing ministry fulfills the promises and prophecies of God, such as what Isaiah said: “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). And David’s words: “who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3). As God’s kingdom breaks into this world, suffering is exposed for what it is – Satan’s action against humanity. It is Satan who wants humans to suffer. Christ is going to use such suffering to destroy death, sin and suffering.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“When Jesus saw Mary and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. The Greek word for troubled is the same word used by the Gospels to describe Christ’s inner state on the occasions of healing lepers (Mark 1) and the blind (Matt. 9:30), which gives us an idea of the physical and spiritual strain put on Christ in performing these miracles. The deep psychological turmoil experienced by Jesus in such instances was considered by Him part and parcel of the salvation of man. He bore not only our sins, but also our troubles, our pains, and our groanings, all so eloquently expressed by the prophet Isaiah: ‘Surely He has borne our griefs / And carried our sorrows; / Yet we esteemed Him stricken, / Smitten by God, and afflicted (Is. 53:4).” (Matthew the Poor)
“How can we explain the suffering of the world? How can we understand why a good and Almighty God permit evil to run rampant on the earth? In today’s reading of Romans 11:25-36, Paul asserts that God’s reasons are far above human comprehension. He writes, “How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (vs. 33). Today we reflect on what we do not know nor understand about God’s purposes. We will find that instead of reasons for our trials, the God of love gives us consolation and strength to endure.” (Fr. Basil)
“When a person is with God, everything will be well for him. Wherever he may be, whatever he may be doing, he will succeed, because God Himself will be helping him. Whatever challenges life sets before him, with God he will be able to overcome any difficulty. Amid the storms and trials of everyday life, he will always find the right path, because God’s love will light his way. The warmth of this love will warm everyone who is near him. For the greatest secret of God’s love is this: The more a person does for others, the more joy and happiness there will be in his own life.” (Fr. Artemy)