Suffering on the Mission Field

Missions and suffering are deeply intertwined, as the call to missions often leads believers into trials that test their faith and resilience. This article explores the biblical, historical, and practical dimensions of suffering in the context of missionary work, offering encouragement and tools for perseverance.

A Missionary’s Testimony of Suffering

During my early travels with Reaching & Teaching (RTIM) as a global trainer of pastors, I met a missionary couple who had served in a remote village for 30 years. They had mastered the indigenous language and earned the respect of the local people. While visiting their home, the husband showed me the village cemetery and quietly pointed to a small grave, saying, “That’s where we buried our two-year-old.” That moment underscored the profound personal cost of their mission, illustrating how suffering and missions often go hand in hand.

Biblical Foundations of Suffering

Scripture provides a framework for understanding suffering in missions. The Apostle Paul, no stranger to hardship, writes in 2 Corinthians 1:6, “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation” (ESV). Paul’s words reveal that missionary’s suffering is not in vain; it serves as a testimony to the gospel and draws others to Christ. A missionary’s trials signal to the world to pay attention to the message they carry, echoing Christ’s own suffering for the salvation of the elect.

Key passages such as Acts 7:57-60, 2 Corinthians 1:4-6, Colossians 1:24, and Revelation 2:8-11 offer insight into the purpose and power of suffering. These texts encourage believers to view trials as opportunities to share in Christ’s sufferings and to trust in God’s redemptive plan.

Lessons from Church History

Church history is replete with examples of believers who endured great suffering. Figures like Polycarp, William Tyndale, and David Brainerd faced immense challenges yet remained steadfast in their calling. Brainerd’s life, in particular, offers a vivid portrait of missionary hardship:

Physical Suffering: Brainerd battled tuberculosis, enduring pain, hunger, and exposure while ministering to Native Americans. Despite coughing up blood and facing harsh conditions, he pressed on until illness forced him to stop in late 1746.

Emotional and Spiritual Struggles: Orphaned at age 14, Brainerd wrestled with loneliness, depression, and discouragement. His diary reveals moments of despair, yet his passion for holiness and for the salvation of those he was trying to reach sustained him.

Missionary Challenges: Brainerd faced cultural alienation, language barriers, and hostility. Nevertheless, his perseverance among the Delaware Indians bore fruit.

Brainerd’s life exemplifies resilience, showing how God uses those who endure suffering to advance his kingdom.

Practical Tools for Resilience: The J-Curve

In The J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life,¹ Paul E. Miller offers a practical framework for navigating suffering. The J-Curve reflects the pattern of Jesus’ life: descent into suffering and death, followed by resurrection and exaltation (Philippians 2:5-11).

This trajectory applies not only to the Christian life as a whole but also to daily experiences of hardship. By embracing this pattern, missionaries can find meaning in their trials, trusting that God will bring resurrection life from their suffering.

Miller’s framework equips believers to face challenges with resilience, viewing each trial as an opportunity to die to self and rise with Christ. This perspective fosters endurance and hope in the face of adversity.

The Call to Encourage

Encouragement is vital for missionaries enduring suffering. In 2 Timothy 1:15-18, Paul praises Onesiphorus, who sought him out in Rome and refreshed him despite the risks of associating with a chained apostle. Onesiphorus’ example challenges believers to support missionaries through prayer, encouragement, and practical help. Such efforts will reinforce their resilience.

A Poetic Reflection: Amy Carmichael

Missionary Amy Carmichael captures the inseparable link between suffering and service in her poem:

Hast thou no scar?

No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?

I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,

I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,

Hast thou no scar? 

Hast thou no wound?

Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent,

Leaned Me against a tree to die, and rent

By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned:

Hast thou no wound? 

No wound, no scar?

Yet as the Master shall the servant be,

And, pierced are the feet that follow Me;

But thine are whole: can he have followed far

Who has no wound nor scar?²

Carmichael’s words remind us that scars — physical, emotional, or spiritual — are marks of faithful service, reflecting the wounds of Christ.

Conclusion

Suffering is an integral part of the missionary calling, but it is not without purpose. Grounded in Scripture, illuminated by history, and supported by practical tools like the J-Curve, missionaries can persevere through trials with hope. As believers, we are called to encourage one another, reminding each other that those who bear scars for the gospel are not alone. Through suffering, God’s redemptive work shines as he draws others to the salvation found in Christ.

1. Miller, Paul E. J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life. Crossway, 2019.

2. Amy Carmichael, Gold Cord: The Story of a Fellowship (CLC Publications, 1982), 64.