Jesus, You were made perfect by Your suffering…for me

Made perfect.

Jesus, You were “made perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10) even though You were already perfect! You were and are God, the One “for whom and by whom all things exist” (Heb. 2:10).

Are You perfecting me through my suffering right now? Maybe thinking about Your suffering for me…will help me understand the healing I desperately desire.

In Your compassionate mercy, You understand suffering better than anyone. Your suffering came from perfect love. You willingly submitted to all of Your sufferings, as my great Physician, the perfectly holy and righteous God who lived a perfectly sinless life…ending in the most horrific suffering imaginable, taking my deserved punishment for my sin and giving me peace with God. Because I trust in You alone for my salvation, this is true for me:

He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). 

My great Physician heals the sick,

the lost he came to save;

for me his precious blood he shed,

for me his life he gave.

(“My Faith Has Found a Resting Place,” Edmunds, l. H., 1891)

By Your stripes, I am healed!

Great Physician and loving Father, it’s such a wonder of Your grace. For a believer, the stripes afflicted on Jesus, our beloved Savior, have already permanently healed us. 1 Peter explains what this means…it has to do with sin.

Our sinful hearts were healed the moment You saved us from Your just punishment for sin. You justified us, made us right with Yourself, and gave us new hearts, clothing us in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Holy God, Your works of salvation, foretold since sin entered the world in Genesis 3, brought spiritual healing of our souls through Jesus’ suffering.

I am Yours, healed of sin! So You’re right now sanctifying or perfecting me, completing me, making me more holy (1 Thess. 5:23-24)!

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source (Heb. 2:11 ESV). 

By Your power, I can remain steadfast in suffering

Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in You, You endured every trial and temptation, all evil intentions of our enemy. You victoriously conquered them sinlessly. No matter what happens with a believer’s earthly illnesses, through Your death, You’ve destroyed “the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14 ESV).

So, I’m healed or “made whole,” now and forever…even if my body isn’t. I’ll definitely be physically healed with a resurrected body! Jesus, You are the firstfruits of this! This means I need not be afraid of death…or anything else! For You’re right now praying for me. I can trust You with every single need, for Your compassionate help and gifts of grace to endure this suffering without sinning. What an overcoming victory! Hallelujah!

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:15-16 ESV).

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God? (1 Jn. 5:5 ESV)

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith (1 Jn. 5:4 ESV). 

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of my faith

Although sickness, a sad effect of sin in this fallen world, feels like miserable suffering, You’ve already healed our souls now and forever. Because You often bring Your beloved children home through sickness and resulting death, Your healing of our bodies might happen when “the righteous man is taken away from calamity; he enters into peace” (Isaiah 57:1-2).

Enough for me that Jesus saves, 

this ends my fear and doubt; 

a sinful soul I come to him, 

he’ll never cast me out.

So, with every hard medical appointment, every challenging loss I endure, every frustrating and scary moment, help me to sing that You are enough. Help me to calmly trust that “it is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me.” Help me trust and praise You for Your beautiful promises, no matter what happens with earthly healing of my body right now…

I am with you always, to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20 ESV).

By one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified (Heb. 10:14 CSB).

Strengthen me with my hope in Christ, by Your Word

Please give me today’s fresh manna of promises from Your Word as I soak in it, trusting You for Your perfect outcomes, by Your power.

My heart is leaning on the Word,

the written Word of God:

salvation by my Savior’s name,

salvation thro’ his blood.

As I long for the day when You return and make all things new in the new heaven and earth, help me to cling to Your promised inheritance, for by Your stripes, I am healed…so this will be my experience! I praise You for this sure hope and promise to Your children who are in Christ! Amen!

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be…pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4 ESV). 

Material adapted from Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle, © 2022

A playlist of trust to sing to our healing God

Sister in Christ, my heart needs to sing, “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place,” when suffering is so strong. Remembering what God did to heal my sin, through the person and work of Jesus Christ? He’s helping me endure earthly suffering, through this constant focus on our gospel good news. So I’ve made a cross-focused, Christ-exalting, resting-in-Christ playlist for the hard days. I’d love to share it with you, if your heart needs it too. Sign up and it will come to your email. Or perhaps other resources below might help you as you suffer today too. God bless you as you walk through this painful trial.