Endure patiently

By Daniel Francis

What’s the point of my suffering? This question was posed to me a few days ago by a loyal reader of my articles. It led to a pretty interesting conversation.

They went into a bit of detail about their battle with sin, which they felt, more often than not, they failed. They try their best, but in the seasons where they are good, even though they are doing everything they are supposed to be doing, they feel like they are suffering.

I could relate. I have detailed in many of my articles the difficulty with staying on the righteous path and how the temptations of sin feel like a countdown to your next ‘accident’. Listening to this person made me think about my struggles and what has helped me to find some semblance of peace.

I thought about how it is our duty to be our best selves, and that, because we intentionally ignore our inner conscience and sin anyway, we are actively pushing God further away.

I did not answer the person in that moment, but while at Mass, one of the verses in the Sunday reading jumped out to me, as if God was there waiting to give me the answer. 1 Peter 2:20: “But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favour with God.”

It became so obvious immediately. Our choice to patiently endure while we do the right thing. As we resist sin, these acts find favour with God. It is exactly what He wants us to be doing. No clearer indication is needed. No clearer encouragement is needed. Though, in these moments, we feel like we are suffering, God calls us to endure it because it is good.

I think the enemy has done a good job in obscuring what our purpose of life is. It is to bring glory and honour to God. We do this with our thoughts and actions. Yet we get distracted by all the shiny things here, and we forget what comes after death. It is within these distractions that sin lives.

We have, over time, lost the fear of God and the fear of what comes after death, and we have learned to justify why it’s okay to do wrong. I am also guilty of this. I think that moments like these are good to snap us back to reality.

God calls us to endure. God calls us to be patient. He never said we would not suffer, but we must find favour with Him by doing what is good, especially when it is difficult.

So, for the person who reached out and posed that question to me, please take this article as my rebuttal. Endure patiently because you will find favour in God.

Daniel Francis is a book publisher, leadership development coach, entrepreneur, and author of The Millennial Mind, The Millennial Experience, and How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book.

As the founder of One Momentum Publishing, he helps Caribbean authors move from manuscript to publication, guiding them through editing, design, and global distribution on platforms like Amazon, positioning them as authorities in their fields.

Through his work, Daniel equips individuals with the mindset and structure needed to turn ideas into impact.

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