And yet, and yet…

How much more difficulty can I expect before I meet my quota?

Ever felt like that? Like a container that has been filled almost to the brim, almost to overflowing, with pain? Have you ever experienced the stretching of discomfort against your heart, so much so you wonder at the feel of the heartbeats?

In most areas of life, we understand things by the nature of scarcity/plenty. We think, “There are only so many hours in the week.” “There are only so many fish in the sea.” “After this run of bad luck, I’m due a win.”

Whether from superstition or experience, we have these expectations that there is a quota for the experiences of life. Only so much joy, only so much heartache, only so much satisfaction.

And yet, there are moments when the sky won’t stop falling.

On a petty personal level, we had a rough Mother’s Day this year. A beloved uncle passed away that day. Our kids were taking turns throwing up and catching strep throat. Our car wouldn’t start and had to go into the shop (and that’s never a cheap thing). I had a conversation with my wife on Mother’s Day morning saying, “Hey, I’ll take care of our daughter so you can go to church and enjoy Mother’s Day.” Her valiant response: “I can’t leave a sick child at home on Mother’s Day.” My wife is amazing.

But herein lies the question: man, when does it stop? Is there some amount of pain that I can expect to go through, taking my hits, so that later I can expect smoother sailing? Why does this all have to be so hard?

This is a hard one. It would be more appealing to present a certain amount of expected pain that you’ll go through, but that doesn’t appear to be wisdom. It would be nice to look at promises like we see in the book of James (“suffering produces perseverance”) or Romans (“suffering produces endurance and character and hope) and say, “See there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” But then we remember where James’ and Paul’s paths led. Not exactly rainbows and sunshine.

I write and think a lot about suffering and pain from our life experiences and God’s goodness through them. I also recognize that one of the greatest ways that we can identify with one another is through our difficulties. As I’m currently developing my manuscript Help That Hurts, that commonality of difficulty rings throughout the book.

[We certainly connect better with the suffering of one another than through our victories. We’re a jealous bunch.]

So what’s the answer here? Should we have a suffering quota that we expect? Where does it stop?

Here’s the truth: we don’t live in a world of scarcity when it comes to faith. We live by the economics of overflow.

Things that the Bible points to overflow from our lives: the Holy Spirit, thankfulness, joy, love, generosity, all the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), grace.

Overflow doesn’t pause for scarcity. It overcomes.

So another hard truth: suffering in life is no variable. It is the constant, it is the common connection of all mankind. All of us are subject to corruption, to pain, to disappointment, to heartbreak, and on.

And as the constant of our broken and sinful world, we must have the expectation that there will be no quota of suffering.

But in rushes the overflow. We are given the overflow of these fruits and gifts of the Spirit precisely because an overflow is needed to combat the difficulties of life. We are given the grace of overflow (not just filling) so that we can survive this and grow. We’re given tools to redeem the evils and pains inflicted upon us.

Jesus knows those evils and pains. He knows your pains. He has faced them himself and overcome them. And yet, even now in his heavenly body he still bears the scars on his hands and feet and side. He didn’t cast them off, but they stay eternally as the marker of his victory and his goodness. There was no quota of suffering for Christ. But his overflow overcame death itself; as we believe upon him, we carry that same eternal hope.

When I would go up to my grandparents’ home in Arkansas, I always enjoyed a little side trip my Grampy would take me on to go see the Lannard Springs (not sure if that’s how it was spelled, but that’s the best I have right now). We would journey down dirt roads past unending forests of pines, and finally pull over to a quiet spot in the forest. We would get out, and he’d pull back the branches and the ferns, and I’d gawk at the spring constantly gushing cool, clear water. The spring had been active ever since the area was settled. And even after the folks who lived closed by moved away, the spring kept on flowing clean and cool.

That spring was amazing to me. Ever flowing, ever giving life to all around it. What caused it to continue to flow? Especially coming from Texas where the word “River” isn’t a guarantee of the presence of water, it was miraculous.

There were still issues around: snakes and mud and overgrowth and blockages. But as the source kept supplying the spring, the overflow pushed those issues away.

Friend, in your life it may seem like there is never an end to the quota of suffering. It may seem like your life has been singled out as the whipping boy of existence and you wonder, “What possibly could happen next?” You may look through the dark mirror of our pain and ask God, “What now?”

I encourage you not to hope for the fill and end of suffering, but for the source to overflow from your life. When the villainy of the world and the despair of pain raise their heads, seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. When it feels like you can’t bear another thing, remember the shoulders of the one who bore a cross for you. When you face disappointments or regrets, remember that the overflow of thankfulness can wash away much that pains us.

On a practical note, I’ve begun practicing the discipline of gratitude in an attempt to see it overflow from my life. I put a reminder on my phone every day at 4:00 PM entitled “Rejoice, it’s a choice!” and Philippians 4:4. At that time I stop what I’m doing and meditate on something that I’m grateful for. I then most of the time will text my wife and communicate that gratitude. For a person who is as cynical and self-pitying as I am, that overflow of gratitude washes away a lot.

What grace that we can give thanks in all things.

Press on, friend. There will difficulties and clouds on the horizon, but there is one with you that is greater than any that are in the world. Don’t be discouraged by the arrival of the enemy and the fight; be encouraged that you are on the winning team, and that the victory is yours as a co-heir of Christ.

There’s no quota on suffering. There’s no quota on grace.

Signs and wonders y’all.

³⁷ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38