Faith Helps Us Find Meaning in Our Suffering
Meaning that helps us survive is more likely to be found in the when, what, and how we engage with our struggle than in the why questions we tend to ask.
Most of us operate from what some researchers refer to as a “just” worldview. We tend to believe that if we are good, good things will happen. It’s difficult then to make meaning when bad things happen to us.
People often have a difficult time getting their heads around tragedies because they trigger existential questions and concerns. The crisis can disrupt our sense of purpose in life, making us either more aware of our mortality or more aware of loneliness and isolation. None of these existential concerns, nor the answer to the question “why,” have easy resolutions.
This can leave our heads swirling with lingering questions.
Our first instinct is to assume that there is a logical cause for our suffering. And we wrestle with ourselves and with God—to make meaning of our situations by identifying and naming that cause.
A colleague of mine once shared about a man her relief agency encountered in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. His roof had been blown away by gail strength winds. When they asked how he was doing, he surprised her team by saying, “Sometimes you have to loose the roof to see the stars.” He seemed to see his loss as gain and find purpose in the “why.”
RESILIENT FAITH: Cultivating hope through trials and traumas
A realist may read this and think this is yet another example of blind optimism or just another pat answer to a difficult situation. But the way my colleague described his response, the survivor appeared to be authentic in how he had processed the loss.
However, I’ve found that for most people, especially for me, making meaning is often a messy business. Personal and mass disasters can turn our world upside down.
Life’s disasters have a way of bringing us face to face with our mortality and God. It’s natural that we struggle to make sense of the unpredictability of bad things happening to good people because it forces us to admit that there is much over which we have no control.
My colleagues and I have interviewed and surveyed countless disaster survivors about their views of God in the wake of catastrophe. Our research has shown that you can have two people experience almost identical losses with one believing God saved them and the other believing God punished them.
More importantly, our findings echoed what scripture has long taught, that faith is one of the most important resources we have available to help us. Faith helps us understand and cope with personal crises by helping us find meaning.
At the same time, I recognize that making meaning can be difficult, is messy, and sometimes can feel like it is nowhere to be found. Strive for meaning—through journaling, prayer, Scripture reading, and conversations with those you trust—especially when suffering feels senseless. Research has also found that serving others is another way we can make meaning and find purpose amidst difficult times. Keep in mind even when there is no silver lining or answers to be found, the search itself has value and purpose.
Overall, meaning that helps us survive and recover from tragedy is much more likely to be found in the when, what, and how we engage with our struggle than in the why questions we tend to ask.
I encourage you to look for the “stars.”
Portions of this piece were adapted from my latest book A Walking Disaster: What Surviving Katrina and Cancer Taught Me about Faith and Resilience (Templeton Press).
About The Author
Dr. Jamie Aten is the founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute and Blanchard Chair of Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. His latest book is “A Walking Disaster: What Surviving Katrina and Cancer Taught Me About Faith and Resilience” (Templeton Press). In 2016 he received the FEMA Community Preparedness Champion award at the White House. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram or jamieaten.com.
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