Why Some People Become Stronger in Suffering? A “Reversal” Story from the Cross

🔄 The Great Reversal: How the Worst Day Became the Best Day ✨

Have you ever met someone who has been through absolute hell—loss, cancer, betrayal—and yet, instead of being bitter, they are the kindest, strongest person you know?

It defies logic. Physics tells us that if you hit something hard enough, it breaks. But the Gospel tells us that if you hit a child of God hard enough, they might just break open and spill out glory.

This phenomenon isn’t an accident. It is a blueprint established on Good Friday.

When Jesus hung on the cross, it looked like total failure. His enemies were laughing. His disciples were running. The sky was black. But at that exact moment, a Great Reversal was happening. What looked like the defeat of God was actually the crushing of Satan.

Why do some people become stronger in suffering?

Because they have learned the secret of the Cross: Pain is not a dead end; it is a delivery system. Just as the cross delivered salvation, your suffering—when placed in God’s hands—delivers a strength that comfort could never produce.

Part I: The Paradox of the Seed 🌱

Buried, Not Dead ⚰️

Jesus explained this principle days before He died:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” —John 12:24 (KJV)

To the world, a seed going into the dirt looks like a burial. To the farmer, it is a planting.

When suffering buries you, the enemy wants you to think, “It’s over.” But God says, “It’s starting.” The pressure of the dirt triggers the latent life inside the seed. Some people become stronger because they realize that their “burial” is actually the environment necessary for their expansion.

For more on finding hope in dark places, read What Was the Light Bursting From the Sealed Darkness?.

Part II: The Theology of the Press 🫒

Gethsemane: The Place of the Oil Press 🩸

The word Gethsemane literally means “Oil Press.” Olives are hard and bitter. They are useless until they are crushed. Under the immense weight of the stone press, the olive is destroyed, but the oil—the valuable, healing, light-giving substance—flows out.

Jesus was crushed in Gethsemane so the anointing of the Holy Spirit could flow to us.

The Principle: Suffering is the press.

• Bitterness: If you resist the press, you just get crushed.
• Strength: If you yield to the press (like Jesus: “Not my will, but thine be done”), you produce oil.

The people who get stronger are the ones who stop fighting the press and start asking God, “What oil do you want to produce through this?”

For more on Jesus’ struggle in the garden, read Did You Know Jesus Wept Three Times in His Life?.

Part III: 3 Common Misconceptions About Suffering 💡

Misconception 1: “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

• Correction: That is a Nietzsche quote, not a Bible verse. Often, what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker—traumatized, angry, and cynical. You only get stronger if you process the pain with God. Pain without purpose is just pain; pain with Jesus is refinement.

Misconception 2: If I have enough faith, I won’t suffer.

• Correction: Jesus had perfect faith, and He suffered the most. The Apostle Paul prayed three times for his “thorn” to be removed, and God said No. Why? “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Faith isn’t an escape hatch; it’s a survival suit.

Misconception 3: Suffering means God is angry with me.

• Correction: We often think like Job’s friends: “You’re hurting, so you must have sinned.” But the Cross proves that the Innocent can suffer to bring about a greater good. God didn’t crush Jesus because He hated Him; He crushed Him to save us. Your pain is not proof of God’s absence; it is often the canvas for His power.

For more on the mystery of innocent suffering, read Why Did Satan Stand Before God and Accuse Job?.

Conclusion: Don’t Waste Your Pain 🌟

Why do some people become stronger? Because they refuse to waste their suffering.

They take the very thing the enemy meant for evil and hand it to Jesus. And Jesus, the Master of the Great Reversal, turns the cross into a crown, the tomb into a womb of life, and the pain into a pulpit.

If you are hurting today, you are in the “press.” The choice is yours: Will you become bitter, or will you become oil?

Reflection: Are you asking God to remove the pressure, or are you asking Him to use it to make you stronger? and powerful than any version you could ever imagine.