Martin Luther made a distinction between the “theology of the cross” and the “theology of glory.” In a theology of glory, God shows his trustworthiness by doling out pleasure, prosperity, and freedom from suffering to the righteous. In contrast, the theology of the cross discovers God “hidden in suffering.” A theology of glory has the same logic as any empire: that power, money, and pleasure are the stuff of greatness. The theology of the cross teaches that the kingdom of God is topsy-turvy—that God is most present in the darkest moments of our lives.
We are tempted to see wellness, wealth, and success as evidence of God’s favor, and suffering as the place of God’s absence or a punishment for sin. If, when we face pain and disappointment, we wonder whether God is actually looking out for us, we have imbibed the theology of glory. We are seeking a God who will keep bad things from happening to us.
To love God through suffering means learning that when we look for evidence of God’s work in our lives, it is often in the last place we’d want to find it: in weakness, in pain, in the cross. So do we have to be impassive or even upbeat when enduring a cross? No. Jesus himself showed no sign of placidity on the cross. He wept, he lamented, he cried out to God in anguish, he admitted his need, his pain, his thirst. We need not paper over our pain, or anyone else’s. We weep.
But even as we weep, we watch for the One the Scriptures call “the God of all comfort.”

Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer in the Night

Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, The Well, and elsewhere.