Which Way Will You Turn?

Suffering has a way of revealing what is in the heart.

When life is easy, faith and trust can come naturally. But when loss, disappointment, illness, or an unexpected burden enters our lives, suffering tests us. It can soften the heart or harden it, draw us closer to God or push us away.

We see this clearly on Calvary. Three crosses stood side by side. Jesus was in the center, with two thieves beside Him. All three were suffering, yet the two thieves responded very differently.

One turned bitter and mocked Jesus: “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39).

The other turned toward Him in humility and faith: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).

And Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

I believe these two thieves remind us that suffering itself does not determine what happens to our soul. What matters is what we do with our suffering.

When life becomes painful, we also face a choice.

A frightening diagnosis comes. Someone we love dies. A relationship breaks. A door closes. A prayer seems unanswered. Something happens that we cannot explain or understand.

Pain can make us bitter. We can begin asking, “Why me?” We can blame God, withdraw from prayer, and slowly allow disappointment to build a wall between our heart and Him.

Or pain can become a place of surrender. Like the second thief, we can turn toward Christ and say, “Lord, I do not understand this. I do not know how I will get through it. But remember me. Stay with me. Give me strength to carry what I cannot change.”

There is something important to notice. Jesus did not take the second thief down from his cross. His circumstances did not suddenly change. His suffering did not disappear. But his relationship to his suffering changed because Christ was now at the center of it.

Friends, We cannot always choose the crosses that come into our lives. But we can choose which way we turn while carrying them.

May our prayer always be the prayer of the second thief: “Lord, remember me.” Because even from a cross, a heart that turns toward Christ can still find the road to Paradise.