Matt Clarke's Morning Messages

Necessary Suffering

Written by Matt Clarke | March 2, 2026

The words were like the refreshing cool of a steady breeze on a blistering hot and humid summer day. They were like a sip of cold water after waking up in the middle of the night. The comfort that everyone in the room needed to hear... "Learn to suffer"...wait...what?  

The answer was so unexpected, I really don't even remember the question. After his teaching on weaponizing the mind (my title, not his), my friend Steve Scanlon, founder of Rewire, Inc, was asked something like: What's one piece of advice you can give us to help start the process of transforming our minds towards better thinking; or what's something you want us all to take away from today?

Sadly, I didn't write the question down, just the answer. "Learn to suffer". It landed with perfect clarity. Transformation occurs on the other side of necessary suffering.

"You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again." (Psalm 71:20-21)

Consider any accomplishment or change you want to make in life-- quit an addiction, save money, repair a relationship, create a new habit, break an old one, grow your business, build muscle, change your mindset. It is hard. It can hurt. It is emotionally confusing. Your body physically changes as it learns new patterns. Hormones and neurotransmitters freak out on the inside as you move their cheese by initiating change. What happens on the inside always shows up on the outside. That is where suffering comes in. We have to anticipate it, identify it, and suffer through the process of rewiring. It's worth it.

The Bible says to rejoice in the suffering, because suffering leads to perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope.

The first step in building muscle is to tear it up so it attracts blood flow and new proteins necessary to regenerate bigger and stronger than before. It takes time, and it hurts. You will be sore. Everybody wants to be strong, but nobody wants to be sore. Embrace the sore.

Extraordinary accomplishments require necessary suffering.  

The Lord promises even greater honor and comfort after suffering hardships. Trust that He will and stick with Him through the process. What are you willing to endure to accomplish transformation in life, relationships, and business? Perseverance leads to hope, and the hope of the Lord never fails.
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