How to share Jesus when you are suffering

How do we share the hope of Jesus when we ourselves are suffering? Drawing on themes from the Everyday Evangelism podcast episode: "Sharing Jesus through vulnerability" this article explores the power of sharing our weakness with wisdom, and how God can use it to draw others into his kingdom.

There are seasons when talking about Jesus feels harder than usual – not because you don’t love him, but because you’re hurting. Grief, illness, anxiety, exhaustion, displacement, family strain… suffering has a way of narrowing your world. And in those moments, evangelism can feel impossible or even inappropriate.

But strangely, Scripture and real life both show us something different: God often uses our weakness, not our strength, to make Jesus known.

We don’t share Jesus in spite of our suffering. Very often, we share him through it.

Why this matters for evangelism

When you’re suffering, you might assume you have nothing to offer. But the people around you – neighbours, colleagues, friends, even strangers – are also carrying grief, fear, shame, and disappointment. Suffering is one of the few truly universal experiences.

And when someone sees you walking through pain and yet depending on Jesus, it does something that polished testimonies rarely do: it makes the gospel believable. It points to a Saviour who stepped into a broken and suffering world.

Your vulnerability may be the very thing that opens a door for someone else to explore Jesus.

Start with honesty, not performance

When you’re suffering, the instinct is often to hide. To wait until life looks stable again before you step out to share the good news. But the Apostle Paul was a living example of the very opposite. He didn’t pretend he was stronger than he was.

In his letters to the Corinthians, he speaks openly about being “hard pressed on every side,” (2 Corinthians 4:8) and “utterly burdened beyond [his] strength” (2 Corinthians 1:8).

In his efforts to share the gospel, he was open about his fragility and humanity. Instead of seeing this as a barrier to the gospel, he saw it as an opportunity to display the glory of Christ. He proclaims: “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This doesn’t require a deliberate confession of weakness, but just a decision to no longer wear a mask; letting people see the unfiltered reality of your daily life.

In the podcast, Charlotte shared how this can be very practical; letting people into your home, the messy kitchen, the tired evenings. The moments when nothing is calm or collected. A slow drip feed of authenticity often creates more safety than a single big reveal.

It shows people: You don’t have to be perfect to belong here.

A slow drip feed of authenticity often creates more safety than a single big reveal.

Start small

Vulnerability doesn’t have to mean dramatic confession. It can simply mean allowing people to see glimpses of your life. Perhaps through just a single sentence.

In a recent episode of the Everyday Evangelism podcast, LCM missionary Si Knightly shares a moment where he and another man were visiting people’s homes on the local estate, inviting people to church. He met a man who was clearly grieving and guarded.

He assumed these Christians wouldn’t understand the depth of his pain.

Si simply shared: “My wife’s been very sick recently.”

“How sick?” he replied.

“She has cancer.”

In that moment, the man’s face softened. He opened the door to welcome them into his home and chose to share that he had lost his mother to cancer.

Si didn’t launch into a long story or try to match the man’s suffering; he simply let him see his life was also coloured by pain.

That moment of honesty shattered an assumption: You don’t know real pain. Honesty (when it's paired with restraint), helps people feel that opening up is safe.

Si Knightly and Charlotte

Be wise about what you share and with whom

When we’re suffering, it’s important to guard our own hearts.

Before opening up to others, you may want to ask a few questions:

What is my motivation for sharing this?
Is this helpful for the person in front of me?
What am I risking here?

Opening up can be emotionally exhausting, and it may not always be the right moment. Different cultures carry different expectations. Some people may feel that by sharing your struggles you are asking them to help you – in a way that they may not have the capacity for.

Vulnerability for the gospel should build connection, not create pressure. It's honouring to the other person to first take into account where they may be emotionally.

Some people may feel that by sharing your struggles you are asking them to help you – in a way that they may not have the capacity for.

Share the comfort you’ve received

God comforts us so that we can comfort others. Part of the good news of Jesus is that he is with us always, we know he will never forsake us, even when we don’t understand what he is doing.

Although suffering can be a sensitive topic, you don’t need theological brilliance to talk about God and suffering. And you certainly don’t need to possess all the answers; you can simply share how leaning on God has helped you.

You can start by sharing practical ways you depend on God, for example:

This is how I pray when I have no words (e.g. Psalms of lament)
This is what I do for half an hour when I feel overwhelmed
This is the habit that gets me through the day

These small, concrete practices show that Jesus is not an abstract idea; he impacts the way we live our daily lives.

The hope we have

Sharing Jesus from a place of suffering will rarely feel polished or powerful. But that is often where the gospel shines most clearly. When we speak of Christ from the middle of our own weakness, people are not meeting a Christian with all the answers. They are meeting a Saviour who steps into the dark with us and refuses to leave.

And as we walk our own hard roads, we can point to the hope we have: a loving God. And that for all those who believe in Jesus, suffering will cease. Our bodies will be restored, the world renewed, and every tear will be wiped away. We can confidently say:

“Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:8)

To explore more on how we share Jesus in the midst of suffering, check out the season 3 premiere of the Everyday Evangelism podcast below. We're joined by LCM missionary Simon Knightly and Field Director Charlotte, to answer this crucial pastoral question: How do we share Jesus from a place of vulnerability and suffering?

How to share Jesus when you are suffering

How to share Jesus when you are suffering

Why this matters for evangelism

Start with honesty, not performance

Start small

Be wise about what you share and with whom

Share the comfort you’ve received

The hope we have

How to share Jesus when you are suffering

Cookies on this site

About us