Bulls In China Shops

1 Peter 2:19-25 is often a passage people point to in order to say that God rejoices when we suffer. It has been used for centuries to keep people in abusive relationships and harmful situations. But what if we looked at it in a different light? What if it's not about God rejoicing when we suffer, but about God calling us to end the cycle of suffering. 

We all know that phrase "hurt people hurt people." When we are scared or in pain, we become like bulls in a China shop - destroying everything in our path, be it others or ourselves. But what if someone looked that bull in the eye, with all the compassion in the world and said, "You are beloved. You are safe. I am with you."

Perhaps, if we listen to this scripture in a new way, we will hear God's voice calming that bull within us; urging us not to fight, but to lean into compassion. God is not telling us to remain in our suffering; God is compelling us, when we are in pain, to respond in love rather than fear.