Someone went through hell before us and for us: Jesus. Through his tortured death on that shameful and shaming tool of capital punishment, the cross, Jesus brought humanity into the family of God and made an instrument of tortured death into a tool of transformation. St. Paul said "May I never boast of anything except the cross of Christ." Paul knew that through the cross of Christ, we each become a "new creation" - new, because we recognize that all that we are and all that we do comes from the grace of God in us - grace we receive through the power of Christ's cross. In everything, we give thanks to God because in everything we do, "It was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." (1 Cor. 15: 10.)
Whatever hell you are suffering in, reach out for the hands of the crucified Christ, to hold you fast and pull you through. His grace is sufficient to help us conquer any tragedy that we endure. He will never leave our sides; He stays on our crosses with us. If we are exhausted from trying to be stronger than we feel, just remember: our strength may be limited, but Christ's strength is endless, and His strength, His grace, is continually pouring into us to give us the "spiritual muscles" that we need.
Why is Christ always down in hell with us to carry us through? Because God loves us simply for who we are, the human beings that God chose to create - and to love. God loves us especially through the human and divine touch of His Son, Jesus, who took on a body exactly like ours and all its weaknesses and infirmities so that we could look into God's eyes, hear God's voice, be healed by God's touch, and see that God will love us even to and through death. God's love for us is our boast. God's love took him to the cross to conquer sin and death and to promise us life and love and light beyond death, beyond the human hells that bring us to our knees in agony.
If we manage to stagger and crawl through our hells and come out on the other side, we will still bear the marks of our personal cross of suffering, but we will be transformed. We have endured, and there are gifts waiting for us to claim. Humility, because we've discovered our own weakness and limits, and we know God is the One Whose strength is in us. Wisdom, because now we know to be gentle and not judge another's weakness or suffering. Compassion, because we no longer fear to reach out to anyone else in need, or to speak our minds: we've been to hell and back, and no one or nothing can stop us now. Now we can serve the body of Christ, His people, without reservation. We bear our own marks of the cross on our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls. But now we are Easter people, transformed people, transformed by Christ's love for us and our grateful love for Christ.
When you are in hell, remember:
Every sudden burst of strength in the darkness is Christ in you.
Every unexplainable moment of peace and joy is Christ in you.
Every word of love and encouragement you can speak is Christ in you.
Every hope that lifts you out of despair is Christ in you.
Every ounce of love that heals your broken heart is Christ in you.
Every surge of faith that His wounded hands support you is Christ in you.
Every glimpse of the heaven that lies beyond hell is Christ in you.
Christ is Divine Providence incarnate. He is the sign that all will be well with you and the world and all in it. His cross is the sign that unspeakable evil will always be conquered by good and that death has no power over infinite Love.
May you only boast in the cross of Christ and trust in Him to carry you out of your personal hell to become a healed and whole new creation in Him, a member of those Easter people who can glimpse heaven through their tears.