Tag Archives: suffering

FOUNDATION STONES – 15

Christian Life, ,

EMBRACE SUFFERING

Hebrews 12:7 NIV
[7] “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?”

Really! Who wants this stone in the foundation of life? We want lives free from hardship, not lives that are invaded by problems and difficulties!

We do everything possible to make life easy and try to dodge things that are unpleasant or difficult. When we do wrong, we try to cover it up. We complain about the consequences. We blame God or the devil for what we have done. We shrug off responsibilities. We cultivate a “victim mentality” to protect ourselves from having to come clean. We run, dodge, hide, or whatever it takes to escape from our own stupidity.

God’s way of shaping us for life in His eternal kingdom is not to shield us from hardships but to use them to chip away everything that does not look like Jesus. He is determined to restore the image of His Son in us. He wants a family of sons and daughters exactly like Jesus. To do that, He must follow the blueprint and remove through discipline, suffering, and the ministry of His Spirit and the Word, every thing foreign to His model.

Romans 8:29 NLT
[29] “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Cushy and comfortable lives free from tests and trials never make people of sterling character. As a good Father, God knows that “overindulgence”, as Dr Phil said, “is the worst form of child abuse.”

What we think is punishment, is really discipline. Punishment focuses on what what we did wrong. Discipline fixes wrongdoing and guides us on the right way.

As a good Father, God works, in our hardships, to teach us the two great requisites of sons and daughters… submission and obedience. Don’t think that Jesus was excluded from the training. He was not exempt from the suffering that produces a true son. Unlike us, He never sinned, but He had to learn to be a son just as we do.

Hebrews 2:10 NIV
[10] “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.”

Hebrews 5:7-9 NIV
[7] “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. [8] Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered [9] and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…”

Do you get the picture? Jesus had to learn submission and obedience, not by trial and error as we do, but by submitting to and obeying the Father perfectly and always. If we are to be replicas of Jesus as God planned, we must also learn submission and obedience through suffering. There is no other way.

God requires holiness, utter separation from sin. Jesus made us holy through His own blood but we must confirm in us what He has made us to be. Since our greatest battle is to live by the Spirit and not to give in to our sinful desires, God allows us to face and fight this war through His grace so that we are fitted to live in His eternal kingdom. There is no place for rebels in His heaven.

Revelation 22:14-15 NLT
[14] “Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. [15] Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.”

The Apostle Paul, to whom God gave the responsibility to suffer with Jesus as a model for us, shows us how to respond to the hardships God allows in our lives.

Paul was in danger of becoming proud because of the out-of-body revelations God gave him. So…

2 Corinthians 12:5, 7 NLT
[5] “That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses…
[7]…I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

What was the nature of Paul’s suffering? A thorn in his flesh, the fiery darts of Satan, poking him in the places where his flesh could respond in anger and retaliation! O, how Paul realised, in his battle to overcome his fleshly reactions, how weak he was.

Romans 7:15, 18 NLT
[15] “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate…
[18] And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.”

So, in desperation Paul wanted to escape the discipline.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT
[8] “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. [9] Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

Paul had to take a new path. Instead of resisting the troubles as enemies, he had to embrace them as friends! Instead of trying to dodge the fiery darts, he had to receive and hug them as precious gifts! If he allowed the arrows to pierce his soul, he would have become bitter. To accept and rejoice in his suffering was the only way to neutralise the poison the enemy desired to inject into his soul.

“So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. [10] That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Insults, hardships, persecutions, troubles…fiery arrows from every direction…designed to make him angry, resentful, vengeful if he gave in to his fleshly desires!

Paul assured us that overwhelming victory is ours if we treat our hardships as precious gifts from the Lord to train us to be holy.

THE GOSPEL IN HEBREWS – 22

Bible Study, ,

Before we continue to the conclusion of this letter, we must ask, in what way is Jesus the model we are to follow? Since it was the issue of suffering that tempted the readers to return to Judaism, we must examine the nature of the suffering that tempted them to give up and go back.

We will find, in the life of Jesus, what His greatest test was in the course of His life on earth. The readers of this letter faced the same test above all other temptations, not to sin as in giving in to fleshly lusts but to sin by turning their backs on Jesus, their only hope of salvation.

Jesus suffered in two ways, according to Scripture. First, He was rejected by His own people.

Isaiah 53:3 NIV
[3] “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

John 1:10-11 NIV
[10] “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. [11] He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

The Hebrew word for rejection, “chadal”, comes from the root meaning “vacant”. To call and treat someone as vacant is the worst form of insult. This attitude calls in question the very essence of who that person is, a human created in God’s image. In this case, mere humans were treating Jesus, the Son of God, as vacant, empty, and utterly worthless. Everything humans did to Jesus was the fruit of that rejection.

Jesus came to earth to redeem sinful humanity from slavery to the very choices and behaviour that caused their enslavement. To do this, He had to allow Himself to be sacrificed for us. He had to subject Himself to being treated as “vacant”, to give Himself for the very people who dismissed Him and His mission with contempt.

So, the second part of His suffering was temptation. In what way was Jesus tempted?

Since the issue, for the readers of this letter, was giving up, was the greatest temptation Jesus ever suffered, in the face of rejection, the temptation to give up, to abort His mission and return to the Father empty-handed?

At the start and at the finish of His public ministry, Jesus was under severe pressure to give up on His Father’s will for Him…which was to go to the cross. In the wilderness, the devil tried to get Him to break the unity between Father and Son by acting on His own. Jesus resolutely stood His ground by putting Himself under the authority of the Father and His Word.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, faced with the horror of His impending death, again Jesus was under pressure to give up. His own people’s rejection would inflict on Him the worst that humans could do to another human, let alone to their own God. The struggle was so intense that perspiration poured from Him like blood from a mortal wound.

Luke 22:44 NIV
[44] “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was LIKE drops of blood falling to the ground.”

How did Jesus react to this pressure? What did He do with the temptation to take the easy way out?

1 Peter 2:23 NIV
[23] “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

Hebrews 2:17-18 NIV
[17] “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. [18] Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Jesus’ experience was suffering of the worst kind. Insulted by His own people, knowing that He would be flayed to within an inch of His life, tortured, and crucified, He had to choose…to give up or to go on?

What was Satan’s motive behind the temptation to give up?

There was one overriding consideration, one thing Jesus would never betray…the love that bound Him and the Father together. To His enemies, He testified…repeatedly,

John 14:30-31 NIV
[30] “I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, [31] but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”

Satan was desperate to get Jesus to break with the Father. If He could get Jesus to act alone, He would win the greatest victory of all…destroy the unity in the Trinity! His aim? To replace Jesus as king!

Jesus refused to give up. His love for the Father despite His suffering would be the very testimony to the world that He had overcome the devil! Love was the superglue that held Him to the Father’s will. Nothing, not even the worst that man could do to Him, could break that bond.

And so, for us the test is…how strong is the love that binds us to Jesus? The way we handle this test will determine the reality of our love.

1 John 4:10, 19 NIV
[10] “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…
[19] We love because he first loved us.”

Peter failed in the moment of his testing.

This “good news” is about the power of real love, the power of God’s love for the world that gave His Son, in the first place, to die despite what the world did to Him. The power of Jesus’ love for the Father kept Him steadfast to the end…and for us, God’s love for us and our response of love for Jesus is the same superglue that holds us to Him as it held Father and Son together.

John 17:23 NLT
[23] “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

Love and unity…the key to perseverance that guarantees our victory.

The Holy Spirit in us is the guarantee that love for Jesus will keep us glued to Him no matter how badly we are treated because of Him and how much we are tempted to abandon our loyalty to Him to save our skin.

Romans 5:3-5 NLT
[3] “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

This is the pattern, the model we are to follow.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. [2] We do this by KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Those who went before us clung to the hope of reaching God’s heavenly city. They refused to give up despite their suffering.
We, too, have that city in view, a celestial city that will be our eternal dwelling place with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, if we don’t give up.

To be continued…

YOUR CUP OF SUFFERING

Christian Life, ,

YOUR CUP OF SUFFERING

Suffering is a mystery to many people. When things go wrong in our lives, we cry out, “Why me?”  Is suffering someone else’s fault? Is it punishment for my sin? Is the devil attacking me? The accuser is always standing by to pile guilt on us for what we or someone else might have done or claiming his right to power over us.

There are no answers to this question outside of God’s Word.

Firstly, we must clear our minds of the lies the enemy uses to make us feel helpless and afraid in times of distress.

1. God will never punish you again for the sin He has already laid on Jesus.

2. Jesus has promised to be with you always. He is in you through the presence of the Holy Spirit. He will never leave or forsake you.

3. God works in all things for your good. He is Lord in all your circumstances, not the devil.

4. Satan may desire to attack but he can only do what God permits. He is only able to do to us what we fear or what we believe he will do.

CATEGORIES OF SUFFERING

1. Common to all on a fallen planet

Adam’s sin brought alienation from God and death upon the whole human race. We are all part of the consequences of Adam’s sin.

Some people think that they became exempt from trouble when they believed in Jesus, but this idea is contrary to the Bible. We live on a planet corrupted by sin and we only leave sin and its consequences behind when we die.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 NIV

2. Consequences of our own sin

Not only do people sin against us, but we sin against ourselves and others. However, our sin is firstly against God because, by sinning against another we have disobeyed God’s instructions to love one another. All sin is disobedience, and we are, therefore, guilty of sin against Him.

“Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”

Psalms 51:4 NLT

We participate personally in Adam’s sin when we actively engage in anything that falls short of God’s glory. Our sin has consequences.

“If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.”

1 Peter 4:15 NIV

3. Called to suffer for our faith in Christ.

Jesus warned that our union with Him will inevitably call down the wrath of unbelievers on us because they hate God and all who belong to Him. The whole world is divided into two camps, those who are for and those who are against God. There is no neutral ground, and those who are God’s enemies hate God’s children.

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is working against me.

Matthew 12:30 NLT

“Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

2 Timothy 3:12 NLT

“But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

1 Peter 2:20-21 NIV

PURPOSE

1. To grow and strengthen our faith

Any kind of suffering will either make us bitter or better. We are called to trust God in all our circumstances, not to get out of them but to be purified from the doubt and unbelief that insult God and question His faithfulness to His Word.

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

1 Peter 1:6-7 NIV

2. To develop perseverance, character, and hope

God uses all our trials to build strength of character, endurance, and perseverance. Only those who become more resilient under testing will make it to the end.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4 NIV

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Romans 5:3-4 NIV

3. To have done with sin

When all is going well with us, it is easy to become complacent and indulgent towards our sinful old nature. Suffering makes us aware of the cost of sin in our lives.

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”

1 Peter 4:1-2 NIV

4. To share in God’s holiness

God is preparing us for an eternity in His presence where no sin is tolerated. Jesus has made us holy through His suffering. We are to work out this holiness in our attitudes and behaviour by the way we refuse to tolerate sin in our lives and choose to live the way Jesus taught us, by His grace.

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?… They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Hebrews 12:7, 10-11 NIV

5. To share in Christ’s inheritance

We are called to suffer with Jesus as well as to suffer for Him. We must have the same attitude He had. He never complained or resisted the suffering He was called to endure.

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps… He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”

1 Peter 2:21, 23 NLT

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Romans 8:17 NIV

6. To correct our perspective

If we remember that God is preparing us for an eternity with Him, our suffering will take on an eternal perspective that will keep us focused on our destination, not on the present.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV

7. To conform us to the likeness of Jesus

Suffering is never needless or coincidental. God is always at work in everything to restore the image of His Son in us. Suffering is not about our outward circumstances but about our attitudes and responses, and results in inward transformation.

God’s purpose is to teach us submission and obedience to Him as true sons, motivated by our love and trust in Him.

“… For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Romans 8:29, NLT

8. To keep us humble and dependant on the Lord

Suffering exposes our weaknesses and drives us towards God’s grace.

“… So, to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

2 Corinthians 12:7

“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT

9. To remind us of our mortality

We must never fall into the trap of believing that we are here forever. We are pilgrims passing through, and what we are learning and becoming now is preparing us for our destiny in God’s eternal kingdom.

“Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”

1 Peter 2:11 NLT

10. To expose our hearts

Bill Johnson, of Bethel Church fame, once said, “Jesus loved to offend the mind to expose the heart”. How true this is in the issue of suffering!

This is another very important reason for suffering, to test our commitment to trusting God. We say we trust Him when all is well but what happens when things go terribly wrong? Job experienced this test big time!

When hardships and suffering come our way, our attitude towards God is brought to the surface. Even our question, “Why?” reveals an unconscious note of resistance or even rebellion which reveal a subtle suspicion or mistrust of God’s love.

Jeremiah’s question exposed his attitude of mistrust of God in his suffering.

“Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry.”

Jeremiah 15:18  

God’s response was, “If you take back those words, Jeremiah, then you will still serve me… Change your attitude, Jeremiah because, if you don’t, I am finished with you.”

“This is how the Lord responds: “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!”

Jeremiah 15:19

This is how seriously God views our mistrust in Him when things go wrong.

ATTITUDE

1. Suffer in a way that pleases God

In what way must we suffer that pleases God?

The Bible clearly states that it is faith in God that pleases Him. When we continue to trust Him in the most difficult and painful of circumstances, He responds to our prayers, and provides all the grace and strength we need to endure.

“So, if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”

1 Peter 4:19 NLT

2. Have the same attitude as Jesus had

Jesus had the attitude of a true son, always submissive and obedient to the Father.

“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Mark 14:36 NLT

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Philippians 2:5-8 NLT

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”

1 Peter 2:21, 23 NLT

3. Trust God for His grace in your suffering

“… So, to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT

4. Keep your eyes on the goal

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT

Suffering will have a new meaning when we take the long look, remembering that we are only travelling through, not permanent residents of this imperfect world. We are being prepared for a glorious future where there will be no more pain or suffering.

“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:3-4 NLT

Years ago, as a young believer, I read a book by Paul Billheimer entitled “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows”. I have long since forgotten the content of the book, but the title is enough good advice to remind us of the meaning and purpose of our sorrows as we navigate life on this fallen planet.

So I say to you, as you contemplate God’s answer to the problem of your suffering, “Don’t waste your sorrows” Falling in line with God’s Word has eternal benefit by embracing, not fighting what comes your way.

“So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT

SLAVEDRIVERS

Christian Life, ,

SLAVEDRIVERS

Have you ever thought about how your life may be controlled by “slavedrivers”?

When God’s people were slaves in Egypt, their lives were controlled by their taskmasters. They cried out to God and He responded like this; “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slavedrivers and I am concerned about their suffering. So, I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land….” Exodus 3:7, 8.

God sent Moses to rescue His people because He had heard their cry and seen their suffering; however, they came out of Egypt with their slave mentality still intact. All they had known was the dehumanising cruelty of their Egyptian masters. They had been treated like machines, only valuable because they made bricks. Their dignity had been assaulted by their slavedrivers who thought they had the right to take their wives, their property and even their lives with no recourse to justice. And so, in their immaturity, God’s people were treating each other as they had been treated.

God called them into an intimate relationship with Himself at Mount Sinai and, through His Word, began to teach them how to live in freedom from fear, guilt, and shame and how to care for one another and to treat one another with dignity and humanity.

Many of us have never lived in literal slavery although some have. Worse than the misery caused by people who oppress us is the misery that the Evil One subjects us to because of the internal ”slavedrivers” that hurt us. Emotions like guilt, fear, anger, jealousy, envy, and coveting keep us captive to the people who ensnare us. What about addictions like gambling, alcohol, drugs, food, sex, cigarettes and pornography? We think that we can get free whenever we want to, but we know in our hearts that we are enslaved.

The apostle Paul said, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1, NIV). Jesus bought our freedom at a great price. He still hears the cries of those who are oppressed by slavedrivers. How can we be set free? The children of Israel cried to God. The first step to freedom is to acknowledge that you are in bondage and to cry to God. Just as He heard His people long ago, He will hear you. It takes humility and courage to be honest about what is driving you, but it’s a small price to pay for freedom.

Jesus claimed Isaiah’s prophecy as a picture of Himself. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. He gives beauty for ashes….” (Isaiah 61:1, 3, NIV)

The second step is to forgive…forgive all who have ever hurt of demeaned you. Addictions are pain-managing ways to mask your pain. Forgiveness is the only way to free yourself from those who ”own” you by your anger, resentment, and hatred. When you cancel the debt of those who hurt you because Jesus has cancelled your debt and theirs, freedom is the prize.

SOME THOUGHTS ON SUFFERING

Christian Life, ,

SOME THOUGHTS ON SUFFERING

Suffering of every kind is woven into the tapestry of our lives here on earth. Suffering comes to us in many disguises, physical, mental, emotional, psychological…Suffering is the lot of every human being on earth no matter what language or culture.

Human suffering seems to fly in the face of who God is. “Why does God allow suffering?” Some even blame God for self-inflicted suffering like the pregnant young teenager who recklessly slept with her boyfriend.

Suffering makes no sense until we take the long look.

1. Jesus suffered physically and spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically.

“He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

Isaiah 53:3 NLT

The highest purpose of Jesus’s suffering was to absorb the sin of the world into Himself without resistance so that all the suffering that sin produced and sin itself, would be neutralised forever.

2. For believers in Jesus, if we understand our suffering from God’s perspective, suffering is a golden thread that connects us to the glorious purpose of God, to recreate us in the image of His Son.

Peter has some marvellous insights into suffering, both Jesus’s suffering and ours, that clarify this amazing truth.

“For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment… For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered.  He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”

1 Peter 2:19, 21-24 NLT

This is God’s way for us to endure and overcome suffering.

“So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.  You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.”

1 Peter 4:1-2 NLT

Suffering for and with Jesus neutralises our sinful appetites and helps us to face real life on a corrupted planet with the power of God’s grace.

What was Jesus attitude in all His suffering?

“He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly…. ‘

Paul adds to our understanding of our suffering.

“I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.”

Colossians 1:24 NLT

Paul did not mean that Jesus’s suffering was either incomplete or ineffective. His suffering was a perfect sacrifice of atonement for our sin.

However, His suffering would be of no benefit to us if we do not appropriate God’s grace to suffer as Jesus did. By steadfastly trusting God in our suffering of whatever kind, we demonstrate God’s power in our lives to overcome the sins of our old nature. We add to Christ’s suffering only by living as He did in submission to and trust in the love of God.

This season of Covid-19 has brought untold suffering to everyone on earth, from the loss of simple pleasures like visiting friends, walking the dog, or just freedom of movement, to the ultimate suffering of grief for the loss of family and friends.

How do we react in these circumstances that is different from the world?

Watch “COVID-19 Health Update From Joni Eareckson Tada” on YouTube https://youtu.be/squAX6lV2Aw

This video from Joni Eareckson Tada, recovering from Covid-19, is a beautiful testimony to the way she responded to her suffering.

In the midst of her darkness, the Lord asked her, “Joni, do you trust me?” She responded, “Yes, Lord, I believe.” In the days following this encounter, she developed a strange calmness, “almost an indifference” she said, to what it would feel like and how it would end.

She felt Him drawing her into His shelter and resting under the shadow of the Almighty.

Quoting the writings of another sufferer (I could not identify the name on the video), she said, “When the suffering soul reaches a place of calm, sweet carelessness, when he can inwardly smile at his (own) suffering and not even ask to be delivered, then it begins to work its blessed ministry. Then the cross we are carry begins to weave itself into a crown.”

In conclusion, said Joni,

“When we give our suffering over to God, and sink ourselves into His will, He will make every pain work its divine purpose in our lives.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

James 1:2-4 NLT