I. Intro: Everyone experiences suffering at some point in life, but scripture is rich with patience and comfort to help us endure.
A. In recent days, suffering seems to be everywhere.
1. Many of us at TRC have experienced lingering sickness and medical emergencies. Even beyond our church family, I am aware of many in the body of Christ who are suffering physically. (Shingles, MRSA and Pastor Freddie’s passing away.)(Pastor Willie confirms the same thing is happening in Kansas in his flock.)
2. There have been financial struggles, family and relationship heartbreaks, halted progress and abnormal resistance to our goals and aspirations.
3. Feeling burdened by this, I sought the Lord in prayer and the Word and I kept coming back to the Lord saying “Comfort! Comfort My people.” (Isa 40:1) So searched the Word for the wisdom and comfort that God offers us in times of suffering.
B. Jesus knows our suffering and He offers us peace in the midst of it.
1. John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
a. tribulation: Gr. thlipsis, a pressing, to be under pressure, affliction, distress
b. Jesus says “While you are in the world, you will be under pressure, experience affliction and distress.”
2. What is Jesus referring to when He says “…these things I have spoken to you…” What things? Everything He taught them, and to us, the entire Word of God. He spoke them so that we would find peace in Him while suffering, and Jesus is still offering us the same peace that He imparted to His early disciples.
C. Scripture assumes that suffering is part of our experience in this life.
1. Ps 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
2. Acts 14:21&22
“21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
a. Backstory in Acts 13&14
b. Preached in Antioch, was “…expelled form their region.”
c. Iconium: almost stoned by a violent mob, some came from Antioch
d. Lystra: was stoned and left for dead, arose and escaped to Derbe
e. Derbe: made many disciples
f. Went back to Antioch, Iconium & Lystra and said “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
3. James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.”
a. James doesn’t say “…if you fall…” but “…when…”
4. 1 Peter 5:8&9
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
a. Peter tells us to be on the lookout, because our enemy is hunting us
b. This is not unique to us, believers around the world suffer the same attack
c. Vs 10 assures us that suffering will not last forever “…after you have sulfide a while…” all suffering has an end
d. The Lord will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us again.
II. Three proactive responses to suffering.
A. Overview.
1. Since we know that suffering is part of this life, how should we approach it? Is it possible to be proactive even in our suffering?
2. Throughout my life and Christian walk I have seen two extreme responses to suffering, I think the best response is somewhere in the middle. But these two extremes are:
a. Rebuking everything, thinking that we should never suffer
b. Suffering passively, assuming that we are powerless to do anything
3. I think the best and biblical approach is a bit of both at the same time. While God is in ultimate control, we should still pray, stand on His Word and resist the devil.
4. I want to suggest three ways that we can do this. They are:
a. Acceptance of what we are going through.
b. Learning from the scriptures for wisdom and guidance.
c. Asking God what He is using this suffering to work in us.
B. Acceptance.
1. Even though we try to avoid suffering, we still go through it. So it helps to just accept that our suffering is being allowed by God and He is working it out for our good. (Romans 8:28)
2. If we can accept that our trial is just a normal part of life, it will be easier to rest in the Lord and trust Him to carry us through it, rather than trying to overcome it in our own strength.
a. EX: When I had pericarditis, I was anxious about what I needed to do to recover and it became overwhelming.
b. The Lord said to me “You are not responsible to heal yourself.”
c. As I sat with the Lord on this, He taught me that I was responsible to be a good steward of the body He gave me, but He is my healer, not me.
d. I was to wait, trust and rest.
e. Through all this, I still prayed for full recovery and thanked Him for it.
3. CAUTION: The acceptance that I am talking about is really just embracing your current season with the Lord. I DO NOT MEAN that we should accept it and give up in hopelessness, letting suffering sit on us like a heavy burden or a dark cloud.
a. It is not self-pity, “woe is me” etc.
b. It is “This is what God is allowing me to go through right now, but this too shall pass.”
C. Learning from the scriptures for wisdom and guidance.
1. The Word is rich with the wisdom and guidance we need to weather any storm. But we have to choose it, dig through it and then apply those principles in our life.
2. Often we look to sources outside of God’s Word for answers. The Lord will lead us to other people for help (doctors, financial planners and mentors, etc.) but these alone are not enough. We need the wisdom and guidance that God has given us in the scriptures.
3. Sometimes we have to apply God’s wisdom repeatedly and consistently before we see the results. The Lord impressed this on me last week. I was to plant the seed of the Word in my heart and mind, water it with thanksgiving and praise and if I was consistent in this, I would reap the result.
D. Asking God what He is using this suffering to work in us.
1. The Lord is such a great steward, He doesn’t waste anything. He uses everything to form Christ in us.
2. 1 Thess 4:3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” So God’s will for us is to make us like Jesus.
3. Romans 8:28&29
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
4. So as we endure suffering, we should be seeking the Lord for how He is using this to make us more like Jesus.
III. How does God use suffering to make us more like Jesus?
A. God uses suffering to draw us into deeper intimacy with Him.
1. Phil 3:10&11
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
a. know: ginosko to gain an understanding, to know what makes Him tick
b. fellowship: koinania fellowship, community, joint participation
2. God uses suffering to draw us closer to Him. And He invites us to partner with Him in suffering by learning to do our part and trusting Him to do the rest. We learn to walk with God through the trial instead of suffering alone.
B. God uses suffering to teach us to find our comfort in God alone.
1. 2 Cor 1:3&4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
a. comfort: paraklesis comfort, solace, consolation
b. Our first and foremost source of comfort is the God of all comfort, who comforts is in all of our suffering
2. God teaches us what true comfort is by comforting us Himself, and then He wants us to comfort others in the same way.
a. 1 Thess 5:11 “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another.”
C. God uses suffering to strengthen our fellowship with other saints.
1. The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. God designed us to live in fellowship with Him and one another.
2. So many times we try to endure suffering alone because we are embarrassed, prideful, insecure, don’t want to be a bother, etc.
3. Key Scriptures:
a. 1 Cor 12:26 “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.”
b. Rom 12:15 “…mourn with those who mourn.”
c. Gal 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
4. God uses suffering to teach us how to overcome the pride and insecurity that keeps is from the communal life that He has ordained for us.
D. God uses suffering to teach us to endure.
1. Romans 5:3&4
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
a. perseverance: patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness
2. Suffering is the gym that trains our spiritual muscles. (Faith, endurance, etc.) It trains us to hope in God’s ability to sustain us in this life and bring us into eternal life more than
anything else in this world.
E. God uses suffering to teach us to resist the enemy.
1. 1 Peter 5:8&9
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
2. Here we see those two extremes that we talked about earlier coming into balance: accepting that suffering is part of life and yet still remaining vigilant and resisting the evil one.
a. Everyone else is going through it
b. Continue to resist
c. This will not last forever
F. God uses suffering to make us dead to the world.
1. Galatians 6:14
“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
2. 1 Peter 4:1&2
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3. The cross is the ultimate symbol of suffering. On the cross, Jesus suffered for our sins until He died. Suffering helps us to crucify the flesh and die to the lust of the world so that we can truly live for Christ.
G. God uses suffering to show His strength in our weakness.
1. 2 Cor 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2. It’s easy to say that we rely on God in good times. But hidden in our weakness and suffering lies an opportunity for us to practice that reliance and experience the strength of God in spite of our weakness.
H. God uses suffering to teach us that He is in control of our lives.
1. Several scriptures from Job. (1:12; 2:6)
2. God…
a. allowed Job’s suffering
b. set limits to how much Job would suffer
c. met Job in his suffering
d. brought his suffering to a definite end
e. restored all that was lost even more than he had at first
3. Through the suffering experience, God gave Job a new perspective on God, a clearer vision of Who God Is.
a. Job 42:5&6
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
I. God uses suffering to teach us to trust Him for the outcome.
1. 1 Peter 2:21-23
21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
2. The last part reveals how Jesus trusted God for the final outcome even as He suffered. He committed Himself, or He entrusted Himself, to God Who judges righteously.
3. In our suffering we learn to trust in the character of God to establish what is just and right for us.
J. God uses suffering to teach us that He is our refuge.
1. Nahum 1:7
“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.”
2. Isaiah 43:1-3a
1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
IV. Closing.
A. Joshua and Danny from last week.
1. Joshua so graciously shared his current suffering with us and it stirred something in all of us. Alan’s prayer.
2. Danny reminded us of the Shepherding nature of God. Even in our suffering, Jesus is leading us and He knows the way.
a. Through the valley of the shadow of death.
b. He sets a table for us in the presence of our enemies.
B. Jesus suffered for us.
1. Isaiah 53:3-9
3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked— but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.