Faith and Suffering

I am continually amazed at the hand of God; in fact amazed is just the tip of the iceberg of what I can even grasp. Over the past week, as explained in my previous blog, I have experienced one of the greatest times of weakness in my life but one of the greatest times of strength. The verse that kept coming to my mind was Paul's declaration in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

This week I was bombarded with trials and tests that seemed to come from every direction, in the midst of it all I was seeking to implement the resolutions I had committed to follow and in all honesty had a few moments of complete brokenness in which I could do nothing more than cry out to my loving Father in heaven and ask for Him to strengthen me. There are these paradoxes within the Christian life I can't seem to resolve that when you are weak, you are strong and when confusion swarms your heart and mind, there is peace. God in His perfect providence orchestrated the encouragement of a few Godly men whom I respect and admire, John MacArthur and Paul Washer. During my time in the Word I sought the words of these men as the articulated the concepts of faith and suffering. The weakness of my flesh was exposed even more and the humility I felt was unexplainable; the reality of not thinking you are strong lest you fall came knocking at my door, and the Truth of my whole dependence on Him forced me to my knees.

Washer explained the power of the faith we as believers have been given through the precious grace of God. This faith is what motivates everything we as believers do, and it is this very faith and the lack thereof that explains everything about us and even more importantly our view of the character of God. When we choose sin, we lack faith. When we choose to manipulate situations to get what we want, we lack faith. When we question suffering, pain and hardship we lack faith. When we keep our mouths closed in opportunity to share Christ, we lack faith. When we worry, we lack faith. When we avoid suffering for the cause of Christ we lack faith. When we fear, we lack faith. And the list goes on. Our faith is the outward and inward reality of what we think of the Almighty, the Sovereign One, the Creator of the universe. This concept is powerful, it is convicting and it drove me to remember that I need to pour myself into studying my precious Jesus. I realized how foolish I was to question the PROVIDENCE of a sovereign God in the affairs of all things, and that my weary soul was lacking faith. It drove me to my knees in prayer, begging the Lord to grant me faith to trust even when I can't see. Paul Washer said, "Seek the Lord...on my knees humbly seeking my God, it is the answer to everything! You don't know what to do? Drop to your knees and seek His face!"

MacArthurs point was similar and encouraging. In his book The Power of Sufferingwe see the promises of Scripture expounded upon; the reality that the believer WILL suffer, some more than others. Examples of Paul, Daniel and the like proved God's sovereign hand in all the affairs of life. MacArthur explained the "purposes" we see in Scripture for our suffering:


(1) The Lesson of Faith- the foremost reason is to test our faith in Him! This is not because He doesn't know what our faith is like, this is for us, to assure us and to give us hope and encouragement.
(2) The Lesson of Humility- to remind us of our dependence on Him and that we would boast in Him alone
(3) The Lesson of Rejecting Materialism- the need to wean us away from worldly things
(4) The Lesson of Eternal Hope- to call us to a greater realization of our eternal hope

It is in the very example of Jesus Christ that we find our model, our perfect example of suffering and our response to that. He was a silent sufferer, One who deserved nothing but praise, glory, and worship but received persecution, mocking, and humiliation to the max and yet stood still, giving Himself up. As the Bible teaches, the servant is not above His master and therefore if Jesus suffered, which He did, we too are promised suffering and therefore must be prepared for it. Yet we shouldn't fear, God didn't give us a spirit of fear, in fact He promises the complete opposite, total peace. " If we are faithfully walking in the path of discipleship daily we will be aware of all the consequences of obedient living". And yet how are we to respond? With thankfulness! Thankfulness is the antidote to worry and fear. Christians are given peace, perfect peace in the midst of every suffering, a confident trust that God is PROVIDENTIALLY at work in every little detail of our lives and in the lives of every individual. "Once you come to accept that God is in control of all things, you will be that much better prepared to deal with whatever hardships and sufferings He may choose to send your way because "We know that God causes ALL things to work together for good for those who love God, to those who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)"".

I have been encouraged by the peace of God I have had that surpasses all understanding, the joy He has given me solely in Him, and the faith that He has given me to believe that He is good just like He says He is and that He is in control of everything! What an amazing God we serve, One who never leaves us or forsakes us, who will never let us down, and who will fulfill His plans and purposes! Grace...It is by grace you are justified and by grace you are sanctified and it will be by grace that one day you are glorified; there is never a moment in life when you are not in full need of every ounce of His grace. What incredible LOVE He has for those who are in Him!

May our hearts have this attitude: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:25-26 And may our faith be increased, even more so in the midst of suffering!