A Heavy Weight
I do not want to take the topic of suffering, lightly. It is anything but light. Over the last two months, I have sat under the weight of it in study, prayer, and reflection almost every day. Every time I began to consider moving it to uncover in writing what is there, I realized I do not yet have the proper handle. And so, I have dug in a little deeper each time and each time I have found more was needed. Suffering is heavy and it is dark underneath. Though, as it begins now to only groan and crack in the beginning of being lifted, the light of the glory of Jesus Christ is already being revealed. That is what is hidden underneath, and it is what you will find if you continue in this series on suffering.
Why is suffering so heavy and dark? Because, “We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom. 8:22). Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, “The creation was subjected to futility” (Rom. 8:20). Originally, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). Though, on that day of the fall, evil penetrated what was good (Gen. 3:5, 22).
Man would return to dust; our bodies will die (Gen. 3:19). Death is painful, as is life. From the fall and the entrance of evil, we are all subject to pain in similar and different ways. To the man, God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:17). To the woman, He said, “In pain you will bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16). Their children would know the same pain. In his jealous anger, in his pain, Cain would kill his brother, Abel. Just prior to the murder, God said to Cain, “Sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Gen. 4:7). Just as sin came crouching like a lion at the entrance to Eve and Adam’s hearts and they failed to master it, it came to destroy Cain and he failed as well.
Corruption, sin, and death would spread its darkness over the heart and life of every man, woman, and living thing. “Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). Evil spread like a virus over the face of the whole earth. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Repeatedly over history, the evilness of sin would master the hearts of mankind, causing pain on top of the already present pain from the original sin. The Bible is full of these stories. From wars to famines to murders, deceit, sexual sin, pride, etc., the world came to be chaos.
Many of us know the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and the immorality of those cities, of the friction between Sarai and Hagar, between Jacob and Esau and afterwards, Laban. Jealousy raged between Jacob’s wives, Rachel, and Leah. It raged again between his sons and Joseph. King David knew pain and suffering well, and he expressed it in the Psalms. Pain is woven into these stories, in the stories in-between these stories, and in the stories following throughout the whole Bible.
The world and God’s people have been suffering since the fall. Think of the Israelites in Egypt and then their exodus through the wilderness. Think of God’s people and the prophets who, “Experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated…, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground” (Heb. 11:36-38). Suffering is often spoken of in the New Testament regarding the disciples of Jesus and the churches. It continues today for us.
Effects
For those reading this, you probably have not suffered to the extent of imprisonment or beatings for your faith. I sure have not. Things are changing in America, but we are not there quite yet, though it may be around the corner. The way we and all Christians suffer in conjunction with each other around the globe is according to our sin, the sins of others, and the curse upon us all because of original sin, death. Without jumping too deep into another topic altogether, though it may be necessary, in talking about the full effects of sin, suffice to say our sins have wreaked havoc on our world, our relationships, and ourselves. We do not love each other well, and the effects are painful. Our bodies are subject to disease, illness, abnormalities, decay, death, and it is painful. Though, these are things the entire world, not just Christians, are subject to.
For the Christian, what is different is that we are subject not only to the death of these bodies but are also putting to death the deeds of the body (Rom. 8:13). As has been discussed often in this blog, we are removing the old to put on the new, the new being Jesus Christ. We are being sanctified and made holy into the image of Christ. What has not been discussed so much is that this process is painful and full of suffering. We are, “Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17). “If indeed we suffer with Him.” If.
The Christian life will often hurt because the old self is being crucified with Christ. This new series on suffering will explore the explications of this. Besides what is, I think, typically thought of in talking about suffering in the Christian life, that being persecution, we will see God’s will to sanctify us into the image of Christ, to conform us to Christ. We are disciplined by the Father for this purpose (Hebrews 12). We face temptations from without and within. We are walking through our own wilderness as the Israelites did, being tested for evidence of our faith and having our faith refined and made stronger.
Dark Valleys
Suffering is a heavy weight. I repeat that because so many of us right now may be thinking, “But you have no idea what I have suffered.” Many have lost their faith in God because of what they have suffered. This world is full of such great evils; such evils that leave the victim numb and witnesses speechless. How could a good God, and on top of that, one that is supposed to love me, allow such evil?
I do not care to compare myself with others because all have suffered something in this world and some far greater than I can imagine. But I have yelled at God, too. When I was sixteen years old and my father passed away unexpectedly, I can vividly remember sobbing on my knees in my bedroom one afternoon after school and then looking up to heaven screaming my hatred for God in that moment. I’ve seen my oldest brother, who I looked up to at one point, unexpectedly have his life completely turned upside down because of a mental breakdown and schizophrenia. I have felt the pain of losing a child to miscarriage. I have battled the dark valleys of depression, the seemingly pitch-black valleys where nothing feels alive. I have been slandered by those I trust and loved ones, been abandoned by a best friend, and betrayed behind my back. I, too, have questioned God’s goodness and purposes.
To continue writing at this point feels like an attempt to lift weighted blocks from each of my fingers because the pain that some have felt is so crippling that a gentle silence seems more appropriate to give. Yet, the power of God is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9) and that is the point in all of it and the point of continuing. There is hope. In the midst of the chaos, in the middle of the pitch-black, lifeless valley, there is a Savior. He has been there the entire time, ever since you fell in. You have not been alone. At first, the valley is so dark you cannot even notice the light at the other end. Its size is like a grain of sand, but it is there, and He is leading you to it. He can be trusted because He knows the way, His scars bearing witness. He is gentle and lowly but powerful. The valley has no control over Him. The farther you go, the closer you come to the light and the closer you come to the light, the greater it becomes. The valley is still dark and as you look back you realize there is absolutely no light that way. Though, towards the light you start to see evidence of the presence of your Savior. As you continue to walk and the greater the light becomes, the more you know Him. He has been here before. He is strong. He is kind, gentle, full of love, peace, and truth. The farther you go, your trust and faith in Him grows like the light, small like a mustard seed at first, but then bigger and bigger and bearing fruit. You trust Him because through every travail you realize He has not left you. Even in your doubts He has stayed by your side. He has been your strength, your comforter, your rock. Absolutely nothing can separate you from His love for you. Nothing. You learn to cling to Him, that no matter what pain befalls you, He is your only way. He is your only way and salvation. And He is good.
He is Good
Our sins have made this world very dark. Though, because of the darkness we see the glory of the light of God in Christ Jesus. We see He is trustworthy, that He alone is good. Jesus has entered our valley so as to teach us to say, “Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Mat. 26:39).
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” – Romans 8:16-18
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:35-39
-Pastor Ben