Fight for Joy! Blog
Where Jesus Changes Everything
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
I cannot think of one person I know, who is a believer, who enjoys and looks forward to suffering. I know I do not. However, every believer I know, without exception, looks forward to sharing in God’s glory. For many, this glory is simply being in heaven with Jesus Christ and enjoying all the glories that heaven has to offer. However, sharing in God’s glory is much more than simply being in heaven with Him. The Bible says that God saves all believers for His glory. Furthermore, the Bible says that believers will share in His glory. This is a difficult concept for most to understand. Equally as difficult is the method by which we will come to share in His glory – suffering. This suffering, I believe, is two-fold. First of all, there are those who suffer because they are a believer. Secondly, there are those who suffer as a believer. Either way, the Bible says that believers are to expect suffering and are to rejoice in it. Peter says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing” (1 Peter 4:12-13). This is the Word of the Lord! So when we suffer, we are to remember three things. First of all, it is through suffering that we will come to share in God’s glory. Paul says, “We suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17). Secondly, we must understand that whatever the suffering may entail, it is only temporary when considered in the breadth of eternity: “For momentary light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Finally, God allows us to suffer in order to call us to an eternal hope: “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. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it” (Romans 8:18, 24-25). I have personally experienced enough suffering and darkness in my life that I have concluded this world really has nothing for me. Because I have suffered, I have come to long for eternity. To put it plainly, I hope for that which I do not see. And what is this hope? It is the future glory that shall be revealed in me (Romans 8:18; Colossians 3:4). It is the future glory that is described as an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). It is this future glory that will far exceed anything I have ever seen or heard or longed for in my heart, as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Therefore, I encourage you to remember and recall these things to mind as you think about that which you have suffered or may be suffering now – We share in His sufferings that we may share in His glory! “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me – to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
Many believers struggle with why bad things happen to good people. They logically conclude that if God is really a good God then surely He has to be opposed to the suffering of His people. However, the Bible paints a different story. We understand that it is through suffering that the believer will come to share in God’s glory: “We suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:17). We also know that those who perpetrate evil against God’s people will not win in the end: “But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked will be cut off” (Psalm 37:38). But what about suffering that is not necessarily the result of someone else’s evil schemes? After all, we not only suffer because we are believers. We also suffer as believers. That is, we all have experienced or know someone who has personally experienced great suffering in this life. Some have battled with disease. Others have suffered great loss. Some have watched their dreams fall apart. In fact, for some, there seems to be no end to suffering. The Apostle Paul was no stranger to suffering. The Bible records for us that Paul suffered through imprisonments, that he was beaten and often in danger of death. He was stoned and even suffered shipwreck on three different occasions. However, there was one form of suffering he endured about which the Bible says he “implored the Lord three times that it might leave me” (2 Corinthians 12:8). I do not believe he prayed three short prayers of “Lord, let it leave me.” Rather, these were three long seasons of prayer, perhaps months, even years, where he pleaded with God. However, each time God answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” In other words, God’s grace was sufficient for Paul’s suffering. Likewise, His grace is sufficient for you and me, regardless of what suffering we might experience or are experiencing now. So how is the believer to experience God’s sufficient grace during times of suffering? I believe the key is where our focus is. In his first letter to the Corinthian believers, Paul said, “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (2:1-5). This is the Word of the Lord! Whatever your experience of suffering may be, remember this – God wants to demonstrate His Spirit and power through your suffering, “so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” His grace is absolutely and completely sufficient for you! It was so sufficient for Paul that he could write, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). “Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:19-23).
“Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness…” Obviously these are the words of one who struggled with despair and depression. After all, the writer of Lamentations begins chapter 3 by asserting, “I am the man who has seen affliction because of the rod of His wrath” (3:1). Depression. It is the common cold of emotional disorders. At any given time, 17 percent of the population suffers from it. It is more than the occasional feeling of the blues. It is a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal. It is sadness greater and more prolonged than anything one who has not experienced it could ever imagine. It can even be incapacitating on occasion. And the believer is not exempt. Some of the great biblical characters wrestled with depression. At one point in his life, Moses wanted to die (Exodus 32:32). While struggling with his suffering, Job “cursed the day of his birth” (3:1). Furthermore, he cried, “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, the grave is ready for me” (17:1). Elijah was incapacitated with depression soon after he had been an integral player in one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s power (1 Kings 19). Even the great prophet Jeremiah (who also wrote Lamentations) declared, “Why did I ever come forth from the womb to look on trouble and sorrow?” (20:18). How is the Christian to respond? As a mental health professional, I work with people everyday who are depressed. Some were abused as children. Others are depressed because they missed their “dream” in life. Still others have suffered loss over which they had no control. And finally, there are some who cannot point to any particular reason for their depression. How should the Christian respond? Well, it is never appropriate for one believer to look at another believer, who may be struggling with depression, and indicate that it is their “lack of faith” that is the cause of their depression. Furthermore, the Christian who may be struggling with depression should not feel guilty because they cannot seem to “hold it together.” Even Jesus was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). The Christian should respond to depression by remembering that it is God who gives strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. The Bible says, “This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:19-23). This is the word of the Lord! One Christian brother I know said this: “I am a Christian who has struggled with depression for a long time. I am finding it hard to face each new day. My wife and I want to have children but are unable to. I don’t understand why God is allowing this. And I don’t like this feeling of not being in control. But I choose to believe that God is sovereign…that He is in control. I choose to believe that each day, His mercies are new…Great is His faithfulness!” Indeed, there is strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow! “But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling. My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight. Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end” (Psalm 73:2-3, 16-17).
Why does God allow evil and suffering in the world? This is a question we are confronted with everyday. We turn on the news and see images of passenger jets slamming into buildings. We listen to the radio only to learn a sniper has taken yet another innocent life in and around our nation’s capital. We pick up the newspaper and learn of abuse allegations within the Church. We answer the telephone and receive news a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. We read and hear about the fact that in many parts of the world there are wars, famines, natural catastrophes, and epidemic diseases. It seems that everywhere we look, people are suffering. Furthermore, evil abounds and the evildoers seem to be getting away with the evil they perpetrate. It is no surprise that such evil and suffering and the supposed prosperity of the evildoer causes many to question how a good God can allow such evil and suffering. Such was the case with Asaph, the author of Psalm 73. He begins by saying, “But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling.” Why? Because he was “envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Like many believers today, Asaph almost lost his confidence in the Lord because he was envious of the prosperity of the wicked. Like most believers, Asaph struggled with why? Why does God seemingly allow the evildoer to prosper while the believer, who seeks to live righteously, suffers? To understand the answer to this question, we must look to eternity. Our problem is that too often we view the purpose and promises of God in terms of our present personal happiness. However, we fail to realize that the purpose and promises of God are more about the coming of Christ’s kingdom than our individual enjoyment here and now. God’s focus is eternal. Therefore, as believers, we must focus on eternity. For us, life is more about eternity than it is about the here and now. For Asaph, the turning point for him came when he “came into the sanctuary of God.” It was there that his focus began to shift from now to eternity. He came to recognize that God would reward the righteous in eternity and destroy evil and the evildoer. Clearly, eternity makes all the difference. Paul says, “For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18). This is the Word of the Lord! I do not know what you are struggling with today. I do not know what losses you have experienced in life. I have no idea what evil you might have experienced. I can only testify to my own experiences. But this I do know, our citizenship is in heaven (1 Peter 1:1), and as believers, our questions will one day be answered. When? When we all get to heaven. Paul put it this way: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12). I do not understand fully now. However, in eternity I will know fully. |
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