SUFFERING-CAUSES
As followers
of Christ, we often suffer not because we are out of God's will but because we
are in it, not because we lack faith but because we have faith. We suffer not because we need to be filled
with the Spirit but because we already are.
Stronger faith does not mean less suffering, but more suffering means
stronger faith. Far
from calling our faith into question, our afflictions result in our becoming
more and more like Christ Himself.
Suffering as
a Christian is a sign that God is powerfully at work in our lives. Longing for our final redemption, suffering
for doing right, and being persecuted for our faith are all evidence that God
has begun the good work of making us like Christ. Our suffering consequently becomes a great
encouragement to our faith, since those who share in Christ's sufferings know
that they will also share in his resurrection (Matt. 5:11-12; Rom. 8:17; Phil.
3:10).
Scott Hafemann
The God of Promise and the Life of
Faith. Crossway Books, 2001, p. 151.
My child,
trust firmly in the Lord, and do not fear the judgment of men when conscience
tells you that you are upright and innocent.
For it is good and blessed to suffer such things, and
they will not weigh heavily on the humble heart that trusts in God rather than
itself. Many men say many things,
and therefore little faith is to be put in them. Likewise, it is impossible to satisfy all
men. Although Paul tried to please all
in the Lord, and became all things to all men, yet he made little of their
opinions. He labored abundantly for the
edification and salvation of others, as much as lay in him and as much as he
could, but he could not escape being sometimes judged and despised by
others. Therefore, he committed all to
God who knows all things.
Thomas a Kempis
All
experiences of suffering in the path of Christian obedience, whether from persecution
or sickness or accident, have this in common: They all threaten our faith in
the goodness of God and tempt us to leave the path of obedience. Therefore, every triumph of faith and all
perseverance in obedience are testimonies to the goodness of God and the
preciousness of Christ – whether the enemy is sickness, Satan, sin or
sabotage. Therefore, all suffering, of
every kind, that we endure in the path of our Christian calling is a suffering
"with Christ" and "for Christ." With Him in the sense that the suffering
comes to us as we are walking with Him by faith, and in the sense that it is
endured in the strength that He supplies through His sympathizing high-priestly
ministry (Hebrews 4:15). For Him in the
sense that the suffering tests and proves our allegiance to His goodness and
power, and in the sense that it reveals His worth as an all-sufficient
compensation and prize.
John Piper
Suffering for the Sake of the Body – The
Pursuit of People Through Pain, A Seminar for The Bethlehem
Institute.
The suffering of sickness and the suffering of persecution have
this in common: they are both intended by Satan for the destruction of
our faith, and governed by God for the purifying of our faith… Christ sovereignly accomplishes His loving, purifying purpose, by
overruling Satan's destructive attempts. Satan is always aiming to
destroy our faith; but Christ magnifies His power in weakness.
John Piper
Desiring God, 1996, p. 216, Used by
Permission, www.desiringGod.org.
Is suffering
the will of God? Does He orchestrate suffering?
Job 2:10 – “shall
we accept good from God and not accept adversity?”
Jer. 32:42 – “I
brought all this calamity on this people.”
Amos 3:6 – “if
a calamity occurs in a city, has not the Lord done it?”
1 Pet 3:17 – “if
God should will it so, that you suffer for doing right.”
1
Pet. 4:19 – “those who suffer according to the will of God.”
James Fowler
Excerpted from: Suffering, Study Outlines, 1999, www.christinyou.net. Used by Permission.
Some
believers are very surprised when they are called to suffer. They thought they
would do some great thing for God, but all God permits them to do is to suffer.
Just suppose you could speak with those who have gone to be with the Lord;
everyone has a different story, yet everyone has a tale of suffering. One was
persecuted by family and friends...another was inflicted with pain and disease,
neglected by the world...another was bereaved of children...another had all
these afflictions. But you will notice that though the water was deep, they all
have reached the other side. Not one of them blames God for the road He led
them; 'Salvation' is their only cry. Are there any of you, dear children,
murmuring at your lot? Do not sin against God. This is the way God leads all
His redeemed ones.
Robert McCheyne