Posted on 10/02/2015 5:07:04 AM PDT by Gamecock
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (v. 20). - Genesis 50:15–21
Conversion to Christ brings with it a great number of blessings. Chief among these are that we have peace with God, receive Him as our Father, and have the sure hope of eternal life (John 1:12–13; 3:16; Rom. 5:1). We also benefit from the joy that is given to us as part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Yet at the same time, we also know that Christianity does not carry with it a guarantee of freedom from pain and suffering (see, for example, 1 Thess. 1:6). In fact, becoming a Christian may lead to rejection by family and friends, loss of work, and other trials directly related to the profession of faith. Even if we do not face overt persecution for our faith, however, living in this fallen world means that we will endure suffering in the form of sickness and disease.
No matter the form our suffering takes, God’s Word has much to say on its place in the Christian life. To help us better grasp the meaning and purpose of suffering, as well as the proper Christian response to it, we will pause our studies in the Old Testament Wisdom Literature in order to look at suffering in its broader biblical context. Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching series Surprised by Suffering will guide this study.
Suffering has a way of cutting through abstract theology and getting to the heart of matters that seem most pressing and practical. Most significantly, suffering has a way of prompting us to ask God why He has allowed particular tragedies to come into our lives.
When such questions arise, many people seek to remove God from any association with the pain. Some individuals state that the Lord has nothing at all to do with suffering. They suggest that He did not bring it into our lives, that He does not want it to happen, that His hands are entirely “clean,” as it were. But this answer cannot stand. God works out all things according to the counsel of His will, not just the happy things (Eph. 1:11). The Lord is sovereign even over our suffering, and He ordains it for a specific purpose. Joseph found strength to persevere in the midst of his suffering in Egypt because he understood that the pain he endured was sovereignly established by God in order to put him in place to save many lives (Gen. 50:15–21). We can be confident that God works all things, including our suffering, for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:18, 28).
Coram Deo
God always has a good purpose for allowing suffering to come into our lives, but we do not always know what that purpose is. Yet, because we know the Lord is perfectly good (James 1:13–18), we trust that He will work all of the pain that we endure for our final good and His final glory. The better we know the character of our Creator, the better we will be able to trust in His goodness and grace in the midst of all our suffering.
Passages for Further Study
Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Ping
On a couple occasions I have seen why I suffered, the good that came from it.
On other occasions I did not. Perhaps I will some day, or I may not know until I am in Glory.
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:--Proverbs 1:24-28
I would hate to be in the group of "unjust" dealt with in Proverbs 1:24-28. But through faith in Christ, not religion, but faith in Christ I know I will never be a part of the doomed and damned group referred to in Proverbs 1:24-28.
(read later)
Amen.
I always tell my wife that this life is the worst experience we will have for all eternity.
To the reprobate this life is as good as it gets. It is all down hill from here.
That scripture has been subliminally in my head since getting saved in 1981
Not so much that people be kept alive .... but that I emerge unscathed.
I know it's selfish, but so is, God loves me.
Great thread Gamecock.
Amen! And often the pain is the means in which we better know the character of our Beloved Creator.
My Pastor gave a great message about suffering and tragedies from the perspective of the unsaved awhile ago. The unsaved often argue "how can a loving God allow it to happen".
Your Pastor is a wise man.
I heard either RC Sproul or Michael Horton say that as Christians we know that God understands our suffering because he suffered more than any of us will ever be called to do when he suffered for our sins on the Cross.
I absolutely agree with that. I am coming to realize that our sufferings are a gift because they help us to realize just a smidgeon of what the Lord went through in order to bring us into his family. Our suffering, deep and hurting as it can be, is just a small portion of what Christ suffered. Oh, how he loves you and me.
Amen!
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