Most of us
have asked the question, why do people suffer?
Why would God take Dave away from being a pastor and helping others, why
do any of us go through suffering?
We all
know the Sunday School answers, and they’re good and true answers. God is
refining our character, or God is going to use it for good, or God is teaching
us or training us. But it’s hard to really be satisfied with those answers
because we can’t see the outcome like God can—we can’t evaluate that it’s worth
it. As if a servant should evaluate his
master’s plans.
Why isn’t it enough for us to know that God is
sovereign, he is good, he loves us, he’s in control? We think we know
God…until trials come. Then we realize, maybe
we don’t know him as well as we thought.
If we knew Him, we would trust Him, draw near to Him, rely on Him. We push Him away, but we think He turns away
from us.
When we go
through suffering, it’s usually not by choice—but Christ chose to endure great pain on our behalf. In suffering, we have the
gift of seeing more deeply how much Jesus loves us. This God who sought us and
gave up so much for us, won’t abandon us now.
Michael
Card has a beautiful quote:
“The great promise of Psalm 23 is not that we will
be saved from the dark valley, but that the Lord, who is our Shepherd, will
remain close beside us even though the darkness might obscure Him from our
view.”
I think we
have the mistaken perception that God is going to save us from trouble, but
over and over again, that’s not what the word says. He does of course
sometimes. But Isaiah 43:2 says
"When
you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the
rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will
not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
If you are
going through the fire, it’s not because God has abandoned you—he is WITH you
in the fire!
Ken Gire shares a story in his book, The North Face of God. A man named David
and his wife couldn’t have children, so they adopted a beautiful 4-day-old
baby. They were filled with hopes and dreams for this child, but soon found
something was wrong. The baby would stiffen whenever they held him. As he grew,
he was diagnosed with learning disabilities and psychiatric problems. One
doctor told them, when the boy was about 11, that he’d be dead or behind bars
by the time he was 18. The parents refused to believe it, and continued to pour
heart and soul into loving and discipling this boy, determined to find help and
avoid that outcome, they spent years crying out to God…but the son got into
drugs and did end up in prison.
David had
a friend who also had a son in trouble, and they talked often. Exciting things
were happening at his friend’s church—God’s hand was moving, and people were
coming to know Christ—and finally even his friend’s son was turning back to God.
But nothing changed for David. And he told his friend he couldn’t stand to hear
one more miracle of Jesus story. It was too painful.
So
then, a group of people from church decided to meet with David and pray with
him, and they prayed together every week for a year and a half. They became his
lifeline.
He did a 40 day fast and sought the Lord in every way he knew how, but his only
answer was silence.
One day David decided to go to the prayer room at church and stay there until
he heard from God. He was broken and at the very end of his rope, he was
desperate. He waited for 5 hours, and then he finally heard God speak. And this
is what God said:
“If I never heal your son, If I never speak to you the way you want…can I still
be your God? Will you still love me, still honor me, still serve me?”
So
often we believe the lie that God must not really love me, or He would change
this circumstance in my life. Sometimes, that’s not in God’s plan, and we may
not get to know why. We may not even be able to understand why.
Can he still be
your God?
I could
easily be consumed by asking Why? It’s a good question, we should ask it, but
we don’t always get to know why. The lack of answers can leave us feeling
bitter and defeated and unloved. Instead, my very wise husband Dave has
encouraged me to ask two other questions:
Who is
God? And, how will I respond?
God
doesn’t change when we suffer. He is still all-powerful, all-loving, just,
merciful, holy—and he still cares deeply for us. He doesn’t abandon us—he is
walking with us. In fact, he’s closer than most of us ever imagine.
Remember the story Jesus told about how
he’ll separate the sheep and the goats at the end of the age? And he tells the
sheep that they visited him when he was sick and in prison, that they brought
him food and drink when he was in need—and the sheep were confused. “Lord, when did we do this?”
His answer
shows that God
doesn't merely see our pain; He says that "whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Mt 25:40). That
means…He is hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison, along with us. When He says "never
will I leave you, never will I forsake you," He means to impart a depth of
love and grace and unity with our spirits that if we truly understood it, would
take our breath away.
If that’s
who God is…how will we respond? Isn’t he worthy of our all, even our suffering?
When I was
younger, I used to think about how I was willing to live my life for God and
give my all—never dreaming what might be required. He has come, asking for my
all, asking for things dear to me like my husband’s health, and simple
pleasures like going to church together. Good things, things I took for granted
and never expected to give up—so how will I respond? I can kick and scream and
throw a good ol-fashioned 2 year-old tantrum—and I’ve done that! Or I can lay
down my life, like Romans 12:1-2 says, as a living sacrifice. God you are
worthy.
Romans
12:1 says,
“I urge you, brothers, sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your
spiritual act of worship.”
The pain in our lives is never meaningless. We may not know why, but we can ask
God to be glorified in our lives. We can remember that Christ thought we were
worth suffering for, when we go through our dark nights. He is certainly worthy
of our suffering.
