Video Transcript: Suffering and Faith

In our next three lectures, we'll be looking at some things that pose significant  challenges to would be disciples of Christ. There are many such challenges, but  I'm just focusing on three things that seem to be particularly difficult for God's  Old Testament people, and which continues to be difficult today. The first one  we'll be dealing with is the effect of suffering has on one's faith. A common  opinion is that suffering makes faith difficult or even impossible. The perception  here is that if an all good and all powerful, God did exist, he wouldn't allow such  suffering. That usually leads to one of these conclusions. I don't believe there is  a God or if there is a God, he's not to be trusted. But scripture comes to a  different conclusion. Already from the Old Testament, there's much insight to be  gained about the causes of suffering and more importantly about God's  response to suffering about how we should respond to it, and even about how  suffering can actually help strengthen one's faith and trust in God. As we learn  already in the first chapters of the Bible, suffering began when Adam and Eve  rebelled against God. Their disobedience in the matter of eating the forbidden  fruit was really the consequence of their conviction that God did not know what  was best for them. But they soon found out differently as suffering came into  their lives, and the lives of their descendants. They found out about pain and  frustrating work and relationship problems. And they also came to understand  something of the ongoing spiritual conflict that lay before them. God indeed, did  indicate Satan would eventually be defeated in his promise, Genesis 3:15, and  the woman's offspring would crush the serpent's head, which means to deal him  with final and mortal blow. But until that final outcome gold, God also indicated  that Satan would have leeway to bruise the heel of that is afflict Adam and Eve's offspring. The ultimate offspring in view is Jesus. But of course, the whole  human race also has suffered the affliction so Satan, a Genesis 3:15 calls these  afflictions a heel strike. But as we've found out, this is no small thing, irritating  but not truly harmful. Isaiah uses these descriptive words, to indicate the extent  of Jesus sufferings in chapter 53. Despised, rejected, Man of Sorrows, stricken,  smitten and afflicted by God pierced, crushed, oppressed, cut off and so on. And Hebrews 11 Likewise, pictures the suffering that some of Jesus's followers have  had to go through, mistreated, persecuted, engineered, beaten, chained,  imprisoned, tortured, several ways of being killed stoning sawing in two burning  sword. The bruised heel of Genesis 3:15 In other words can and does include  torture, and physical death. The battle continues today because the final  judgment on Satan has not yet taken place. Although the deathblow has been  struck by by Christ's resurrection, victory at Easter, it may be a while yet before  the end of the current troubles of our world. So the perpetual question on our  hearts and tongues is similar to the main one on the hearts and tongues of the  biblical writers. How long Oh Lord, before our suffering ends, how long? This  question is common in the Psalms of the Bible. For example, Psalm 13:2, how  long must I wrestle with my thoughts? In every day have sorrow in my heart? 

How long will my enemy triumphal for me? Psalm 74:10, how long will the  enemy mock you? Oh, God will the foe revile your name forever? Psalm 89:46,  how long Oh, Lord, will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn  like fire? Psalm 90:13. relent, O Lord, how long will it be? Have compassion on  your servants? The prophets also asked the question, I'll give just one example  from Habakkuk 1:2-4. How long the Prophet asks how long O Lord, must I call  for help, but you do not listen or cry out to you violence, but you do not say why  do you make me look at injustice, why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and  violence are before me there is strife and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is  paralyzed, and justice never prevails, the wicked hem in the righteous, so that  justice is perverted. The biblical writers who are concerned not only about the  professed enemies of God and His people, and the suffering caused by them,  but also about problems within the family of God, weakness and hypocrisy,  which cause their own share of suffering. How long? Oh Lord, is a question that  asks for God's help. But there's, there's another important question that goes  with it. What can the righteous do in such a world? Is there even anything we  can do? David asked this very question in Psalm 11:1-3 He writes, in the Lord, I  take refuge. How then can you say to me flee like a bird to your mountain for  look the wicked bend their bows, they set their arrows against the strings to  shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being  destroyed, what can the righteous do? We don't know the particulars of David's  trouble here. This might be from the years his life was threatened by King Saul.  Or David could have written this later in life during one of the significant  challenges he faced during his reign, like that challenge for his own son,  Absalom. Whatever his current situation, the world seemed upside down. It  seemed that righteousness was not being rewarded but punished. And so yes,  when the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? Very  little, that seems to many, and even trying to get you into trouble. And so some  people seeing the foundation's been destroyed, they calculate the risks and  forget doing anything about it if it's too risky. David had some advisors like that,  flee like a bird to your mountain, they said, when the foundations are being  destroyed, all the righteous could do is whatever it takes to survive and leave  resistance to another day. Or try this popular alternative. Make the get bad guys  pay, give them a taste of their own medicine, even if it means using the tactics of the unrighteous to advance the cause of righteousness. When the foundations  are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? Two answers, run away? Or  get them back. Two conventional answers, which just so happened not to be  biblical one. It's not that slide is never wise, sometimes it's smart. But the real  issue, as David saw was a matter of whom he would trust in the midst of the  foundation destroying attacks of those trying to get him would he trust to his own devices, or trust himself to God who put him in office. And that's the appropriate  question for everyone who suffers the attacks of Satan in this in this interim time 

before his full defeat. David's worse and Psalm 11:4-7 are good for every  sufferer to remember. David says, The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on Earth his eyes examine them.  The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked those who love violence he  hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain, fiery coals and burning sulfer, a scorching wind will be their lot. For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice, the  upright will see his face. When you suffer, it's always best to take refuge in the  Sovereign Lord, it may appear that the righteous are fighting on the losing side.  But that's not the reality of the situation. Because the Lord watches what's  happening. And I trust that he will act when he decides the time is right. David  doesn't ask God what takes you so long? He doesn't ask that here, at least  elsewhere in the Bible, we find out it's perhaps it's because God who is not  willing that any should perish is being patient and waiting for more people to  give their lives to Him. But here, God is silent. Even so David by faith knows he's on the throne. He's watching and approving of the righteous. He's also watching  and hating the violence of the wicked. At the same time, God uses this  opportunity to examine the righteous. He sets him tests to see and improve The  nature of their hearts. God does this not coldly or indifferently, but with parental  concern. Nothing proves faith and righteousness more completely than the  obedient actions of those who despite all the reasons to doubt God, keep  trusting. The result of God's thorough observation and examination is the  appropriate reward for the righteous and the wicked. The word that the psalmist  used, uses to describe the mode of delivery of the reward of the wicked is rain.  God's rain upon the wicked is a destroying rain. It's like that which destroyed  Sodom and Gomorrah in the time of Abraham, it's a rain of Fire and Brimstone  was the same time the righteous get their appropriate reward. They received the blessings that God showers on his people. As watery rain nourishes the desert  so God's gracious spiritual rain nourishes weary souls, the righteous will see  God they will see his justice, their side will prove to be the right one after all. In  the meantime, all those who suffer should know the good that God can bring  from suffering. In fact, we might learn something about this from the experience  of the Israelites on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. Even though  God had miraculously delivered them from Pharaoh's grasp, they soon  discovered that they weren't yet finished with hardship. In some of this hardship, if not from the Lord was at least used by him to test his people. For example, at  Marah, the Lord turned bitter water sweet after which Genesis 15:25-26 tells us,  The Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He  said, If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes,  I will not bring upon you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians for I am  the Lord who heals you. Shortly afterward, the people were grumbling about the  lack of food to eat. And that's when the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 16:4 I will  rain down bread from heaven for you, the people are to go out each day and 

gather enough for that day and this way, I will test them and see whether they  will follow my instructions. So is especially in the provision of manna that God  taught Israel to lessons about how he expected them to respond not only in  good times. But also in the face of every hardship and every bit of suffering they  faced. The first lesson was, what I give you each day will be enough for you.  What I give you each day will be enough for you. Here's how God taught that  lesson. When the people gathered the manna, this is in Exodus 16 We find that  he who gathered much did not have too much and he gathered little did not  have too little each one gathered as much as he needed. Amazing. It came out  just right. When Israel followed God's instructions, they had enough but not too  much. It's not unusual for people to be afraid, especially in times of suffering. Be afraid that God's provision for the moment will not be enough for them. But what  the Apostle Paul later taught in II Corinthians 12:9 was already evident here and  in the other hardships Israel face. My grace is sufficient for you. And there's  another lesson that correlates to this first lesson. You have to trust God for  tomorrow, just as you had to trust him today. Some of the Israelites didn't quite  believe that and so contrary to God's command, they gathered manna, not only  for one day, but also for the next day. Trouble was, the extra manna got spoiled  and got stinky and became food for maggots. The people learned eventually that they couldn't hoard God's blessings for themselves as insurance for the day  when God wouldn't care for them. They had to trust God every day. And so do  we. There is no insurance that will allow us to live without trusting God day by  day. What's more, if we keep to ourselves what God doesn't want us to keep,  then we'll stink up our lives with it. Sure, we need to be discerning about the  distinctions between saving and hoarding or between being stewardly and stingy those are important distinctions. But remember that the purpose of the manna  for Israel was not only to provide for the need of the people, but also to test  whether those people could would follow God's instructions even In times of  hardship and suffering, Deuteronomy 8:3 reminds Israel and us what God did in  the desert and what he keeps on doing in today's deserts. He humbled you,  causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor  your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Jesus thought so much of this gem from God that he later used it to ward off a direct attack of Satan.  Hardship makes you hungry. When you get hungry, you're supposed to feed on  manna, which is the word of God. And as you get close to God and rely on him,  he'll always give you just what you need to meet your hardship. Just enough, not too much or too little. But you can't store up the grace and gifts of God. Take  advantage of whatever grace and gifts God offers you every day. But don't try to  hoard them for yourself so that you won't need to rely on him again, tomorrow.  Dependent living is a day by day process, you will need to take advantage again tomorrow of the grace and gifts God offers for tomorrow's needs. And what you 

gather then will again be just right. And if you keep doing that, you will come to  know God as your healer and your provider and your Lord and Master. And you  will come to know yourself as continually and totally dependent on him. Daily  anticipating more of his refreshing word and presence to nourish you and keep  you going. I suppose I shouldn't leave this topic of suffering and faith without just a brief look at the book of Job in which Job and his friends and he made the  matter of suffering. That still I tend to agree with Philip Yancey who contended a  few years ago in an article in Christianity today, that Job is less about suffering  than it is about faith. You see, although we know the reason Job suffers, and it's  the book tells us it's because God allowed Satan to test him. This book tells us  very little about the reasons for human suffering in general. But it does tell us a  lot about faith. As Job goes through an increasingly severe test, the question is,  Will Job believe in God or deny him? Satan believes that if God takes away the  rewards of Job's faith will crumble. After all things Satan who can keep believing  and trusting even when God starts looking like an enemy? Is this kind of faith  even possible? Certainly doesn't seem probable to Satan, or for that matter,  according to our own logic. Now, of course, Job doesn't know that he was on  trial to Job but seems more like God is on trial. And he begins by questioning  God's fairness and goodness and love and he despairs of his own life. Yet, in  the end, Job refuses to turn his back on God. In chapter 13:15, it says, Though  He slay me, yet, well, I hope in him. Job may have given up on God's justice, but he stubbornly refuses to give up on God. Even in despair, he eloquently  expresses his hope and faith. also listen to 16 Job 16:18-20 Oh Earth, do not  cover my blood may my cry, never be laid to rest. Even now my witnesses in  heaven my advocate is on high, my intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God. And then we have Job 19:25-27, at the beginning of which has  been made famous by a song in Handel's Messiah. I know that my Redeemer  lives, in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been  destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God I myself will see him with my own eyes  I and not another. How my heart yearns within me. Job still wonders why he  must suffer so much. But he's made to see in the end that he just doesn't know  enough to question God. Chapter 42 The first verses Job replied to the Lord. I  know that you can do all things no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked,  Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of  things I did not understand things too wonderful for me to know. My ears have  heard of you had heard of you. But now my eyes I have seen you. The end of  the story then is that God wins the wager with Satan and then blesses Job with  twice what he had in the beginning. These are rewards and blessings were  good, I'm sure but in a sense, they had to be secondary to the benefit of the  faith. That Job had proved in the fires of his adversity. The security he gained  from such fireproof faith was far more valuable to him than any material  blessings he got. Suffering will remain a problem for us until Christ's return to 

put an end to sin and make everything new. We'll probably never know all the  reasons for it or never be happy to suffer. But we should know that our  faithfulness and obedience matters. Job's faithfulness proved Satan wrong and  in suppose supposing that he served the Lord simply for the benefits that he got  from God. And something similar happens today. God will use every bit of our  faithfulness and suffering to advance his purposes, strengthening the faith of  those who suffer but also using that suffering, to change their world and  contribute to the future that God is preparing for his faithful disciples.