The Power of Suffering
What we learn from Job
There is in the human condition a power that is often untapped. This power is suffering. Suffering is the human condition. No person who has lived or will on the earth will be exempt from difficult and trying times. Death comes to us all, and to our loved ones, in various ways and age. The power of suffering for a person comes through endurance, perseverance, and joy. For many this power remains dormant through seasons of suffering because we simply give in to the temptation to submit to the pain whether emotional, physical or both, instead of to God and give up our faith, and/or we tend to blame God, and we also worry about things we have no control over.
Consider what happened to Job. All of Job's possessions are destroyed; 1000 livestock stolen, 7000 of his sheep were burned up by a ‘fire from the sky’ possibly a reference to lightning, or maybe it was a literal fire, Job’s 3000 camels were also stolen, and his oldest son’s house collapsed during a windstorm killing all of Job’s kids who were inside at the time.
Job was a wealthy man who was politically connected, sincerely charitable and totally dedicated to the worship of God. God says of Job, “He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Job 1:8
That’s quite a compliment coming from God. From time to time I have conversations with folks who when going through a tough time will reference Job in their experience. Usually they say something like, “I’m going through a Job moment” or “It seems like I’m being picked on like Job.” Have you ever said something similar? I would caution you to first look at Job’s character and the kind of guy God said he was before you start comparing yourself or your situation to his. Would God say you are the finest of all people on earth? Would He define you as blameless? Would He characterize you as someone with complete integrity? Do you fear God, and stay away from evil?
God’s definition of Job’s character is proven through his suffering. Job doesn’t succumb to the same temptations than many people do. He didn’t give up on His faith in God, he never blamed or cursed God but instead he shaves his head, tears his clothes and proclaims "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return: The Lord has given, and Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of Lord."
Let’s take a moment to see how like Job we can claim power through suffering. For some the truths of God’s Word this morning will have an immediate impact because of suffering being endured in the moment. For others, you might store these truths deep in your heart, because you will at some point in your human experience endure seasons of suffering.
1. Never under any circumstances give up faith in God and in His power
Suffering is one vehicle that allows us an opportunity to display the power of God in our lives by how we react to it. If we respond to our suffering with undeterred faith, endurance and joy, and we showcase the power of the Holy Spirit as we are given strength and comfort we are providing an unparalleled testimony to those in our circle of influence of our undying devotion to Jesus and the Father.
Job 1:21 - “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!”
The Thessalonian Christians were enduring unbearable persectution. Paul had planted churches all over Asia minor and one place he planted a church was in Thessalonica. He warned each church he started that persecution would soon follow, and it always did. The Romans hated Christians because they didn’t worship Caesar and they were considered a threat to the empire and it’s peace. The locals hated Christians because they were considered bad for business, and bad luck in general. Christians didn’t buy shrines or idols and they didn’t make pilgrimages to temples and spend money on trinkets. Because they didn’t support or participate local pagan worship , which was a significant part of the economy they were outcasts. Also anytime a natural disaster occurred locals blamed Christians who refused to worship the god who caused it. And the Jewish Christians were particularly hated by the rabbi’s and teachers of the Jewish law in every community, because they were considered traitors of their faith. Paul wrote most of his letters for four basic reasons. He needed to share with Jewish Christians that gentiles didn’t have to become Jews to be followers of Jesus. He wanted to encourage each church with the truth of their salvation and reward in Jesus to motivate them to stay faithful in suffering from persecution. He felt compelled to make sure that the sovereignty and diety of Christ was protected from any false teaching that said otherwise. And he taught the local church how to conduct itself through it's leaders and practice.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 - Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.
In these verses Paul is encouraging the Christians in Thessalonica to stay faithful in suffering and here’ s the focus of his encouragement. Joy, prayer, gratefulness and allow the Holy Spirit to work. Why? Because the more those who were persecuting hurt and killed and pressured these people they hated to give up their faith, they would be exposed to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is powerful and alive and we see the evidence of God’s Word and Paul’s influence in many stories of the early martyrs.
A second generation disciple and church leader named Ignatius was condemned to die by being fed to lions, as he was in the arena waiting for the lions to be released he is quoted to have said, “Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus!” As he heard the lions roaring, he said. “I am the wheat of Christ: I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread.”
1 Peter 2:21-24 - For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered[a] for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.[b]He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.
Ephesians 5:2 - Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us[a] and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God
2. Refuse the temptation to blame God
Job 1:22 - In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God
Why is it a sin to blame God? Because blame is the opposite of praise; you can’t praise God and blame him for your suffering at the same time.
Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Romans 8:35-39 - 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”[a]) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What is needed more than anything else in our church today is a shift in our perspective about God. He alone is worthy of our praise and admiration. Our very existence both physical and eternal is dependent on His mercy. We need to understand that God is love and we like to talk about that part of His nature, but this God of love allowed His own Son to die a cruel and tortuous death by execution on a cross as a common criminal. Why would a dad who loves His Son allow that to happen if he had the power to stop it?
Because God hates sin; He hates your sin. Sin brought death into the world because sin cannot co-exist in His presence. He kicks sinners out of His presence. He denies sinners access to His holy place. We defile heaven and He won’t allow heaven to be defiled. Jesus Christ is the only way that a sinner like you and I have any access at all to God. You should fear God. You should be scared to death of what God can do to you. He is the creator of the Universe a righteous force who is intolerant of disobedience. You stand no chance of God’s justice and wrath unless Jesus Christ is between you.
God is not to blame for our suffering, sin is. God is worthy of our praise because When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6
3. When we worry we demean or lessen the power of God
Worry is nothing more than saying, “hey God, I know you said You were there for me and You are going to take care of my needs and You have provided me an escape from my eternal judgment through Jesus, but, I’m not sure I really believe it; but thanks anyway”
Job 2:10 - ’Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?’ So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
2 Corinthians 4
Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way,[a] we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.[b] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”[c] 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,[d] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[e] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
There is power in suffering. That power is revealed to the world around us when we hold on to our faith, we praise God instead of blaming Him, and we fix our attention on what is eternal rather than worry about what will happen tomorrow.
