Dear Forget-Me-Not
Psalm 13 Is. 49:16 John 16:33 Rev. 2:8-11
Wow! How do you do that? How do you hold onto hope when something like that happens…something that causes your world to crash in around you? I suspect everybody, Christian and non-Christian alike has been faced with that question. You just heard Angie’s story— how her world came crashing in around her after walking into a room where she was supposed to be met with joy and filled with excitement. The news that her baby would not live was devastating, but when the doctor asks her, “Sweetheart, what are you thinking?” All she could say was, “My Jesus is the same as He was before I walked into this room.” Wow. Granted, that’s not what she felt…but it was what she knew in her heart. It’s what she knew to be true.
Angie’s story is unique to Angie, but everybody has a story and everyone’s story, at some point finds them in the midst of suffering and asking questions like; Why? Why me? What have I done wrong? Where are You, God? Have You forgotten me? We heard the Psalmist asking those same kinds of questions in Psalm 13; “Have you forgotten about me, God?”
When troubles and trials and tragedies…any sort of suffering threatens to crush us, as Christians, we tend to wonder, “What did I do wrong?” Aren’t You supposed to protect me, God?” “Are You mad at me or have You just forgotten about me?” Those are the kinds of things that must have been running through the minds of the Christians in Smyrna because they were suffering terribly. Just about everything bad that could happen to them was happening to them.
Smyrna was located in what is modern day Turkey, just thirty-five miles up the coast from Ephesus. It was a wealthy city, second only to Ephesus. But by the time the Book of Revelation was written, emperor worship was compulsory and so it was not an easy place to be a Christian…not an easy place to be a church. This little community of Believers paid a high price for their faith; many lost their jobs, some lost their businesses, some were arrested, their property confiscated, and many were harassed. And there didn’t seem to be any let-up. As a result, the Christians were destitute and desperate. They knew all about suffering and loss, about grief and troubles, and they had to have wondered if maybe God had forgotten about them too. It was to this persecuted church that this letter was sent. But like Angie’s story of tenacious hope, the Christians in Smyrna must have held on to their faith and held on to Jesus because only two of the seven churches received letters of total commendation and encouragement: Smyrna is one and Philadelphia is the other. And like Angie, they discovered that the Jesus that they fell in love with, the one Who loved them and endured the cross to save them was the same Jesus in the midst of their persecution and suffering. So, they cried out to Jesus, and this letter is His response.
And it’s no ordinary response…no ordinary letter. The letter opens with Jesus saying, “This message is from the One who is the First and the Last…you know, the One who was dead but is now alive!” This phrase, when read by Hebrew Christians, would have immediately triggered memories of the Old Testament scriptures. Deep within the prophecies of Isaiah, the Bible declares, “This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: I am the First and the Last; there is no other God” (Isaiah 44:6) By quoting this sacred scripture and declaring that He is the First and the Last, Jesus was sending a powerful and provocative message. He was saying with unwavering resolve, “Listen. I am God, not Caesar, not Satan, not those who persecute you! Only I am the Almighty, the King and Redeemer! Only I am the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! I am the beginning and the end and I have the last word; No one else. So don’t be afraid.” Don’t be afraid. You know, that’s one of Jesus’ favorite and most used commands. He repeats it no less than twenty times in dozens of situations all throughout the New Testament. Don’t be afraid! And in this letter, Jesus reassures the church in Smyrna that he knows all about what they’re going through. He says He knows all about suffering, knows all about their suffering. He can relate. But more than that, He makes sure they know that He is in control; the One whom suffering and even death could not defeat. Yes, some of them would be thrown into prison. Yes, some of them would even be thrown to the lions. But, He’s telling them that that’s not where their story ends…that in the end, they would no longer be the victims. They would be the victors. They would come through and they would overcome.
When you and I are the fire, in the crucible of suffering, when you are in the midst of crushing circumstances and on the verge of giving up, how healing would those words be to you? To hear Jesus say, as He did to the Church in Smyrna “I know.” I know all about it. I know what you are going through. I know the things you are suffering. I know the persecution you have seen. I know the trials that you have faced. I know the hardships you endure and I know how it feels. I’ve felt the sting of slander and the grief of loss. I’ve experienced the bitterness of being called names and being falsely accused. I’ve tasted the sorrow of betrayal. I’ve felt the hurt of hatred and the agony of nails piercing my flesh. And I’ve known the cold darkness of death. I’ve come through all of that and you can too.
Wouldn’t that be the most beautiful and powerful and life-giving thing; to realize that Jesus knows all about what you’re going through or have endured. He knew every single hurt, every single injustice, every single thing the Christians in Smyrna suffered and He knows everything that you have suffered. He has not missed a thing. He knows! And not only does He know, but He also can relate to them. Jesus is there with you in your trial, beside you in your trouble & going through your suffering with you.
One of the things I love most about Jesus is that He never lies to us. I’ve heard some Preachers tell us that all our desires will be met, that we will never experience trouble or sorrow; that our marriages will be perfect that our kids will be perfect and that we will prosper in all things and that all our dreams will be fulfilled when we faithfully serve Jesus. That’s just not true. It never was. Jesus never promised the church that life was going to come up roses or that there would never be any problems. Jesus doesn’t candy coat things. He tells the truth. From the beginning, He made it clear that suffering was a part of life on planet earth and a part of following Him. In John’s gospel, Jesus said: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." And in a letter to one of His churches, Peter wrote: “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange was happening to you.” (I Peter 4:12) He also said, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (I Peter 5:8-9)
But WHY? Why do we suffer? Well, the Bible tells us that one reason Christians suffer is because we live in an ugly, sinful world; a world so broken and filled with hate and selfishness that it’s hard to understand. That’s the only explanation for a Columbine, or a World Trade Center, or ISIS. A selfish, sin filled world is the only explanation of why Christians who only want to help would suffer persecution, deprivation and death. But there is more to it than merely random circumstance. In this letter to Smyrna Church, the Spirit of Christ says that Satan and the devil are behind much of their suffering. “the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days”.
Jesus is reminding them that when persecution comes physically…
when suffering, loss, death, pain and injustice are experienced physically, then there’s often something going on behind the scenes spiritually. Listen, there’s more going on in this world than meets the eye! Satan is alive and well, and He is the Father of Lies and the One who steals, kills and brings destruction! Paul warns us of this reality in Eph.6:12… Put on God’s complete armor so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods of attack. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. So, when we suffer, it is sometimes simply the result of living in a fallen world. But the reality is that,
• Behind the growing moral darkness in our society is the “Prince of Darkness”!
• Behind the escalating violence in our world, in our neighborhoods and in our families is the “Lord of Violence”!
• Behind all the murders, lies and acts of terror that fill the nightly news… is the author of murder and lies and terror. Jesus said that he was a murderer and liar from the beginning!
But you know, however sound the theology may be behind those words or that answer, that’s not the answer the Christians in Smyrna wanted to hear. A theological explanation isn’t what we want to hear in the midst of OUR suffering either. What they wanted to know and what we want to hear is that the pain wouldn’t last forever. They wanted to hear that it would be all right. Those are the words of comfort that mattered to them and that would matter to us.
And those are the words that Jesus says to the Christians in Smyrna. Jesus told them - your pain won’t last forever: "the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution, but just for ten days". In other words, “This isn’t going to last forever. Satan’s power is limited. Suffering’s time is short. The devil’s reach is restrained” And they needed to hear that – that their suffering is for a season, not forever and that it would be all right. That’s why Jesus said: "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life"
But even those words of comfort were not as important as something else they needed. Like Angie in our video clip, they wanted to have Jesus near them; to hold them close. They wanted Him to hear their complaints. They wanted to have Him tell them that He understood…that He knew what they were going through. AND they wanted to know Jesus was going to stay right there with them and not forget them, not forsake them and not leave them alone.
AND SO, Jesus told them what they needed to hear: “I haven’t left you…” “I know what you’re going through…” “I love you, I am in control and I have the last word.”
As hard and hurtful as what they were going through was---it was real….Jesus hadn’t forsaken them, He hadn’t left them. In fact, He was there carrying them thru their time of turmoil & trial…just like He does with you and me in our trials and in our sufferings.
The Footprints Prayer
One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”
Jesus closes out the letter by encouraging the Church to hang in there, to hold on and be faithful because He will get them through their trials, and when that season of suffering is over, He will give them the crown of life. Their faithfulness will ensure that they will never see the Second Death, which is the Lake of Fire, reserved for the devil and His angels…where suffering never ends.
Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. In other words, the Jesus who the Smyrna Christians fell in love with and trusted their life to is the same Jesus who walked with them and carried them through their tribulations.
Are you facing hard times? Are you suffering in some way? Is your world falling apart or your dreams crashing in around you? Listen, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. The One who loved you enough to die on a cross for your sake isn’t about to forget you or abandon you. You can be sure that He is with you and will carry you when your strength is gone. He will be your hope when your hope is gone. Whatever you are going through, it will come to an end. Suffering isn’t forever, it’s for a season. God is faithful will move heaven and earth to come to the rescue of His child and like a mother, will remain through the night to comfort her child until the morning comes.
