GOD'S WILL AND SUFFERING-Part 1
‘DEVELOPING THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARDS SUFFERING’
series :knowing the voice of God
KEY VERSES: “For so is the will of God, that by well-doing ye should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. If, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. Because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps.” 1 Pet. 2: 15, 20, 21.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partaker of Christ's sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed ye may be glad with exceeding joy. (I Peter 4:12-13)
A. INTRODUCTION
You heard the voice of God. You sought guidance, it was given, and you set off along the road of life which God seemed to indicate. But as a result of this decision you are experiencing problems which would not have arisen apart from this new path of "God's will" on which you travel.
Like many other people you are now asking yourself a lot of questions
• Did I really hear the voice of God or have I made a mistake?
• Are these difficult experiences a sign from God that I am not living in His will?
• Does God permit suffering to come to someone who is living righteously within the will of God?
• Why me? Why now? What is God doing?
When Jesus was here on earth and spoke of the suffering He was to face on the cross, many of His followers deserted Him (John 6:55-66).
• They expected the Messiah to reign in power and glory.
• Instead, He spoke of suffering.
• They could not understand, so they turned away.
If you do not understand suffering as it relates to the will of God, then you too may turn from following Jesus when you face difficult circumstances.
Before Peter had received the Holy Spirit, he could not understand how suffering can come as God’s will.
• When Christ spoke of His suffering, he reproved Him, and had to bear the rebuke: ‘Get thee behind Me, Satan.’
• When his discipleship brought him into danger and suffering, he denied Jesus three times.
• He could not understand that suffering can come as God’s will.
With Pentecost everything was changed.
• He knew no fear.
• He rejoiced that he was counted worthy to suffer for His name.
• In his Epistle he ever connects Christ’s suffering for our sins with his example, calling us to suffer like Him.
“It is better, if the will of God so will, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing. Because Christ also suffered for sins once.” 1 Pet. 3: 17, 18.
WHEN THE BROOK RUNS DRY
There is an interesting Old Testament story of a man who experienced suffering within the will of God. That is the story of Elijah. Elijah experienced all types of suffering as he prophesied God's message of Israel. But the particular story we want to focus on is found in I Kings 17. Read this story in your Bible before continuing with the lesson.
When God first directed Elijah to the Brook Cherith, He provided for him miraculously. Ravens came to feed him, and the brook provided fresh water in a time when the nation was experiencing drought and famine. But eventually, the brook dried up. Why would God send Elijah to a brook He knew would dry up?
The will of God sometimes involves dry brooks.
But when we experience such difficulties it does not mean we missed God's will. Elijah had not missed the will of God. The Lord led Elijah to Cherith. He enjoyed its waters. His needs were provided. He was blessed of God. But when it was time to move on, God allowed the brook to dry up. This got Elijah's attention.
Perhaps God has directed you to a "Brook Cherith" in life. You know you heard His voice of direction. He blessed you at your brook. Your needs were met and you rejoiced in God's blessings. But then the brook ran dry. Maybe you no longer experienced the flow of God's power. Perhaps people turned against you. For whatever reason, your beautiful brook ran dry.
When the brook runs dry you can do one of two things:
1. You can sit on the bank spiritually speaking and complain about your fate. You can spend the rest of your life wondering why it happened and weeping over the dry creek bed. You can question the leading of God. Did He even bring you here in the first place? If He knew the brook was going to run dry, why would He have brought you here? Did you miss God's will? Or. . .
2. You can realize that as surely as God brought you to this brook, He is now ready to move you on to a new dimension of His will. He is gaining your attention through the dry brook.
If brooks never dried up. . .if God never let difficult times come. . .He would never get our attention.
Like Elijah, we would settle right where we are and never move on to new things. We would never stray beyond the banks of security of our brook. Drying brooks lead to greater things. Before the experience at Cherith Elijah had ministered only to individuals. After this faith-building encounter, Elijah ministered to multitudes. He stood on Mt. Carmel and proclaimed before a nation of idolaters that God was the true and living God.
When you face drying brooks, your faith must not fail. You are on the banks of receiving new revelation from God. Do not question dry creek beds. Move on to the next dimension of God's plan.
B. THE STORMS OF LIFE
1. Suffering is sometimes also compared to a natural storm.
• When you suffer, you experience a storm spiritually speaking.
• This storm may affect you spiritually, mentally, physically, materially, or emotionally.
2. Storms of life are inevitable, as illustrated by the parable of the two houses in Matthew 7:24-27.
• Storms will come to those who have built their lives upon God's Word as well as those who have not done so.
• The foundation of a man's life is what will determine the outcome of the storm.
3. The Bible tells of a storm which the disciples of Jesus experienced. Read the story in your Bible in Mark 4:35-41.
• This storm was an attack of Satan.
• Jesus had told the disciples to go to the other side.
• Jesus was with them in the boat.
• Satan was trying to prevent them from reaching the shore because of the miraculous works that were to be done in the country of the Gadarenes (Mark 5).
• Jesus took authority over the storm.
• He rebuked the powers of the enemy.
• Calm returned to the sea and they continued their journey unhindered.
4. A storm of Satan is anything that tries to hinder you from fulfilling the will of God for your life.
• It is not suffering resulting from your disobedience.
• Neither is this kind of suffering according to the will of God.
• God does not want anything to hinder His plan for you.
• When you face this type of storm, exercise authority over the enemy. Jesus has given you power over every power of Satan.
5. There are two other stories of natural storms recorded in the Bible which illustrate suffering by chastisement for sin and suffering according to the will of God.
• The story of Jonah and the storm in Jonah chapter l and
• The story of Paul and the storm in Acts 27.
Jonah
• Jonah put himself in the storm
• He paid the fare to sail
• He was the cause of the storm
• Jonah slept during the storm
• God's blessing was not with Jonah
• The crew was fearful
• To be saved: Jonah must be cast out of the ship
Paul
• Paul was in it through no fault of his own He tried to prevent them from sailing
• He was the remedy, not the cause
• Paul fasted and prayed
• God's blessing was with Paul
• The crew was of good cheer
• To be saved: All must abide in the ship
6. There are differences between going through a storm of life within God's will and experiencing a storm out of the will of God.
Suffering outside the will of God
• When you go through a storm out of the will of God, it is a situation which you create. For example, Jonah
• When you cause a storm, it is because you violate God's will and are disobedient to His commands.
• Often you are not even aware of the seriousness of your situation.
• You sleep spiritually while the storm increases its fury around you.
• God's blessing is not on you, and those around you grow fearful.
• This storm is not an attack of Satan.
• It is chastisement from God who loves you and desires to bring you back into conformity to His will.
• You can confess promises of "power over the enemy" but it will not change the situation.
When you recognize a storm of suffering as one resulting from disobeying God's voice, there is only one remedy: Ask forgiveness from God!
Suffering according to the will of God
But when you suffer according to the will of God, the situation is different. You suffer through no fault or sin of your own. You can be a remedy to the problems around you instead of a cause. Like Paul, you can assume spiritual leadership because God's blessing is on you. You can bring encouragement to others because you are a solution to the storm instead of the cause. You should not bail out of the ship or run from the trouble. You must abide in the "ship" of this type of suffering for it is the will of God.
C. THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARDS SUFFERING
Trouble is not necessarily a sign of being out of God's will.
The Bible declares that "many are the afflictions of the righteous" (Psalms 34:19).
When you suffer innocently and not because of your own sin, you should maintain a proper attitude towards suffering.
The real test of your spirituality is how you respond in the day of distress:
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. (Proverbs 24:10)
The Bible describes the attitude you should have when you suffer as a believer within the will of God.
1. You should not be ashamed:
If any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. . .(I Peter 4:16)
2. You should not think it strange when you experience suffering:
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partaker of Christ's sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed ye may be glad with exceeding joy. (I Peter 4:12-13)
3. You should commit your soul (your suffering) to God, knowing He works all things for your good:
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator. (I Peter 4:19)
• The Bible never instructs us to suppress our pain, but instead, shows us where to direct it.
• Bring your pain to God don’t run from him.
• When you run from God in seasons of challenge, all you’re left with is your own limited ability to cope with what you’re walking through.
• God invites us to draw near to him that we might experience his peace, healing, and closeness during our challenging times.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:18
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
4. You should be happy when you suffer according to the will of God:
And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. (Acts 5:41)
Paul says you should be:
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
. . .being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it. . . (I Corinthians 4:12)
. . .in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses. (II Corinthians 6:4)
. . . be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. (II Timothy 1:8)
That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. (I Thessalonians 3:3)
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. (II Timothy 4:5)
5. Don’t be filled with worry, overflow with worship.
• Something powerful happens when we actively choose to worship through our suffering.
• We aren’t denying reality, we are simply redirecting our posture from one of worry to one of worship.
• Worship changes our perspective.
• Worship speaks about where our confidence and hope resides.
• Worship redirects our thinking.
• Worship places the results in God’s hands.
Whether your pain is the result of relationship challenges, financial struggle, health diagnosis or anxiety about the future, when you begin to worship the Lord through your struggle, spiritual chains begin to break so that you aren’t ruled by your circumstance but you set your sights on something higher. This is why Paul and Silas could praise when chained in prison. They recognized God was using their imprisonment for the spread of the gospel which ultimately resulted in the first New Testament church on the continent of Europe.
6. Fill your life with God’s Word and God’s people.
• How we respond to pain and suffering is critical to how we process what’s happening and how healing will take place.
• If you treat physical sickness with the inappropriate medication, not only will your sickness continue, but it could become worse.
• When you fill your life with God’s Word and surround yourself with people who speak hope and encouragement into your life, your experience will be much healthier.
• If you fill your mind with wrong thoughts: God is mad at me, God is not good, worse things are going to happen, etc., you will struggle to experience the peace of God he promises to us in Scripture (Philippians 4:7).
• But when you fill your life with God’s Word and surround yourself with people who speak hope and encouragement into your life, your experience will be much healthier.
How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” Psalm 119:103
Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8
When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.” Jeremiah 15:16
• When we fill our minds with God’s Word, we are reminding ourselves of who our God is, what he’s like, and we replace the lies of the enemy with the truth of our good God.
7. You are to endure hardness like a soldier:
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (II Timothy 2:3)
Paul summarizes the proper attitude toward suffering in II Corinthians 4:9:
. . .though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory:
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. . . (II Corinthians 4:16-18)
Paul viewed suffering as a servant. He said it works for us when we keep our eyes on its eternal benefits instead of the problem.
8. Believe that God will turn your sorrow into great joy.
One of the paradoxes of Christianity is that our good God uses pain for our good.
Meaning that our biggest sorrows can result in our greatest joy.
When you think about Jesus’ greatest sorrow – suffering the shame, punishment, and death for our sin, the result was great joy – the redemption of humanity and the opportunity for a relationship with the living God.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:4,
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
Jesus willingly suffered the greatest pain because he knew the end of the story, and so do we. Scripture shows us in Revelation 21:3-4,
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Humanity loves movies that end with happiness and joy because we’ve been created to know and walk with God and for those who place their faith in him, that ending will become their reality.
Jesus willingly suffered the greatest pain because he knew the end of the story, and so do we.
Eternity is coming, and our pain and suffering will not be totally forgotten, but the sting will be removed and eternity will be even greater as a result.
As you walk through suffering today or in the days to come, remember the words of our Savior Jesus Christ:
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27
“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b
