“As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
“And Saul approved of his execution.
“And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” [1]
Long years past, a wise pastor counselled me to preach to the heartaches of my people. “You will never lack a message,” he assured me, “and you will truly minister to your people.” I’m speaking today to people who are experiencing physical pain. Sometimes, we need not even wait for advanced age to experience those aches and pains. Others have unseen scars that mark the heart, scars that cannot be healed by mere words spoken in sympathy. Among those hearing me are some who know the pain of ruined relationships, the sorrow of lost friends, the grief of parting.
When we long for comfort and consolation, we too often discover that few comforters are available. In our hour of darkness we are prone to cry out, “Where is God? Has He forgotten me?” Where is God when I hurt? No doubt the question intruded into the mind of persecuted Christians. It was the unvoiced thought attending every step of expatriate pilgrims. It was the silent spectre observing the dissolution of families as children were torn from their parents. It was the question as believers were tortured and killed. Where is God now? Where is God when I hurt?
The first martyr was Stephen, a believer characterised as “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” [ACTS 6:5]. This godly man was accused out of jealousy and charged with heinous sin against the Lord God of Heaven. Hailed before the religious leaders he defended himself so ably that he could not be answered. Nor did he cease his defence of the Faith with an apologia, but he confronted the sin of those who had indicted him.
“You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it” [ACTS 7:51-53].
Such pointed exposure of sin infuriated those whom he exposed. As they raged, God drew back the curtain separating time and eternity, and Stephen saw what his persecutors could not hope to see. “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’” [ACTS 7:55, 56].
An enraged mob, with the blessing of religious leaders, mercilessly murdered one of God’s choice servants. One of the instigators of the mob action was a young rabbi named Saul; he guarded the clothing of those who stoned Stephen. As the stones pelted Stephen’s body, he prayed for his tormentors, “Lord do not hold this sin against them” [ACTS 7:59]. How precious are the words inspired by the Spirit that describe his transition to glory: “When he had said this, he fell asleep.” With that the brave deacon died.
I have on occasion observed that the early adherents to the Faith of Christ the Lord, spoke of their dead as “asleep.” They laid their dead to rest in a koimet?rion, a “sleeping place.” That word became the foundation for the English term, “cemetery.” The pagans had graveyards, because they had “graven out” a place to put their dead out of sight. This early Christian usage is the foundation for the Apostle’s comforting statement, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:13].
The death of Stephen signalled the beginning of the first great persecution against the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. The fury of the persecution was so intense that all the saints, except for the Apostles, were driven from their homes and scattered throughout the land. The Church of Christ was struck with such ferocity that it must have seemed that none would survive. Driven from Jerusalem, almost every single member of the nascent congregation fled while attempting to preserve life and limb. Men would have been in fear for their wives; women would have been terrified for their children.
The account of the events of that day are provided in the text chosen for this day. Though the primary story speaks of the Church, there is a secondary theme interwoven throughout the account which Doctor Luke provides. The divine account simply states, “Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him” [ACTS 8:2].
THE EVENTS OF THAT DAY — The Faith of Christ the Lord was born in the white-hot fires of persecution. This is true of any of the unjust and terrible persecutions that have been unleashed against the followers of the Risen Saviour to this day. Save for the place where the assault occurred, nothing differs. Few actions are more horrific, more vicious, than religious violence perpetuated against the peaceful people of the Risen Saviour.
Among those awful injuries that have been visited upon the churches of our Lord are such insults as the invasion of the Netherlands by Alva, or the Spanish Inquisition and the destruction of the churches of Vaudois by the Pope’s henchmen. Students of the history of the Faith will recall the drownings of Anabaptists carried out both by the Lutherans and Calvinists. These same students could recite the frightful persecution of Baptists in Virginia by the Church of England, as well as banishment of dissenters by Congregationalists in New England. Conscientious followers of Christ the Lord have been mercilessly persecuted because they are Christians since the earliest days of the Faith. Even today, adherence to the Christian Faith can bring the threat of death.
Believers are taught to “mourn with those who mourn” [ROMANS 12:15b]. Have you felt the pangs of hunger when Vietnamese believers are starved? Have you experienced your heart being torn from your breast as the child of a Sudanese mother is taken from her to be raised in the home of a Muslim where that child will be trained to hate the Faith of her mother and her father? Have you cringed at the lash on the back of a Chinese believer or felt the hot blush of shame resulting as young women are paraded naked before the leering eyes of wicked men in Iraq, in Syria, or in Iran?
Murder… death… persecution… scourging… expatriation… destruction of beloved institutions… unjust accusations… all these and more were the lot of early believers. These events persist to this day; and though the motivation may not necessarily be directed at us in Canada because we are Christians—they occur all the same. Nor is the hurt we experience restricted to widespread attack against the Faith.
Many of us, perhaps most of us, have known the heartbreak which accompanies the parting of loved ones. Though we are comforted in the knowledge that we shall see them again, we grieve and sorrow at their parting since we can no longer speak with them or enjoy their company. Too many among us have experienced the sorrow which accompanies the demise of beloved institutions—whether churches, governments, or philosophies. We have likely all reacted at one time or another under the smarting lash of unjust accusations. Lies and rumours, slander and gossip have caused many of us at one time or another silently to die a little inside as tears fall unbidden from our cheeks.
Because I am a Christian does not make me immune to sorrow, heartache, or pain. Because I follow Christ, I may well experience even greater opposition—even greater persecution and even greater hurt—than if I were identified as belonging to the world. Most assuredly I am not required to be stoic in the face of persecution. I will experience and feel deeply the pain of betrayal, the grief of lost friendship because I stand with Christ, the deep wound resulting from injury to my loved ones because someone stands opposed to me and what I believe about the Son of God.
You will recall the comfort Jesus delivered to His disciples before His passion. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” [JOHN 16:33]. Have you considered the comfort of the first missionaries’ words, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” [ACTS 14:22]? We need our vision adjusted. The Christian life does not inoculate us against pain or sorrow or suffering.
What was taking place on that day when persecution was unleashed against that first congregation? What events had preceded the persecution? Of course, Jesus of Nazareth had been crucified. And yet somehow, the tomb where He was buried no longer held a body! Despite the presence of the seal of the Empire and Roman guards, the stone that had covered the mouth of the tomb had been rolled back and the body disappeared! Mystified, the Jewish powerbrokers had suborned the guards to say the disciples had somehow gained courage and stolen the body. And yet, these same Jewish religious leaders did nothing to find the body or to seize the supposed grave robbers.
The grave robbers were somehow emboldened to openly preach in the city, declaring that this Galilean had been raised to life. They were boldly declaring that this One condemned and executed as a common criminal was in fact the promised Messiah, and that His conquering death was evidence that He was who they were claiming Him to be. These uneducated, common men were haled into court and threatened, but the threats did nothing to silence them. Threats and intimidation served only to make these bold men bolder still! They could not be silenced!
Whenever they were arrested and haled before the Jewish council, they became even more vocal in their declarations that Jesus of Nazareth was the Anointed One of God, even charging the religious leaders of deicide! Not even beatings served to silence these rude peasants. The Jewish leaders were growing desperate. Something had to be done before this movement got out of hand.
It was at that time that one of the men the first assembly had appointed as a servant, someone they called a “deacon,” had disturbed the peace of a local synagogue. This deacon had been declaring that the criminal known as Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. This deacon’s message agreed with the beliefs of others from within that grouping. His declarations had been effective in convincing some prominent members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, a synagogue composed primarily of worshippers from Cyrenia, Alexandria, and others from Cilicia and Asia. Some from the synagogue had tried to reason with this so-called deacon, but they were unable to counter his logic. The members of the synagogue were at a loss how to answer what this Stephen was saying.
Things had gone far enough! The deacon, as he was known by those of “The Way,” was seized and dragged before the Council. The charges were serious, and there were witnesses willing to testify that he was speaking against Moses and the Law. They were charging the man with blasphemy, though what they testified to wasn’t very convincing. What was needed was a statement from the disturber of the peace himself.
The Council made a massive mistake in allowing him to make his apologia in such a public forum. As he spoke, it was as if he was energised by some unknown, unidentified source of power. Listening to him speak, it was apparent that some quite reputable religious leaders were being swayed by what he said. The situation was quickly growing intolerable. Something had to be done to stop this madness. This servant of the group known as “The Way” was charging the religious leaders with the murder of the Messiah. What was worse was that some of the religious leaders appeared to be swayed by what he was saying.
Stephen observed none of the niceties of speech that their office demanded when he charged, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it” [ACTS 7:51-53].
It was too much! If the religious leaders wouldn’t stop this man, others would! The challenge was issued. Either Stephen had to be stopped, or the religion they loved would be destroyed. Thus, we are informed, “Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul” [ACTS 7:54-58].
There are few things more terrifying to witness, more prone to spinning out of control than an enraged religious mob—it is a howling, maddened, uncontrollable beast. And that was what was unleashed against Stephen that day. As though a switch in each person had been thrown by an unseen hand, violence erupted, growing more intense as the collective rage fed off the murderous brutality bursting from each person present. Stephen would not have found a single friendly face after he had spoken so boldly. Least of all could he have expected mercy or compassion from the young man with the icy glare who watched over the cloaks of those who were picking up stones.
The raging mob was not sated with the blood of one man. The pent-up violence, once unleashed, would spill across the city, engulfing everyone against whom any member of the mob held a grudge or against anyone whom anyone harboured a suspicion that the person even considered that despised Galilean to be a religious figure. Once it had broken forth, the flood of bitter rage would not be contained within the walls of the city. Persecution would break forth, spilling across the land wherever a follower of the hated Galilean might be found.
Doctor Luke, writing of what transpired years after the angry mob raged through the city has written, “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” [ACTS 8:1b-3].
This was just the beginning of the first wave of violent persecution of the followers of the One known as the Lamb of God. More—much more—would follow! And the violence would continue throughout the church age as the enemies of the Risen Lord of Glory would assail and assault the people of God until Christ Himself returns to take His own home as He promised.
When we read, “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem,” the prime mover in that persecution was the enraged rabbi from Tarsus, the man named Saul. Saul, the brilliant rabbi who had studied at the feet of Gamaliel became the rabid persecutor of those who dared worship this Galilean who refused to recognise the authority of the Sanhedrin to determine how the Scriptures were to be interpreted. In His failure to accord the Sanhedrin the position of sole arbiter of religious doctrine, the man Jesus had offended propriety and sensibility. Thus, those benighted souls who insisted on following His delusion of being the Messiah were themselves set in opposition to Jewish sensibilities. These disturbers of peace and good order had to be put down or the error would infect even more souls and continue to weaken the power of the Sanhedrin! At least, this was the view of Saul of Tarsus; and there were still plenty within Jewish society to agree with him in this assessment.
THE RESPONSE OF THE BELIEVERS — How should believers respond in the face of tragedy? It doesn’t matter if the sorrow arises from sickness that robs us of vitality, or whether our grief is from the pain of parting, or whether we weep because of ruptured relationships, our sorrow is nevertheless real. Wicked people often torment followers of Christ. For the past twenty-five years, news accounts of Islamic attacks against Christians are routine. Islam since the days of Muhammad, has sought to demonstrate its superiority to all other religions through cruelty and subjugation. Only recently, seventy Christians in the DRC were beheaded by rampaging Islamists. [2] Of course, little was mentioned in western news media of this reprehensible action by Islamists. Fellow believers throughout the African nations and in much of Asia are suffering extreme violence. These suffering saints, like the saints in Jerusalem whom we meet in our text, are compelled to repeatedly face up to the savagery unleashed upon them.
Like the Psalmist in one of the Songs of Ascent, these suffering saints, both now and in the past, cry out to God,
“Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!”
[PSALM 120:5-7]
It is not the followers of the Risen Saviour who seek to subjugate by violence and force. We who are twice born seek peace with all people, though we seldom find it with others.
Assuredly, we who follow the Risen Lord of Glory must always keep our eyes on the prize—the glory of our Saviour and His commendation that follows when we have done what He commands. This is the constant encouragement found throughout the Word of God. In the first place, we must maintain perspective; we must stay focused on Christ the Lord rather than our momentary problems. And even the outrage of witnessing the brutal death of fellow believers is momentary. When the child of God is killed, all that has been accomplished is that a foolish foe has sent that follower of the Christ home. Where is the terror in that? We keep our eyes on the prize!
Is this not the admonition to suffering saints that is found in the letter to Hebrew Christians? In that Letter we Christians find encouragement even when assaulted by the wicked among who we now live. The writer encourages worshippers of the Christ, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” [HEBREWS 12:1-4].
Christians must be careful to bear in mind what has been promised and what shall shortly be revealed. You who are saved will undoubtedly recall Paul’s encouragement to suffering saints to have a truthful appraisal of their situation, contrasting what was then occurring to what was shortly to take place. To the Roman Christians, Paul counselled, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” [ROMANS 8:18]. Amen! It is true that the transient sorrows of this dark moment cannot compare to what shall soon be revealed in us.
I often refer to the encouragement delivered as the Apostle wrote in his second missive to the saints in Salonica. Writing under the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ, the Apostle wrote, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring” [2 THESSALONIANS 1:3-4].
Steadfastness and faith in the face of persecutions and while suffering afflictions is mute, though powerful evidence, of God’s judgement on the wicked and His grace toward the righteous as made evident as the Apostle continues writing in this Letter. “[Your perseverance and faith in all you face] is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed” [2 THESSALONIANS 1:5-10]. Keep on keeping on, child of God!
To the Corinthians, the Apostle spoke of his own trials and his response to them. He was candid in his assessment. “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again” [2 CORINTHIANS 1:8-10].
He informed others of his struggles, inviting them to join him in his struggles. “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” [2 CORINTHIANS 1:11].
Throughout, he remained focused on what was coming. Listen to his assessment of what he was then experiencing compared to what was about to be revealed. Paul wrote, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:17, 18].
Because we have this promise from God Himself, we who follow the Saviour are empowered to confidently testify, “We are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-9]. What will it be, then? Will we focus on this light momentary affliction? Or will we look to the eternal weight of glory? Will we despair because things are not working out as smoothly as we want? Or do we continue to look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our Faith? I don’t know all your trials, but I know Him Who has conquered death, cleaned out the tomb, and has now gone ahead to prepare a place for us. And you know Him as well because of your faith in Him.
Draw fresh courage from His promise recorded in John’s Gospel. Jesus promised, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going” [JOHN 14:1-4].
We Christians must make ourselves aware of God’s perfect work that will shortly be revealed in us. Do you remember how the Apostle has taught us who are redeemed, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18]. Rich encouragement is found in his words.
It is here that I must pause to correct a common misperception. Paul did not say that we should not grieve—he said we were not to grieve as do others who have no hope. We who are twice born have a hope, and the world cannot steal that hope. Thus, in our text we read that, “devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him” [ACTS 8:2]. These devout men grieved, but they were not overwhelmed by their grief. Though grieving, most of the followers of the Risen Saviour continued doing what the Master had commanded, which was to make disciples. This is apparent in this one verse: “Those who were scattered went about preaching the word” [ACTS 8:4].
And that raises the issue of why we are left here in the midst of a broken, hostile world! Why should we be subject to weakness, to illness, to hostility from sinful people? Why does the Lord not immediately take us home when we are saved? And the answer to all such questions will be found in Paul’s assertion concerning who we are and what is being accomplished through our presence in this world when he writes, “We are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” [1 CORINTHIANS 3:9]. Though Paul was specifically writing about his own service and the service rendered by Apollos, what he says is applicable to each of us who are born from above and into the Family of God. As one who follows the Risen Saviour, He has chosen to leave you here because He graciously allows you to work together with Him in His great eternal work of redeeming lost people. Your presence as a Christian is vital, even essential to God’s work.
This is the logical extension of the concluding words of Mark’s Gospel, where we read, “[The disciples] went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” [MARK 16:20].
We can go back to the Great Commission as given by the Master as He prepared to ascend into the glory. Speaking to disciples, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:18-20].
Even though you may conclude that you are not accomplishing any great tasks for the glory of the Father, your life has an impact far out of proportion to anything you could ever imagine. Hasn’t the Master emphasised this precise truth when He taught us, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” [MATTHEW 5:14-16].
Though you and I will experience grief in this life, though we will know what it is to suffer, and though we will feel the sting of opposition from sinful people, some of whom are our dearest family members, we are given opportunity to glorify the Father both through our refusal to surrender to despair and through our refusal to resort to the views of this dying world, even as we are always looking to the Master. Child of God, know that there are many people in this world who are watching you and learning of the grace of God through your response to the trials through which you pass. God uses your trials to bring others to life in Christ the Lord.
PURPOSE IN SUFFERING — I really cannot tell you why we suffer, because there are differing causes of suffering. Assuredly, I cannot tell you why you experience pain and loss. Some saints may experience satanic attack. Others among the faithful suffer because we are subject to the frailties that are common to all mankind. We know that some suffer because they are beset by opposition from family and friends who are offended by their righteousness. You will recall that the Master has warned His people, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” [JOHN 15:18].
Moreover, you may recall that the Apostle of Love has written us in his first missive, “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” [1 JOHN 3:13-15]. It is not a matter that we who follow the Christ may be hated—we are hated by the world! This is not an excuse to live in fear or to become paranoid; rather, it is that we should not be surprised when those of this dying world strike out at us because we are followers of the Christ. The world cannot act in any other way when they are in the presence of one who worships the Risen Lord of Glory.
And the Apostle to the Jews wrote to saints experiencing opposition and pressure, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And
‘If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’
Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” [1 PETER 4:12-19].
While we cannot say with certainty why any one of the saints of God suffer, we can say with confidence that God does not desert His saints in their pain. What we do know is that in some manner, God is at work in our various trials to bring glory to His Name and to work good for us. As we saw earlier when the Apostle to the Gentiles exulted, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” [2 CORINTHIANS 4:17]. I cannot tell you precisely why God permits us to suffer, but I am confident that He is at work, even when His people suffer.
Jesus promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” [HEBREWS 13:5]. This same Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:20]. Though passing through a great trial of his faith, threatened with death by an enraged mob, the Lord stood with Paul and testified, “I am with you” [ACTS 18:10]. And you may be assured that He is with you in the trial you are now passing through.
I have often been encouraged when I witness God’s words penned by Isaiah.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.”
[ISAIAH 43:1-2]
Though the promise was first given to Israel, I know that the promise holds for those whom the Father has redeemed. Is that not the comfort spoken by the hymnist?
When through the deep waters He calls thee to go,
The rivers of grief shall not thee overflow;
For He will be with thee in trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; His only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
He will not, He cannot, desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
He never will leave, He will never forsake. [3]
Even now, because you are His child, you may know that God is working in your trials to accomplish His sacred purpose for your life. This is the reason for the testimony to Roman Christians, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” [ROMANS 8:28-30].
Don’t give in to your sorrow. The final chapter has not been written; but when it is at last composed, you will come forth from the fiery trial refined as pure gold and with a testimony that the God you serve is faithful, having stood with you. All praise to the Saviour Who has redeemed you. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Paul Tilsley, “70 Christians beheaded in African country by ISIOS-aligned militants, groups say; world mostly silent,” Fox News, February 22, 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/world/70-christians-beheaded-african-country-isis-aligned-militants-groups-say-world-mostly-silent, accessed 22 February 2025
[3] Richard Keen, “How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints” (Hymn), c. 1787
