Finding Joy in the Junk of Life
Romans 5:3-5
Rev. Brian Bill
10/1/06
Have you ever noticed how often the Bible is misquoted in everyday conversations?
• “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Sorry, moms, but this verse is not in the Bible.
• “God helps those who help themselves.” That didn’t make into Scripture either. In fact, this is the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. God helps the helpless.
• “God wants you to be healthy and wealthy.” This certainly sounds good to us Americans and is propagated from many pulpits and popularized by TV preachers but it is not found in the Bible. Time magazine did a cover story on this topic recently, pointing out that of the four largest churches in America, three of them teach the “prosperity gospel” or follow “name it and claim it” theology. Thankfully, Rick Warren, pastor of the fourth mega church was also interviewed: “This idea that God wants everybody to be wealthy…there’s a word for that: baloney. It’s creating a false idol. You don’t measure your self-worth by your net worth. I can show you millions of faithful followers of Christ who live in poverty.”
• “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” I hear this saying a lot but I can’t find chapter and verse for this one either. God does promise that He will provide a way out when we’re tempted in 1 Corinthians 10:13, but He never says that He’ll shield us from struggles. In fact, sometimes we can’t bear things on our own, precisely because God wants us to run to Him. Paul often was overwhelmed according to 2 Corinthians 1:8-9: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” Watchman Nee once said that “God’s great purpose is to reduce us.”
In the event you need some more convincing that Paul did not preach the prosperity gospel, listen to his personal experience in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28. He actually advocated the adversity gospel: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked; I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
When reflecting on some of the hits he had taken, King David wrote these words in Psalm 6:2-3, 6: “Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long...I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”
Some of you are in anguish right now. In this congregation I’m aware of…
• several people living with unbearable stress
• some living with the uncertainty of not having a diagnosis
• many people flooded with financial distress
• a woman living with cancer
• parents grieving the loss of a daughter
• a woman who is struggling to recover from surgery
• a family that is barely hanging together
• several teenagers who are going through extremely difficult times
• a man who just had major back surgery
• several people who are unemployed
• several parents who wonder what happened to their kids
• some single men and women wishing they were married
• some married men and women wishing they were single
• several who are struggling with alcohol or drug addiction
• many teenagers grieving the death of a classmate
• a man with heart problems
• a couple trying to have a baby
• a man recovering from surgery
• someone living with chronic pain (me)
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Some of you are suffering silently right now because you can’t even talk about the trials you are going through. Sadly, there are people who have given up on God because they feel like He’s let them down. While many of you are struggling to hang in there; at least you’re here today. Others don’t come to church any longer because of their disappointment and disillusionment. I often go for a run early on Sunday mornings and I’m amazed at how many people are up early reading the paper and watching TV. I don’t think most people ditch church because they’re not awake; rather, some unplug because they’re in agony. Many of them don’t come to church anymore because of unmet expectations or pain that just seems unbearable. I’m reading a very eye-opening book right now called, “Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation” by Sarah Cunningham. She makes the observation that disillusionment occurs when real life doesn’t live up to our expectations.
Many of us today are graduate students at the University of Unmet Expectations. Life can be counted on to provide all the pain that any of us might need because suffering is guaranteed for anyone who takes on the task of living. But that can be a good thing because God is graciously transforming us through our trials. I’d like to suggest that there are some things you can’t learn in a lecture, in Sunday School or even in a sermon; they can only be discovered when you and I enroll in the school of suffering.
Last week we learned from Romans 5:1-2 that it is normal to be radical because we have peace with God, we have full access to Him 24/7, we stand in grace and we have hope in the glory of God. How can it get any better than this? But it does! Notice Romans 5:3: “Not only so…” You think that’s good, wait until you hear this! We can rejoice in the glory to come and we can find joy in the junk of life right now. While Paul appears to be doing a turnaround from the first two verses, he’s actually linking the benefits of belief to practical living.
We will see in Romans 5:3-5 that God’s curriculum for us involves the successful completion of at least four classes. By the way, I hope you’re planning to take at least one of the Dive Deep Classes this fall. I can remember when I was in college that I had to take some core courses; I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t do so well in a couple classes and even had to take one over. Likewise, God has some core classes for the Christian that we can’t pick and choose from. They are requirements for graduation. How we do in our course of study is largely determined by our response to His curriculum:
• Reasons to Rejoice 101
• Patient Perseverance 201
• Christian Character 301
• Holy Spirit Hope 401
Unfortunately, we can’t be excused from the syllabus of suffering. God’s not giving out passes for us to get out of these classes. The only prerequisite for the course of study is having problems. I guess that means that we’ve all been accepted into this university. I should warn you that this curriculum is counter-intuitive for most of us. It was easy to say “amen” last week but it won’t be so easy today because some of life’s greatest lessons are learned in the school of affliction. It’s my observation that many times we want to know why bad things happen when God is more concerned with what we can learn. It’s like the man who said right before he died: “I never would have chosen one of the trials that I’ve gone through, but I wouldn’t have missed them for the world.”
Reasons to Rejoice 101
The first class we must take is called Reasons to Rejoice 101. I’m going to spend more time on this course because if we don’t pass this class, we’ll flounder in our faith and struggle in the ones to come. We see this in verse 3: “…But we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that…” The Amplified Bible describes rejoicing as “being full of joy right now and exulting in the triumph of our troubles.” Our English word “tribulation” comes from the Latin word “tribulum,” which was a heavy timber with spikes in it, used for threshing grain. It literally means “a thing with teeth that tears.” The spikes separated the good grain from the superficial chaff. Likewise, our sufferings sometimes feel like spikes, but they’re designed to get rid of the chaff in our lives. The word was also used of squeezing or crushing olives to get the sweet oil inside. When I’m squeezed by suffering, I’m not always real happy with what comes out. The synopsis for this entry-level class has three sub topics.
1. We should expect to suffer. Friends, we should not be astonished when suffering comes according to 1 Peter 4:12: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” It’s not strange to suffer; rather, it’s definite for the disciple of Christ. In John 16:33, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” Some of us secretly think that because we’re believers, we should somehow be exempt from tough times. We’d like to take a pass on persecution and to hold the heartaches, but our faith comes with the full meal deal. Listen to these words from Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” Acts 14:22 is even stronger: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus warned in Matthew 13:21 that some people don’t grow when hard times come because they allow adversity to uproot the growth that God intends: “…When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.”
2. We should exult in our suffering. The unanimous testimony of the writers of the New Testament is that we are to find joy in the junk of life. It’s possible to have jubilation in the midst of tribulation. James 1:2: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” 1 Peter 4:13: “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
This past Wednesday was the nationwide “See You at the Pole” gathering where students met together around the flag pole on their campus and prayed. I parked across from PTHS and watched our students intercede fervently and prayed that God would give them courage to live for Christ on their campus. Pastor Jeff tells me that at the Junior High they had over 100 students. Those who gathered to pray were teased and heckled by some other students. Students, if that happened to you, you are blessed for bearing the name of Christ and you will be rewarded for your courage. May these words from Acts 5:41 minister to you today: “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” Instead of whining, we can worship. Instead of just telling people that we’re “surviving” we can actually give testimony that we’re thriving through Christ.
That reminds me of the vivid description of a person who didn’t exult in her suffering from John Steinbeck’s book, “East of Eden.” I’m going to substitute the word “Presbyterian” with the word “Bible Church” for effect: “She was a tight, hard little woman. Humorless as a chicken, with a dour Bible Church mind…that pinned down and beat the brains out of nearly everything that was pleasant in life.” Do you know anyone like this? Some people believe that the more miserable they look, the more spiritual they must be.
Jeannette Shubert, our missionary to the Philippines, has been struggling with some serious lung problems. In addition, one of the trips that her husband Keith was planning to take had to be canceled. I love what she writes in her recent prayer letter: “Personally it was a time when I realized I could either be unhappy that things were not going as planned or I could choose to thank God. I didn’t think I had much for which to be thankful. Later I was surprised at how quickly I came up with over 115 reasons. It changed my attitude.”
3. We should exhibit some benefits when we suffer. Paul is able to say that we can rejoice in our sufferings “because we know that…” The word “know” means to be sure. 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” We could say it this way: suffering sanctifies us. Pain has a purpose and a trial is a good teacher. Tough times can work for us, not against us. However, Hebrews 12:11 says that we often don’t appreciate the anguish until some time after it’s over: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
I can’t get through a sermon without quoting Charles Spurgeon: “It is something to feel that my Father cannot do me a bad turn. Even if He should use His rod upon me, it will do me good, and I will thank Him for it, for I am at perfect peace with Him.” In a message on this passage, David Dykes had his congregation recite the phrase “Praise the Lord” five times in a row. He told them to get a little louder and more exuberant each time. Let’s try that together:
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
PRAISE THE LORD!!!
My guess is that many of you didn’t really want to say this when we started. That’s all right, we did it anyway. Here’s the truth about rejoicing: Rejoice even when you don’t feel like it. Don’t let your feelings tell you how to live. Instead, tell your feelings that you’re going to obey God. Make the choice to rejoice and find joy in the junk of life.
Patient Perseverance 201
After finding reasons to rejoice, the next class we’re scheduled to take is called Patient Perseverance 201. Look at the last phrase of verse 3: “…suffering produces perseverance.” The word “produces” means to bring about or to accomplish. Suffering brings patience. Perseverance literally means “to bear up under” something or to remain under trials in a God-honoring way. That’s why we should be careful when we ask for patience because the only way to get it is through suffering. Get ready when you pray for a submissive heart, because Hebrews 5:8 says that we learn obedience through suffering. Be prepared when you pray for unselfishness for God will give you an opportunity to sacrifice yourself by putting someone else first (Philippians 2:4). Watch out when you pray for more love because God may give you loss so that you’ll love the unlovely people in your life.
We have a choice to make when tough times come; we can get bitter or we can allow God to make us better. Suffering is inevitable, but misery is optional. Unfortunately, too many of us drop out when we get to this class. We might try to rejoice but then when we have to hang in there we say, “Hang it” and we bolt. Hold on to Luke 18:1: “…always pray and not give up.”
Kent Hughes reminds us that God’s blessings are poured out in bitter cups. We’ll miss these blessings if we bail. If you need some encouragement to hang in there…
• Ask Abraham and he’ll point to Mount Moriah.
• Ask Jacob and he’ll point to a stone pillow.
• Ask Joseph and he’ll point to a prison in Egypt.
• Ask Moses and he’ll point to the backside of the desert.
• Ask Daniel and he’ll point to a lion’s den.
• Ask Peter and he’ll point to one of his denials.
• Ask John and he’ll point to Patmos.
Christian Character 301
Once we get a handle on becoming a bit more patient, we’re assigned a seat in a 301 level class: Christian Character. Notice verse 4: “perseverance [brings about] character.” God is more concerned with us being holy than He is with our happiness; and He is more committed to our character development than He is to our comfort. He saved us in order to conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
I walked a mile with laughter,
She chatted all the way
But I was none the wiser
For all the things she had to say.
But, I walked a mile with sorrow,
And not a word said she.
But, oh, the things I learned
When sorrow walked with me!
Malcolm Muggeridge offers this wise insight when he writes, “Supposing you eliminated suffering, what a dreadful place the world would be! Everything that corrects the tendency of man to feel over-important and over-pleased with himself would disappear. He’s bad enough now, but he would be absolutely intolerable if he never suffered.” John Piper has written an amazing article called, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.” He sat down the night before his cancer surgery and reviewed ten ways to make sure we don’t waste any pain that we have. I’ll mention just two. Let me warn you that his words may strike you as surprising. First, you will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God. Second, you will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift (www.desiringgod.org).
When you study at the School of Hard Knocks, your character will change. Someone has said that character is who we are when nobody is looking. Trials, when undertaken with the right attitude, actually develop a tested character. This word was used in the Bible to describe gold purified in the fire. Job 23:10: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” All our impurities are burned away so only what is strong and beautiful will remain. Character development will only happen in the midst of difficult circumstances because this is where we learn whether our faith is fake, or the real deal. Think about it: a person who always gets what he or she wants has no chance to learn perseverance, or character development. That’s why sometimes children need to be told “no” simply to help develop their character.
The story is told of someone who watched a Cecropia moth go through the struggle of coming out of its cocoon. In an effort to help, the person snipped the shell of the cocoon. Soon the moth came out with its wings all crimped and shriveled. It was unable to fly and was doomed to crawling out its brief existence on the ground, never able to soar through the air. The person trying to help did not realize that the struggle to emerge from the cocoon was an essential part of developing the muscle system of the moth’s body. By unwisely seeking to cut short the moth’s struggle, he had actually crippled it and doomed its existence.
God uses our distress and disappointment to develop our character. The messes we’re in are designed to build our spiritual muscles. He gives us difficulties in order to give us the opportunity to know who He is, who we are and who we can be. Life’s losses are a privilege, in that they allow us, or force us, to break through what is superficial to the deeper life within. Suffering makes those who are invincible, vulnerable; the independent become dependent; the insensitive suddenly seem more sensitive; the arrogant exhibit humility and the tough are transformed into tenderized people.
Holy Spirit Hope 401
After our character begins to change, God then brings hope to our hurting hearts. I love the promise in verse 5: “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” Some of you are disappointed because life has not lived up to your expectations. Listen. Holy Spirit hope will never disappoint you when you understand that God has poured out His love in your life. The idea here is that He has given so much love that it lavishly overflows. The picture is of gushing water. The tense of this phrase indicates that it “has been poured out like a river and is continually being poured out moment-by-moment.” Biblical hope is the confident expectation that we will not be disappointed. You might be disappointed that things have not gone your way; but you can take heart that they have gone His way. Psalm 22:5: “They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.”
Here’s a radical thought. Suffering actually gives us the assurance that God loves us. This is a pretty amazing truth because many people are prone to doubt God’s love when they’re faced with disappointment and discouragement. God loves us too much to deliver us from all our struggles. He wants us to rejoice, to persevere, to have our character changed, and to give us hope. This can only come about through difficulties. Incidentally, this is the first of many references to the Holy Spirit and to God’s love in the Book of Romans. It’s no accident that we learn about Him and about His love when we encounter the trials of life.
Former Illinois Governor George Ryan has received a prison sentence as the result of an investigation that goes all the way back to a November day 12 years ago, when a piece of scrap metal fell off a truck driven by a man who had obtained his license illegally in exchange for bribes and campaign contributions when Ryan was Secretary of State. Pastor Scott Willis, his wife Janet, and their six young children were in a minivan that ran over this piece of steel. It punctured the gas tank, which exploded, killing all six children.
In an article in the September 23, 2006 issue of World magazine Marvin Olasky writes: “The Willises could have spent the rest of their lives looping the ‘what if’ tape…and they could have hated God. ‘The depth of pain is indescribable,’ Scott later said. ‘We’re ordinary people. But what’s the point of learning all the things about living the Christian life if when the need arises we don’t live it? This is what God has prepared us for…God knows all of history and time from its beginning to its end. What happened to us wasn’t an accident. God is never taken by surprise. God had a purpose for it, probably many purposes…We live with a God-promised hope in Jesus Christ.’”
Are you struggling in one of these courses right now? If so, it’s time to step it up so that you can pass each class. What do you need to do to get your grade up in each one? Maybe, like me, you need to go back and take one of these classes again.
• Reasons to Rejoice 101
• Patient Perseverance 201
• Christian Character 301
• Holy Spirit Hope 401
Lessons from the School of Hard Knocks
1. These classes are not always consecutive, but concurrent.
2. We won’t complete the curriculum this side of eternity. Our graduation ceremony will be in glory.
3. Accept what cannot be changed, and allow God to change you. Even though your circumstances may not change, God can use them to change you.
4. Focus on what’s left, not on what’s lost.
5. God has a solution to match your suffering.
6. Worship God while He works out His will in your life.
7. Pain doesn’t always mean that you’re being punished.
Billy Graham tells the story of a friend who went through an incredible series of setbacks, losing his job, his fortune, his family and his future. The only thing he had left was his faith in God. One day as the man was walking through the streets of a major city, he stopped to watch some workmen who were repairing the spire of a great cathedral. His attention was fixed on a stone mason who was chipping away at a triangular piece of stone. He decided to ask the man what he was doing. The worker motioned upward to the spire and said, “Look all the way to the top.” When the man did, he saw a tiny triangular space near the peak. The worker said, “I’m shaping this down here so it will fit up there.” Tears filled the man’s eyes as he realized, “That’s what God is doing in my life. He’s shaping me down here so I will fit in up there.” (As quoted by James Montgomery Boice in Romans: The Reign of Grace. Vol. II, p. 531).
Communion
