crimson on white: Trials & Suffering | A Context that reveals God's Love

"If you live long enough, you will suffer" - DA Carson

I imagine it sounds sort of masochistic ("the sickness of finding pleasure in pain") to many to say that we should rejoice in our sufferings (Romans 5:3-8). But as the topic of suffering/trials/"pressure" (GK: thlipseis) seems to find its way into my readings (& yesterday's sermon) as of late, I have had to face the topic head on. Specifically I have been studying justification by faith in Christ & its results. And Romans tells us that as a result of our justification ("Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have..."), "we rejoice in our sufferings" (v.3).

But it is not masochism... "It is rather the recognition that there is a divine rationale behind suffering" (Stott, 141).

Stott offers 3 "reasons" or "divine rationale" behind suffering:

Suffering is the one and only path to glory. It was so for Christ; it is so for Christians.
If suffering leads to glory in the end, it leads to maturity meanwhile. Suffering can be productive (to conform us to the image of Christ), if we respond to it positively.
Suffering is the best context in which to become assured of God's love.

Yet as I read & hear this I must ask, "How does suffering reveal God's love & care for my life?" I will attempt briefly to help bring insight to this difficult question.

I am reminded throughout Scripture that God is near to the broken-hearted... to the broken & contrite in Spirit, He has yet to refuse. Suffering ought to lead to humility. And humility is a soil in which God produces wonderful fruit. In desperation, we find that God is near. Suffering quickly sobers us to what is important in this life. And anything that leads us to gain Christ is a good thing.

As one of our pastors, Walt Alexander, stated yesterday (my paraphrase), "Trials are not deviations in God's purposes, rather are integral to His plans for our joy & His glory."

Yet we can only have this mindset if we trust God & His character. If we do not believe in the goodness of God on our behalf, we may sink to despair. Yet, God has proved His love for us in several ways. Consider the ways that He proves His love:

"He has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (5b).
He has proved His love by Christ's death on the cross (Romans 5:8).

Christ died for sinners (enemies of God). Many would die for a friend, yet rarely would one die for an enemy. Sanday & Headlam state, "We infer that the natural explanation of the passages which speak of enmity & reconciliation between God & man is that they are not on one side only, but are mutual" (S&H, 130). Hodges added, "There is not only a wicked opposition of the sinner to God, but a holy opposition of God to the sinner" ( Hodges, 138). Hence, Christ died for those whom God's wrath was pointed toward.

What does this have to do with suffering? Well, it reminds us of the character of God. We can trust God; He alone is trustworthy. God does not waste our time & uses (& orchestrates) events in our lives to mature, care, & shepherd us. I am reminded of Brennan Manning's quote, "Whatever God does not protect us from, He will use to perfect us through." All suffering in a believer's life is for their good (conformity to the image of Christ) & for His glory (us being conformed to the image of Christ).

And, we must conclude as Stott says, "Objectively in history & subjectively in experience, God has given us good grounds for believing in his love. The integration of the historical ministry of God's Son (on the cross) with the contemporary ministry of his Spirit (in our hearts) is one of the most wholesome and satisfying features of the gospel" (Stott, 146).

Recommended Resources: