Sermon: "The Truth About Suffering"
How many of you here this morning are familiar with Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman?
Adam and Jamie are the hosts of the television show called “Myth Busters” which can be seen on the Discovery Channel. On the show they tests various myths such as – can a penny dropped from the top of a skyscraper be lethal if it hits a person on the ground or never use your cell phone when pumping gas because it may create a spark which could cause an explosion.
This morning we are going to tackle five myths that I doubt Adam and Jamie would tackle. They are five myths concerning suffering.
Before I give you the five myths and see if God’s Word can bust those myths, let’s go to one of David’s psalms to jump start our thinking concerning suffering. Listen as I read some of his words recorded in the 69th Psalm.
PSALM 69:1-4, 7-12, 19-21, 29 – 1Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. 3I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. 4Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.
7For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. 8I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons; 9for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. 10When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; 11when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. 12Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.
19You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. 20Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. 21They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
29I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me.
David was, indeed, suffering. He could have been discouraged and depressed. He could have been confused. His faith could have been very weak. But that wasn’t the case. Listen to what he wrote.
PSALM 69:30 – I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
David was as human as you and me. He wasn’t always on top of the world. He didn’t enjoy pain or suffering, but he evidently knew the truth about suffering in order to be able to say …
PSALM 69:29-30 – 29I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me. 30I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
You can be better equipped to deal with pain and suffering as you know and accept the truth about suffering.
Here are the five myths about suffering that we are going to expose to God’s Word this morning.
- Suffering is bad and is to be avoided.
- Joy and peace cannot dwell along side pain.
- Suffering is a sign of God’s judgment.
- Only voluntary suffering for God’s kingdom has any value.
- A good God would not permit suffering.
Let’s allow God’s Word to tell us if these myths are true or if they should be busted.
FIVE MYTHS ABOUT SUFFERING
I. SUFFERING IS BAD AND IS TO BE AVOIDED
At first glance that seems to make sense. Why would any of us want to suffer?
In order to answer that question let me ask you another question. Would you like to know Jesus better than you do?
If your answer is YES, you are in good company, for so did the Apostle Paul. Here is what he wrote.
PHILIPPIANS 3:8-10a – 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having arighteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10aI want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.
Oh, how often I wish Paul would have stopped there, but he didn’t. He went on to say …
PHILIPPIANS 3:10b-11 – 10bAnd the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. Becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Paul wanted to know the fellowship of sharing in Jesus’ sufferings. He wanted to willingly bear the cross that was laid upon him. He was willing to suffer for the good of the “body of Christ.” Here is what he wrote about this.
COLOSSIANS 1:24 – Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
Paul understood what Jesus meant when he said …
MATTHEW 10:38 – And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Paul knew what we miss as we try to avoid or “rush to get through” our difficult times. Paul understood that affliction and tribulation work to make us complete and mature members of God’s kingdom.
James took it a step further when he wrote …
JAMES 1:2-4 – 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
In 1999, Stacey Padrick, in an article in Discipleship Journal, compared the value of suffering to a Christian with the value of manure to a farmer. Here is what she wrote …
For the believer, suffering works on the seeds of faith in the same way manure works as a fertilizer. We dislike the smell of manure and, likewise, the agony of pain. Yet though it seems like waste material, suffering nourishes and feeds the growing fruits of faith and maturity in the garden of our lives.
Isn’t that great! God does not waste any experience in our lives when we willingly surrender it to him.
The myth – suffering is bad and is to be avoided has been busted by God’s Word. The truth is – spiritual growth and spiritual fruit are often fertilized by suffering.
Let’s move to myth number two.
II. JOY AND PEACE CANNOT DWELL ALONG SIDE PAIN
Knowing that suffering helps us grow and mature as believers can bring us some comfort, but can we have joy and peace along with our pain and suffering?
How can we be joyful when we are losing our health and perhaps our independence, or when we have been betrayed by our spouse or when death has claimed someone we loved?
When God gives us or allows seeds of sadness and pain to come into our lives we want to cast them aside. We want joy and peace.
We must remember that joy and peace are the fruit of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Many of you know this scripture.
GALATIANS 5:22-23 – 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
As we have just seen, spiritual fruit is often mysteriously born from seeds of suffering. As we willingly accept the seeds of pain God has sown in our lives the fruit of joy and peace will burst forth in bloom.
The myth was – joy and peace cannot dwell along side pain. The truth is – pain, when willingly accepted, often becomes the seed for joy and peace.
Here is a great example of that truth. Many years ago a man waved good-bye to his wife and daughters as they set sail on a large ship going to Europe where he would later join them. Days later, he received word the ship had collided with another ship and while his wife was saved, his four daughters had drowned in the Atlantic Ocean. He quickly sailed to Europe to meet his wife. As his ship sailed over the spot where his daughters had died tears poured forth from deep within his soul. He returned to his cabin and wrote the song we are about to sing. As you sing let the truth that pain, when willingly accepted, can become the seed for joy and peace, find a home in your heart and life.
SING – “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL” - Hymn #418
Let’s now tackle myth number three.
III. SUFFERING IS A SIGN OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
As you read and study God’s Word it is easy to see that some suffering that people experience is because they reject God and his teachings – and yes, that suffering may be God’s judgment on them.
Because we are aware of this, when we are suffering it is easy for us to have thoughts like …
Did I do something to invite this?
Is this a sign of God’s judgment on me?
When we are suffering either physically or emotionally and Satan and his evil helpers see we are weak, they attack our spiritual lives. At that time it is easy for them to tempt us to believe that God has condemned us or forgotten us.
At those times we need to remember some of God’s promises and teachings; promises such as …
HEBREWS 13:5b – Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
ISAIAH 54:10 – “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
And teaching such as ….
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.
Often, rather than a sign of God’s disapproval, our suffering is a sign that God is at work in our lives.
Suffering makes us more like Jesus. God loves us so much he will do whatever is necessary to have us become more and more like Jesus.
Here is what an anonymous writer from long ago wrote about this …
The very fact of trial proves that there is something in us very precious to our Lord; else He would not spend so much pains and time on us. Christ would not test us if he did not see the precious ore of faith in our lives and it is to bring this out into purity and beauty that He forces us through the fiery ordeal.
The myth was – suffering is a sign of God’s judgment. God’s Word shows us that the truth is – affliction allowed by God can be a sign of his grace and love at work in our lives.
That brings us to myth number four.
IV. ONLY VOLUNTARY SUFFERING FOR GOD’S KINGDOM HAS ANY VALUE
When people choose to suffer to serve God we admire them for the choice they have made. Some people give up their jobs, homes and leave their family behind as they go to the mission field. On the mission field they may suffer greatly and even lose their lives.
Other people, perhaps someone you know, is not afraid to stand up for what they believe. They will boldly talk about Jesus with other people. As a result sometimes people insult them or make fun of them.
You can understand how such voluntary suffering can be of value in God’s kingdom because Jesus suffered for similar things and the Bible says …
I PETER 4:12-14 – 12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory revealed. 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
But much of our suffering is not something for which we volunteered. We don’t volunteer to get sick, to lose our job, to have our spouse file for divorce or to have one of our loved ones die.
How can suffering I do not want, and did not volunteer for, be of any value to God and his kingdom.
The great Christian writer, C.S. Lewis, was once asked a similar question by a lady dealing with both physical and financial problems. Here was his response …
“Always remember that poverty and every other ill, lovingly accepted, has all the spiritual value of voluntary suffering.”
When we lovingly accept heartaches, troubles, problems and pain that we didn’t volunteer for, we are showing that we trust God in all circumstances and that is of great value in God’s kingdom.
It demonstrates that we believe his word is true when he says ….
ROMANS 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
The myth – only voluntary suffering for God’s kingdom has any value. The truth – all suffering can be used for God’s glory when we lovingly accept it and surrender ourselves to God.
That brings us to myth number five.
V. IF GOD WERE GOOD HE WOULD REMOVE MY SUFFERING
As human beings it is natural for us to want God to deliver us from our pain and problems and to restore the losses we have endured. If God is all powerful and is good he could do that couldn’t he?
It is easy for us to be tempted to believe that if God truly cared for us he would take away the pain.
The truth is, more often than not, God does not remove our suffering. He does something better – he enters into our suffering with us. The Bible says …
PSALM 34:18 – The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The key for us is to allow Jesus to share in our suffering and pain through his Holy Spirit who lives within us. The path to knowing Jesus more intimately often winds through the valley of suffering.
Whatever the nature of our suffering being willing to share it with Jesus forges a deeper bond with him.
The myth is – if God were good he would remove my suffering. The truth is – suffering, more than anything else, can help deepen our fellowship with Jesus.
CONCLUSION
This morning, instead of closing by reviewing what we have looked at today, I want to give you something positive to do while you are suffering …. HELP OTHERS!!
When you suffer, you can choose to isolate yourself or you can reach out and help someone. When you isolate yourself, you feel alone and it is easy for you to convince yourself that no one cares … not even God. There is a good chance you will fall into the pit of depression and even have trouble praying.
But when you choose to reach out and help others you will …
- Develop deeper relationships,
- Your focus will shift away from your troubles and pains,
- You may discover God has a purpose for your suffering,
and
- You may come to see your suffering in an entirely different light.
Satan will try to get you to believe myths about suffering, but if you will stand on the truth of God’s Word and reach out to others, you will experience victory in the midst of suffering.