3/19/06
As a pastor -- I see so much pain &
suffering!
Sometimes I find myself asking the question:
--
"Why - why is there so much
suffering in the world?"
The problem of human suffering is universal!
There are no easy -- or simple answers to
the Question of suffering!
An even bigger question that fills my mind
at times is: --
"Why do the good & godly people
have to suffer?"
"Why do the righteous suffer?"
-- "Why do Christians suffer?"
This is a Question that is asked with a
capital "WHY!"
Christians are supposed to have joy &
peace & prosperity -- so why do we -- the righteous -- have to suffer?
Pain & suffering: -- without a doubt
these are two of the hardest subjects with which to deal.
The question of pain & suffering -- are
not easily answered -- especially when a Christian is struggling; -- struggling
with personal problems -- or family illness; -- struggling with disappointments
& discouragement!
Part of the problem is that we often
misunderstand what it means to be a Christian!
Being a Christian does not mean we will
never have pain -- or sickness -- or suffering! -- But being a Christian --
does mean that we will have enough strength & peace & joy to make it
through our times of pain & suffering -- by the grace of God.
How we react -- how we respond -- to
suffering is far more significant than why we suffer!
Some people become bitter -- cynical &
hard to live with!
Others become kind -- tender -- &
compassionate!
The difference is not in the nature -- or
intensity -- of the suffering!
The difference is what we choose to do with
pain!
We may never understand the total why to
suffering -- but we can determine how we will respond to pain & suffering
There have been a lot of sermons preached --
a lot of articles written -- a lot of books published -- on this subject of
pain & suffering
I know -- for I have suffered my way through
many of them.
I have not come up with any conclusive
answers -- but I have found comfort from the Word of God! -- Particularly from
the words of the Apostle Paul to young Timothy -- found in
Vs 12: -- "If we suffer (with Him), we
shall also reign with Him."
My friends -- the prospect of reigning with
Christ -- in His eternal glory -- more than compensates -- for the pain &
suffering -- we must bear & endure -- in this present life!
I do not pretend -- in any way -- to have
the final answer to the question of pain & suffering -- but there are some
thoughts I would like to share with you today -- in the hope that they will
encourage you at least a little!
1. We Sometimes Suffer for Natural Reasons!
There are some very natural reasons why we
feel pain & suffering!
If you sit on a tack -- you are going to
feel pain!
God has placed into motion the laws of
nature!
When we act contrary to those laws -- we do
not break the law -- rather the law of nature breaks us!
Even if a good & godly man breaks the
law of gravity -- & falls off a tall building -- he suffers -- regardless
of his state of grace!
My brother had a real fear of bees!
One
time when I was home from college -- my brother told me about a bee hive that
had been built inside an old feeding trough -- out in his barn.
The trough was full of old hay -- &
trash -- & no telling what else -- & somehow some bees had gotten down
inside that mess -- & built a nest.
He saw them going in & out. -- He had
read that if you poured gasoline over a nest of bees -- it would kill them.
Would I be willing to help him get rid of
those bees?
Of course -- I being the younger brother --
& wanting to help -- agreed.
We went to the small barn -- he showed me
the feeding trough -- handed me the gas can -- & asked me to pour on the
gasoline.
I did; -- & then I took a stick &
began to probe; -- & heard some buzzing.
I turned to say something to my brother --
& he was no where to be seen. -- I called out his name; -- no answer.
I looked around inside the barn -- &
then outside the door way; -- he was no where in sight.
Finally I want up to the house -- &
there was my brother sitting on the couch reading the newspaper.
I asked him why he had left; -- &
learned he was so scared of bees that he had immediately left me in charge --
& quickly disappeared.
The fact is that if we stir up a nest of
bees -- we are likely to get stung!
And my dear brother wanted nothing to do
with getting stung.
There are some very natural reasons why we
feel pain & suffering!
If you fall to sleep at the wheel of an
automobile -- & run off the road -- you will likely wreak the car & get
hurt -- or even get killed!
It may not even be our fault; -- someone
else can cause the accident -- but the law of nature still stands which
states: "no two objects can occupy
the same space at the same time."
If we do not take care of our bodies -- if
we eat all the wrong foods -- & develop a weak heart -- it is because the
laws of nature & health are at work!
The laws of God operate in both the physical
world -- & in the minds & hearts of men!
Just as there are physical laws in the
Universe -- there are also spiritual laws which God has set into motion -- & if those spiritual &
emotional laws are broken -- they bring pain & suffering to human lives!
If you & I try to break God's laws about
love & forgiveness -- if we break any of the 10 commandments -- all kinds
of pain & suffering can develop.
Homes have been divided -- people's faces
have become lined ahead of their years.
Psychosomatic ailments of many kinds have
resulted -- when God's laws of human relations -- laws of love &
forgiveness & faith -- have been ignored & disobeyed!
These laws of human nature -- & the
kinds of suffering they produce -- are just as real as the laws of
physics!
And this is the bitterest of all --
To know that suffering need not to
have been; --
That it has resulted from indiscretion
& inconsistency;
That it is the harvest of one's own
sowing;
That the vulture which feeds on the
vitals is a nesting of one's own rearing! -- Yes -- that my friends is
pain! (F.B. Meyer, in Christ in Isaiah)
Good & godly people -- are subject to
the laws of nature -- & are subject to pain & suffering when we -- or
others act contrary to such laws.
We often suffer for some very Natural
Reasons!
2. We Sometimes Suffer for Growth Reasons!
Some of the most saintly people I have meant
across the years -- are people who have suffered the most!
Through their suffering -- rather than
become bitter -- they have allowed God to make them better!
God has polished them into the jewels of His
kingdom!
I believe there are some precious jewels
here this morning that God is polishing for a special place in His kingdom!
Often God wants to take us to higher ground
-- & He may use the method of pain & suffering to get us to where He
wants us!
Some knees bend only under the load of a
heavy heart; --
Some eyes are open only after the head is
bowed!
Nothing drives us to our knees like trouble
-- & nothing makes us more thankful than when we are delivered from that
trouble!
There is an old saying: "No pain -- no gain"
Ben Franklin said it well: "Those things that hurt --
instruct."
Without a certain amount of discomfort in
our lives -- we become content with where we are -- but God wants to move us
forward!
God may allow pain & suffering so that
we will "grow in the grace & the knowledge of our Lord & Savior --
Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
Quite often we suffer without understanding
what God is doing in our lives!
As a result -- the suffering seems more
intense & unbearable!
But if we gain the right perspective --
& begin to see how God is using the suffering in our lives to conform us to
His image -- we will under-stand & trust God's hand in our lives!
While God is not the source of our suffering
-- He often uses what Satan throws at us to our benefit!
God turns Satan's flaming arrows into
showers of blessing!
Suffering may be corrective for some of
God's children;
Suffering may be redemptive in the lives of
others.
Sometimes we learn to walk the paths of
obedience because of our suffering!
Suffering is the strange fire of which
saints are fashioned -- & through which God's glory blazes!
God can help us make creative & redemptive
use of our suffering!
God can help us to use all of life's
experiences -- including suffering, sorrow & tragedy -- for personal &
spiritual growth!
My friends -- Rom. 8:28 is still true! --
Remember that whatever befalls us -- God will work all things together for our
good & for His glory!
Beyond suffering is wholeness; -- beyond
suffering is a maturity of faith; -- beyond suffering is spiritual power!
William Sangster -- a well-know British
minister/pastor -- began to notice some uneasiness in his throat -- & a
dragging in his leg!
When he went to the doctor -- he found he
had an incurable disease -- a progressive muscular deterioration.
His muscles would gradually waste away --
his voice would fail -- his throat would soon become unable to swallow.
He made the following resolutions &
stuck by them to the day he died:
1. I will never complain. 2. I will keep the home bright.
3.
I will count my blessings. 4. I will try to turn it to good.
William Sangster threw himself into his work
-- figuring he could still write -- & he would have even more time to give
to prayer!
"Let me stay in the struggle, Lord"
-- he pleaded! -- "I don't mind if I can no longer be a general -- but
give me just a regiment to lead."
He wrote articles & books -- & he
helped organize prayer cells through out
He would tell people who pitied him: -
"I am only in the kindergarten of suffering!"
Gradually Sangster's legs became useless --
his voice went completely.
But he could still hold a pen -- weakly --
shaking.
On Easter morning -- just a few weeks before
he died -- he wrote a letter to his daughter, Margaret.
In it -- he said: "It is terrible to wake up on Easter
morning & have no voice with which to shout, 'He is risen!' -- but it would
be still more terrible to have a voice -- & not want to shout!"
Throughout all his pain & suffering --
William Sangster grew in his own spiritual relationship -- turning his
experiences into opportunities for personal & spiritual growth.
3. We Sometimes Suffer for Ministry Reasons!
Sometimes God allows & permits pain
& suffering in our lives -- so that we in turn can minister to the needs
& hurts of others!
Who -- who can better reach out & touch
the life of another person -- than the person who has experienced what that
someone else is going through!?
Only when we walk in the valleys do we know
what the valley is like!
A lady in my church in
I went to visit her & pray with her --
tried to comfort & encourage her -- but I have not experienced that kind of
tragedy in my life!
A neighbor lady came while I was there who
had lost her son at war a few years before.
The two ladies just embraced & held each
other in their arms without exchanging a word!
That neighbor did more in a few brief
moments than I had done with all my words & prayers!
When you have gone through suffering of any
kind -- God can use that experience to minister to someone else!
God can help us turn our suffering into
opportunities to help others in their time of distress & suffering!
Before God can use a person greatly -- often
He must bruise him deeply!
You see -- when we suffer -- it gives us the
ability to comfort each other -- & to direct each other to the source of
our comfort!
In
The child of God is often called upon to
suffer -- because there is nothing that will convince onlookers as to the
reality & power of true religion as suffering will do -- when it is borne
with Christian fortitude!
So when you are suffering -- rather than ask
"Why?" -- ask God to help you turn your suffering into service to
others!
Don't develop self-pity! -- Don’t be groan
your misfortune or adversity; -- don't go around feeling sorry for yourself!
Look about! -- find someone else who is
hurting!
God may want to use your suffering to reach
someone else in their time of pain & suffering!
Most people are familiar with the poetry of
Helen Steiner Rice!
Are you aware that it was the fact that her
husband committed suicide that prompted her to begin to write poetry as a means
of working through her own grief & pain?
Through the agony of her own grief she found
a beautiful method in which to do ministry!
Who has not at one time or another -- been
blessed by the poetry of Helen Steiner Rice!
Our pain & suffering can also be turned
into an effective ministry!
Conclusion: -- The Apostle Paul wrote: "If we suffer with Him -- we shall also
reign with Him."
My friends -- the prospect of reigning
with Christ -- in His eternal glory -- more than compensates -- for the pain
& suffering -- we must bear & endure -- in this present life!
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
Jesus Christ Himself -- God's only Son --
was not spared from pain & suffering!
God was in Christ -- & He knows the
depth of human suffering through the Cross of Christ!
The words of Jesus from the Cross -- 'My God,
my God, why has thou forsaken me?' -- testifies to the reality of His
suffering!
No one ever suffered more & deserved it
less than did our Lord Jesus Christ!
Because
Christ experienced physical pain & emotional & mental anguish -- He is
able to strengthen each one of us in our pain!
It is through our suffering that we are able
to come into the fullness of His joy! -- "If we suffer with Him, we shall
also reign with Him."
Had there been no crucifixion -- there could
have been no resurrection!
Where there is no cross -- there is no
crown!
The servant is not above his Master! -- As
He suffered, we will suffer!
And as He was raised -- so shall we be
raised!
"If we suffer with Him -- we shall also
reign with Him!"
Dr. James Dobson tells the moving story of a
little five-year-old boy who was dying of lung cancer in the hospital where
Dobson was practicing.
His mother loved the Lord with all her heart
-- & painful as it was to watch her little boy suffering -- she was right
there by his bed every day.
One night -- while she was gone home --
there began to come sounds out of the little boy's room.
He was saying: -- "I hear the bells. --
I hear the bells. -- They're ringing."
He said that throughout the night.
The nurses thought very little of it.
The next morning the mother came -- walking
up to the nurses' station asked: -- “How's my boy?"
They said: -- "Well, he’s
hallucinating. -- He keeps talking about hearing bells; -- it's probably the
medication.'
The mother stopped & pointed her finger
at the nurse & said: -- "Now you listen to me. -- He is not hallucinating. -- He is not out
of his head. -- I told my boy weeks ago that when the pain got so bad he
couldn't breathe -- when it got really bad -- that he was going up to heaven to
be with the Lord Jesus. -- And I said when it got really bad -- he was to look
up in the corner of his room toward heaven & to listen for the bells. --
They'd be ringing for him."
She rushed down the hall & turned into his
room & saw her little boy.
She picked him up & held him in her arms
& rocked him!
And he talked about the bells until they were
just an echo -- & he was gone!
"If we suffer with Him, we shall also
reign with Him."
Pastor
Wynne
Chapel --
March
19, 2006