Where is God When it Hurts?
Red Hills Southern Baptist Church, Cedar City, UT
Sermon by Pastor Randy Bond
January 27, 2013
Eccl. 7:2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
since that is the end of all mankind,
and the living should take it to heart.
"We do not give the subject of evil and suffering the thought it deserves until we ourselves are confronted with tragedy. If by that point our belief--not well thought out but deeply ingrained--are largely out of step with the God who has disclosed himself in the Bible and supremely in Jesus, then the pain of personal tragedy may be multiplied many times over as we begin to question the very foundations of our faith."
--D.A. Carson
"Wimpy worldviews make wimpy Christians.
And wimpy Christians will not survive
in the days ahead."
--John Piper
- The Bible deals honestly with the reality of suffering.
- Suffering is often undeserved. Job 1:1, 9
- Suffering is usually unexpected. Job 1:13-17
- Suffering can be unimaginable. Job 1:18-19
- Suffering is always painful. Job 2:7-8; 30:17, 27-31
- Why Do People Suffer?
- Because of your own sin Deut. 28:58-63;
- Because of someone else’s sin Josh 7:1-5
- We live in a broken/fallen world Gen. 3:17-19
- To reveal the glory of God John 9:1-3
A word of caution: The reason for a particular suffering may not be discernible--if ever. We ask for explanations; God gives us revelations. (Job 42:5) Don’t be quick to jump to conclusions about calamity in your life...or others’. (Job 42:7) The most important thing we should be looking for is not WHY but WHO.
- Suffering in the Christian life?
- Christians should expect to suffer. Phil. 1:29; John 16:33; Acts 14:22
- Suffering comes from our identification with Christ. Matt. 24:9; 2 Tim. 3:11-12
- Comes as a demonstration of God’s love. Heb. 12:6-7; 1 Cor. 11:32; Deut. 8:5
- To refine our faith and our character. Is. 48:10; Heb 12:11
- To reveal His glory our complete dependence upon Him. Job 42:5-6
- So we can relate more intimately with Christ. Phil. 3:10-11
"Because of my sufferings, I will appreciate (in heaven) the scars of Christ and also the scars of other believers. (In heaven) I will see men and women that in the world were cut in pieces, burnt in flames, tortured and persecuted, eaten by beasts, and drowned in the seas - - all for the love they had for the Lord. What a privelege it will be to stand in their ranks! But what a shame it would be if, in conversing with them, we could only shrug our shoulders and prattle Me? Suffer?...... Perhaps we would bite our complaining tongues more often if we stopped to picture this scene in heaven. The examples of other suffering saints are meant to inspire us upward on our heavenly journey home." --Joni Eareckson Tada
- It is comparatively light. Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Pet. 1:6
- Ends in Joy and Blessing! Ps. 126:5-6; 1 Pet. 4:13-14; Rom. 5:3-4
- How to Deal with Suffering
- If the suffering is the result of your own sin, repent and learn! Hos. 6:1
- Trust God’s sovereignty. Job 1-2 God is sovereign over angels, demons, nations, nature, disease, death, comfort and calamity.
"A nominal Christian often discovers in suffering that his faith has been in his church, denomination, or family tradition, but not in Christ. As he faces evil and suffering, he may lose his faith. But that's actually a good thing. I have sympathy for people who lose their faith, but any faith lost in suffering wasn't a faith worth keeping." -Randy Alcorn
- Trust God’s love and goodness. Heb. 4:15; Deut. 31:6
"There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."
--Corrie ten Boom, Nazi concentration camp survivor
- Be moldable and teachable. Is. 64:8
- Be patient with the process. Jas. 5:11
- Choose joy. James 1:2-4
You cannot choose if or how you are going to suffer, but you can choose how it affects you. God does not promise us a problem-free life; He promises His presence and His peace. John 14:27
