When Faith Confronts What we Believe about Pain

When I was growing up, televangelism was just beginning to become popular. Many TV evangelists promised health and wealth in exchange for obedience and pledges of money. This prompted me, as a baby Christian, to begin to barter with God, saying things like, "I will do this, if you will do that." The "this" was things like tithing, never missing church, or telling friends about Jesus. Ironically, the things I promised God were things He had already instructed us to do. The "that" might be a healing I wanted for someone, a job for which I had interviewed, or provisions needed to for tuition. The things I asked for weren't bad, but the way I asked implied I was asking God to prove His existence and His love to me over and over again. As I grew in my faith, I began to do things simply because I loved Him, not to gain His benefits.

I remember televangelists saying if one had a problem, all they had to do was come to Jesus and He would fix it. Many even gave the impression the abundant life was a pain-free life. For a while I bought into that lie and ended up obsessively looking for hidden sin that caused my pain. I lost sleep, replaying each day in my head, examining words spoken and actions taken that might have been sinful. Every trial and temptation I faced were proof that I had messed up in some unknown way. I began to think even others' unkind words or hurtful actions indicated some darkness in me. The lie I had accepted as truth lead to some pretty stinking thinking.

As I spent more time in the Word, I realized God never promised a picture-perfect, painless, or sorrow-free life. The author of Hebrews says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." These verses and many others make it clear that the Christian life is not trouble-free. Pastor Brent Van Elswyk shared in a sermon that the original word for race implies struggles, pain, and suffering. It’s the word from which we derive our word "agony." I love that! It is more in line with what we see from Eden on.

Abel's race included offering a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain's. But it also resulted in Cain going into a jealous rage and striking Him dead. His faith that led him to worship in God's way is still speaking to us today.

Noah's race included being born at a time when every thought and intention of man was evil. It included years of reverent fear motivating him to build the ark on a bone-dry land to save his household from an impending flood. It included the knowledge that his obedient faith condemned the world and the world included people he knew. His faith that saw God as Savior is still speaking to us today.

Sarah's race included years of infertility while living in a culture that worshipped fertility gods. It included living with a fearful husband who put her in compromising situations to save his own skin. It included trying to help God fulfill His promise and the messiness of giving her servant to her man to bear the children she could not bear. It included a long wait between the giving of God's covenant and its fulfillment in little "Laughter." Her faith that matured beyond her doubts and allowed her to see Jehovah as God of life is still speaking to us today.

Jacob's race included his own deceitful heart and the resulting shame and consequences. It included a deceitful father-in-law who substituted the bride of his choice with her less desirable sister. It included the conflict between two wives who competed for his affection. It included the long trek home with large family in tow to meet a brother who may or may not kill him. It included a long night of wrestling with the Lord over His sovereign plans, resulting in his walking with a limp for the rest of his life. It included the humbling that comes with repentance and the need of forgiveness. His faith that is balm to all who have stepped out of God's will for a season is still speaking to us today. 

Joseph's race included being sold by brothers, being falsely accused of rape, and being cast into prison and forgotten. It included coming face to face with the brothers who had betrayed him and facing the painful grief he had buried deep. It included having to struggle through the practical side of forgiveness to help the very brothers who had hurt him so deeply. His faith that said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good," is still speaking to each of our wounded hearts today.  

Moses's race included a lonely ride in a river as an infant that resulted in him being raised by an Egyptian princess. It included being called to lead a nation of stiff-necked people out of Egypt. It included a steady diet of manna and a dry walk through a riverbed, waters heaped high on either side. It included forty years of desert wandering because others didn’t believe. His race included harsh, unwarranted criticism by the people God called him to rescue. His faith that shows us how to persevere when the race gets tough is still speaking to us today.

Daniel and his friends had races that included being taken captive and carried to a foreign land. It included having their identity changed by captors training them to be leaders in a foreign land. Daniel's faithfulness landed him in a lions' den and his friends' faith landed them in a blazing-hot furnace. They didn't enter these races knowing the results you and I know. They entered them only knowing in Whom they believed. The faith that preserved their lives is still speaking to us today.

And there were others who ran similar races that resulted in premature deaths. Because they faced death in faith, their deaths were not in vain. Their faith that said I am willing to die because I believe speaks just as loudly as those who believed and lived. Their dying faith is still speaking volumes to those of us who know death is imminent.

Even the disciples who walked and rubbed shoulders with Jesus ran hard races. They lost their lives, were disowned by families, and suffered under brutal persecution. Some were run out of the villages they evangelized. Paul, in Second Corinthians, tells us he endured countless beatings, hard labor, being stoned, being shipwrecked three times, and being adrift at sea for a day and a night. He tells us on his frequent journeys he was in danger from rivers, robbers, Jews, Gentiles, city dwellers, wildlife, exposure, and people posing as believers. He endured poverty, got little sleep, and was often hungry, thirsty, and cold. He endured anxiety as he felt burdened for the churches he started. He suffered with an affliction he called a thorn in his side. And his faith that kept him going is still for those of us that take  great effort to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

As Pastor Brent put it, the diagnoses just received, the struggle with pornography, the addictions slowly killing us, the broken marriages we want fixed, the struggles we have with "extra-grace-required" people, the besetting sin that cloaks us in shame, the abuses experienced in the past that are still impacting us in the present, the chronic illnesses that leave us exhausted and dealing with constant pain, the memories of bloody wars served in, and the grief experienced over the loss of dreams, possessions, health, and loved ones are the races you and I have been called to run. As Brent said, "Welcome to the race!"

As believers, we need to understand how we see the Christian life will determine how we run the race set before us. Satan wants us to believe hard races prove God has forgotten us or doesn’t care about us. But the Word tells us God is a God who sees, a God who hears our cries, and a God who understands pain. We know because Jesus left glory to take on flesh to endure rejection, hatred, being misunderstood, being called crazy, being accused of being demon possessed, being arrested, being betrayed, being deserted by friends, being beaten beyond recognition, being mocked, being spat upon, being stripped of clothing, being crowned with thorns, and being nailed to a tree. His race included having the weight of all of our sin placed on His shoulders. It included experiencing the wrath of God we deserved for sin. God never promised us easy, He promised to never leave us and forsake us.

It is important to understand pain we experience is a tool in the hands of a loving God who desires to strengthen faith and mold character, which in all honesty needs molding. We respond by complaining about the unfairness of the race we’ve been called to run or about our God not doing what we want, or by going to Him to complain the “not-fair.”

I wonder what might be different if we choose to trust God and look at the race we’re running as an opportunity for God to do His perfect work in us. It is important to remember suffering came through sin, it is not the work of God! Our faith grows as we stand on His promises in the face of the hard--promises like He will work all things for our good, He will never leave us or forsake us, He will return for us, and He will ultimately destroy all sin and death and will wipe away every tear we have shed. The hard we live is being used by Him to mature us.

Our God desires us to confront our pain with faith because that gives us the opportunity to see His faithfulness and allows Him to weed out sin and turn unbelief into a firm confidence that He will do what He says He will do. When pain is met by faith, God accomplishes His perfect work, preparing us for the eternal weight of glory that far outshine the painfulness of the races run now. We grow the most when faith confronts what we believe about our pain.

Enduring All

"For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, 

so that they also may obtain the salvation 

which is in Christ Jesus  and with it eternal glory."

2 Timothy 2:10

After my mom died, I wondered what I would say to those I love if I knew I was nearing the end of my life. The verses above are taken from 2 Timothy, which is Paul's last letter to Timothy. These words are words of encouragement. In the letter, Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong in God's grace and to be willing to suffer hardship for the sake of the gospel. The early church often suffered severe persecution from people outside the church and and suffered because of false teachers who had infiltrated the church. Because of this and his young age, Timothy had a tendency to be timid. So, Paul reminds Timothy that God had not given him a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of discipline.

In the above verse, Paul shared with Timothy why he did what he did and what was in his heart concerning lost people. As I reflect. I realize how often I have had wrong motives for sharing the gospel. My motives have been guilt, obligation, appearances, obeying God, or earning rewards in heaven. While those are not necessarily evil motives, I realized an important motive was missing – that of love. Paul says he was willing to endure all things so people might obtain salvation and with their salvation eternal glory. He had a heart for ungodly people to have a relationship with God and for them to be able to more fully reflect the glory of God. 

When I look at our society, sometimes I am not sure I want to think like Paul did, especially when I think of terrorists, men who rape children, drug dealers who get young people hooked on drugs, abortionists who slay babies all day for money, or students who kill other students because they are Christians or simply because they felt like it. To be honest I sometimes cringe at the thought of people who do those things obtaining mercy, grace, and salvation?

Yet, when I look at Paul's life before he became a Christian, he was responsible for the killing of believers simply because they believed in Jesus. Because Paul knew Christ had forgiven him for tormenting and ravaging the church, he was able to love the lost more than most of us do. Paul loved the lost enough to endure hard labor, physical and emotional pain, imprisonment, and beatings. He also loved enough to endure being stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked and being cast into the ocean for a day and night before being rescued. He constantly chose to travel through dangerous waters, across lands full of dangerous robbers, and through dangerous cities and wildernesses. He also endured a lot of discomfort simply due to the nature of his ministry. He was sometimes weary, in pain, hungry, thirsty, cold, without adequate clothing and deserted by friends who fell away from God. He often felt inadequate to deal with the burden of caring for all the churches in which he had ministered. I so don’t love like that.

In light of all that Paul suffered and his willingness to continue to endure tremendous hardship in order to share the gospel, I must examine my attitudes concerning the lost. Am I willing to develop relationships outside the church with people who don’t know the Lord and with people in the church who are choosing to walk in sin? Do I have an understanding and compassion for the harm their sin is doing to them and a passion for them to be set free and know and glorify God. I wonder where you are in loving the lost. When you are around unbelievers, does ungodly behavior irritate you or can you see it as a sign that there is soul who needs the Lord? Do you look down upon them in self-righteousness or do you experience compassion for them because they don’t know this loving wonderful Savior we know? Do you want them to suffer because of their sin or do you want them to experience the same grace and mercy you have? A youth worker I worked with shared that when she went to a football game her heart literally hurt because so many of the students didn’t know Jesus. She saw their behavior and knew it didn’t reflect Christ, but rather than looking down on them, she grieved and was overwhelmed that there were so many who didn’t know the Lord.

I want to encourage you not to assume even in your church that everyone knows God. I remember when I was a volunteer in our youth group that one teenage girl was hanging out with me all evening? Towards the end of the evening, I felt compelled to ask her if she had a personal relationship with Christ. She told me she didn’t but sure wanted one. I shared the gospel with her and she accepted Christ that night. 

What we are really willing to endure for the sake of the Gospel? Are we willing to labor hard and love boldly so others might hear? Are we willing to witness at the risk of being persecuted, made fun of, or deserted by our friends? Are we willing to put ourselves in danger so that we can reach people? Are we willing to be beaten or killed so people come to know Him? Let's encourage and spur one another to that kind of love and to good deeds and to boldly live for Christ. Let's encourage each other to endure all things so that men can know Christ as Paul encouraged Timothy. After all we might not know Him had other people not been faithful to God’s calling to share Christ with us.

Prayer: Father, we love You and appreciate so much that You provided a way for us to be reconciled to You. We thank you for calling us with a holy calling and pray that we will have the courage and the boldness and the perseverance to endure all things for the sake of those You are inviting into relationship. Prepare us to be diligent in sharing our testimony and prepare the hearts of those you have chosen. Amen.

Faith That’s Worth More than Gold

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an in expressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
1 Peter 1:6-9

Trials come in many different forms. They can be difficult circumstances, illnesses, injuries, financial set backs, broken families, painful relationships. A trial can even be the people we deal with on a regular basis that tend to make life more difficult than it has to be – a overly demanding boss, a overly ambitious co-worker, a highly critical teacher, a gossipy friend, or just a grumpy store clerk. Trials can also be temptations, losses, or persecution. Some trials may be of our own making when we wrestle with God's will or are disobedient and end up suffering the consequences for our choices. When I volunteered in the youth ministry girls often called or wrote and asked me to pray for them as they went through trials. Other girls I know were hurting a lot and going through tremendous trial, but never told anyone. These were the ones whose hearts I wanted God to etch the above verses on. Because of their silence they won't have any one hold them and whisper these verses into their hearts.

Notice that no matter how difficult the trial is God desires us to rejoice when we go through it. I know in my own life trials are seldom spread out so I can face them one at a time. They seem to come in clusters. Somebody once asked me what was going on in my life and when I told him everything, both good and bad, he let out a slow whistle and said, "That's unreal!" I can handle quite a bit, but there is always a point that I begin to question what God is doing and wondering if He truly has my best interest at heart and each time I wrestle with my questions, I gain a deeper faith in Him, but it is hard. With each batch of trials I find I am able to handle more than before. I don’t doubt God with the first trial now…it is probably when He allows either a really long trial or ten little ones all at once.

Peter says that our faith, when tried, is more precious than pure gold and that it will bring praise and honor and glory to Christ when He returns! I sometimes fail to rejoice and forget in the moment that faith purified by trials honors Him. It helps me when I remember Christ also suffered trials. Trials aren't easy – in Christ's suffering we don't see Him laughing. He hurt. He asked friends to pray with Him, and cried out to His Father. When our sin was laid on Him and He was suffering for our sake, He cried out, “Why have you forsaken me?" He endured painful suffering with hope for the future, while He was fully exposed in His humanity.

Sometimes when a trial begins I feel little twinges of expectation because I know it is an opportunity to walk closer with the Lord and that I will grow through it. At other times, when the trials come in droves I find myself looking to relieve the stress of the trial. After looking at these verses, I long to look at trials God's way…with renewed interest and trust in the One who suffered for me!

Are you in the middle of a long slow trial that feels like it will never end? Are your trials piling on top of one another? Maybe you have had really tough day – maybe you had a lot of tests at school, maybe you don’t’ feel good, maybe your parents are fighting, maybe your grandfather is sick, maybe your best friend took your boy friend, maybe a friend betrayed you, maybe your husband neglected you, or maybe your children are sick. Christ knows it all and He will walk you through it if you look to Him. Are you experiencing trials that come with being the only Christian in your home? Christ knows you long for your family to understand your hunger and thirst for God and to want Him that way, too. He wants you to know it is because He put you in the family that He did so you would crave HIM like you do. That longing hurts, but it draws you to Him and has the greatest potential for deep satisfying intimacy. If it were easy for you to enjoy Him, you wouldn't need Him so badly. Remember when there is a lot of pain, faith has the chance to shine bright. Jesus doesn't take what you are going through for granted, He delights in your trust. When He returns to earth and looks into your eyes and wipes away your tears He will remember every tear you shed, and every tear you needed to shed and couldn't. He knows you have trusted Him even when you couldn’t feel His presence. He knows you have trusted Him when it hurt to do so. He knows you trusted Him when you were lonely, stressed, or misunderstood. He promises not to give you more than you can handle with HIM…but handling is trusting...will you trust HIM?

Prayer: Father, I would never want to heap guilt on someone going through a trial for doubting You. For it is in the doubting that our faith is matured. It is my prayer that Your word and my thoughts would speak encouragement into each heart. Help each of us to see You in the middle of the trials that we face. Give us complete freedom to pour our hearts out to You and strengthen our faith to trust You even more. Please replace our anxious thoughts with Your joy and Your peace. You are our ROCK. Please help us to stand firmly in YOU! Amen.