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Because sometimes listening and weeping is more valuable than words you can muster up.

(see Job 2:11-13)

 

I noted a few things HERE that we can rightly say our circumstances are not.  Today, let’s look at a few things our circumstances are.

When “life” happens, remember

1. Circumstances give you a chance to slow down. Moving through life at blazing speeds is something that most of us do well.  When trials happen, you’re forced to slow down, and given the chance to evaluate things.  Use that time wisely!

2. God is in control of all things. Even when everything seems to fall apart, reminding yourself that God is ultimately in control is a great source of hope. (Ecclesiastes 7:14; John 10:27-29; Colossians 1:17)

3. You need others to help you discern the hand of God. We gravitate to quick, rash decisions…and paralyzation, waiting forever before doing anything.  But it is within the counsel of other godly men and women that wisdom is found. (Proverbs 13:20; Proverbs 15:22)  Others who love you, have your best interest at heart, and are committed to helping you grow rightly give counsel to help you see where God’s working.  (see my related posts on the value of small groups HERE)

4. Circumstances don’t control the outcome of your life. Your relationship with God does.  If they begin to control your life, it’s because you’ve given them that power, because Christ is greater than he who is in the world.  (1 John 4:4)

This is what the Lord says:
Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord .
They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit. -Jeremiah 17:5-8

Ever felt like you were controlled by your circumstances?

Ever worked through the difficulties and found God at work the whole time?

 

Ever hit a rough spot in life?

The Bible’s full of people hitting rough spots.

Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people.

Here are a few things we can rightly say that circumstances are not:

 

Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart
is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound (Proverbs 25:20)

Sometimes, our counsel can make things worse.

We feel like we’re being helpful, but in reality, we make life more painful and difficult to bear.

So next time someone you know is dealing with a lot of life, and isn’t sure how to handle it, don’t try singing a happy song.  Don’t sugar coat things and tell them that it’s not that bad.  Because maybe it is that bad.

Instead, try weeping with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)

Or just being quiet. (Job 2:13)

Or pointing them to the unchanging hope of life with Christ.  Not to the quickly fading hope of a good and easy life on earth. (2 Corinthians 1:5)

 

If you’ve been affected by the flood in Clarksville, Grace would like to help.  Just go to this site HERE and let us know what we can do.

It’s often in the midst of tragedy that God works most powerfully in a person’s life.

Life can clip along just fine for years and years.  That normal, frenetic pace of life lulls us to spiritual sleep.  Into a coma of sorts that makes us feel like we’re in control, that we don’t need others, and that we certainly don’t need God.  Because, when you have a successful career, a nice home, a nice family, and are fulfilling the “American dream,” what else could you ask for?

But it’s suffering that helps remind us that we have very little control of our lives.  No matter what you do, you can’t safeguard your life against disaster.  Try as you may, suffering will find you.  And you can continue to try to put up fences, sandbags, walls, and defenses against disaster…but no part of life is outside the reach of Tragedy.

The point of suffering is many-fold, and I don’t presume to know exactly what God’s up to when He allows certain things.  But one thing is certain (in addition to the fact that Satan is out to steal, kill, and destroy” – John 10:10).  “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)  It’s when we recognize our position in relationship with God that we find true security.  Feelings of safety and ease are just that…feelings.  When “life” happens, we find that the only safe place to rest is clinging tight to the One who holds life in His hands.

May we show Christ to be our all surpassing Treasure, and not the stuff of earth that is quickly fleeting.

And may we, out of that relationship, offer hope and help to a world left stunned and confused when life falls apart.

 

Is God evil?

Of course not.  Well…most would agree that He’s not.

But does God allow evil things to happen?

Take a peek into a conversation that Job had with his wife:

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity?  Curse God and die.”  But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak.  Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”  In all this, Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10)

Did God cause this evil to happen to Job?  No.  The verses prior say

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores… (Job 2:7-8)

We are quick to praise God for the good things that happen to us, and give Him credit for all of the blessings we receive.

But aren’t we also quick to shake our fists at God when things don’t go as we would like?  When we don’t get that promotion.  When we get sick.  When our children get sick.  When our marriage isn’t what we want it to be.  When all of our efforts fall flat.  When we strive with all of our might, yet get nowhere.

I don’t presume to know why God does what He does.

But this passage says that God allows evil things to happen.  And if you read through the first few chapters of the book of Job, you get some insight into how God worked, and how He allowed Satan to work on a short leash.  God didn’t cause evil.  But He allowed it with a purpose.

So if God allows evil to exist, does that make Him evil?  That’s a question you need to wrestle through yourself.  I’ve wrestled through it.  Last week, I was sick.  Not deathly sick.  But sick enough to stay home from work.  I felt rotten.  I had some sort of mild case of the flu, mixed with an ear infection, an eye infection, a sore throat, a sinuses that were trashed.  I also lost my voice.

And last week was one of the most important weeks for me in my job at Grace. I needed my voice.  And I needed to be at 100%.

So why would God allow me to be sick?  Here are a couple of reasons I came up with.  For purpose of generalization, I’ll call it “suffering.”  Some of you may laugh at this being called suffering, and honestly, I would, too, but suffering has varying ranges.  Bear with me.

A Non-exhaustive list of reasons God allows suffering

1. Suffering slows us down.  Our lives race on at such a fast pace that sometimes we just need to slow down.

2. Suffering causes us to think less of this life on earth and long for a better life.  When you’re going through suffering, life on earth isn’t as much fun.  We don’t value it as much as when everything is rosy.  We long for something better.

3. Suffering gives us time to reflect and evaluate.  What does your relationship with God look like when you’re falling apart physically?  Do you only praise God when everything is perfect?  Job was a great example of a man who praised God in the good times and in the bad. (Job 1:20-22)

4. Suffering puts the most important things in perspective.  When we are going through suffering, perishable things don’t matter as much.  We tend to devalue those things that are temporary.

5. Suffering allows us to be comforted by others.  If you never suffer, you can never receive the blessing of being encouraged and comforted by others.

6. Suffering reminds us we’re not in control.  When everything is going our way, we can slide into the thought process that we’re really controlling our future.  Suffering brings us back to the reality that we really have very little control.

7. Suffering allows us to be healed.  God is the ultimate healer, and we would never get to see that aspect of God, and receive that great blessing, if it weren’t for suffering.

8. Suffering, and recovering, helps us to comfort those whom we will come in contact with who suffer similarly.  Although suffering tends to make us quite self-centered, I believe one of it’s main purposes is so that, after God (and others) comforts us, we can extend that same love and care to others. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

9. Suffering gives us the chance to see who our real friends are.  Job had some pretty rotten friends (Job 4-25, 32).  Those who truly love us will stick by in good times and in bad.  And ultimately they want what’s best for us.

10. …

What would you add?

 

I was able to see Rob Bell at TPAC’s War Memorial on December 9th.  I like Rob.  I think he’s innovative, pushing the Church to think outside of the proverbial box.  I thoroughly enjoyed his lecture.  It was a fascinating look at suffering, seeking to not answer the question of “Why, God?!?” but “What now?”  It was a compelling lecture/sermon, and if Rob Bell happens to come to your town, I highly suggest picking up a few tickets, and taking a few key leaders along with you.  You won’t be disappointed.

But can I nitpick for a minute (and that’s all it is…nitpicking.  If Rob could further explain himself on this point, it might have made more sense.  But, nonetheless…)?  In talking about the “art of solidarity, and the ways that suffering helps to bond us as we build community through shared suffering,” Bell mentioned “the cross, the ultimate act of peace and reconciliation.  God didn’t avoid suffering.”  Instead, God is with us through it.  Then he shared this:

The point of the incarnation is that there’s someone else screaming alongside us.

I get what he’s saying.  There’s comfort in the midst of suffering when we know we’re not alone.  And I believe that.  Suffering is eased when we live life in relationship with others who can share that burden with us.  That’s part of the goal of the Church (and the means of achieving that goal, too).  And knowing that God doesn’t leave me to my own devices when I suffer is a source of comfort.  However, it is not the point of the incarnation.

The main point of the incarnation is not that we have someone to walk through painful situations with us.

The point of the incarnation is that we weren’t good enough to save ourselves. Because of our sin, we needed God himself to come and die the death that we deserved.

A sidebar (and I think it’s important to make that subtle distinction) of the incarnation is that God is with us through suffering.  But it’s only a sidebar, at best.  The much better news is not that God is present with us through suffering, but that the suffering Christ endured is ONCE FOR ALL!  I don’t want to serve a God who merely weeps with me.  I want to serve a God who redeems me, who is more powerful than suffering, and who is willing and able to create a world where there is no suffering (Revelation 21:4), no crying, no pain, no death.

Don’t point people to the incarnation as God’s identifying suffering and weeping along with us.  Point people to the incarnation as hope that suffering will one day be complete.

Do you want a God who weeps with you? Or One who will redeem you from the curse of pain?

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

 

When life falls apart, we tend to lose hope.  Whether that’s getting a flat tire (I just had one!), getting a headache, hearing tragic news, or losing your job, our response is often to recoil and lose hope.

When life falls apart, do you run to God or from Him?  Those are the only two options.  The biblical ideal is this: “we rejoice in our sufferings.” (Romans 5:3)  What?!?  Rejoice in our sufferings?  Isn’t that counter-intuitive?  How could somebody ever be joyful in the midst of pain?  Emotions aren’t something you can control, right?  They’re just a reaction, aren’t they?

Being joyful in the face of difficulties is a work that God must do in you.  It’s a process, and doesn’t happen overnight.

“Suffering produces endurance.” (Romans 5:3)  “Produce” implies that there is time between suffering and endurance.  No runner will tell you that they built up endurance in one week, or even in one year.  It takes a lot of time.  The same holds true for:

“Endurance produces character.” (Romans 5:4)  Former Princeton basketball coach, Pete Carril said, “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it.”  Hardships have a way of revealing the worst in us, but endurance in the face of them produces character.  This passage in Romans finishes with:

“Character produces hope.” (Romans 5:4)  What is that hope in?  That our sufferings are not in vain, but that they bring glory to God (Romans 5:2).  We rejoice because we are being made into the image of Christ, the One who died for us.  We don’t rejoice because we enjoy suffering.  We don’t hope because we think that life on earth will some day be rosy and easy.  We have hope because Christ died the death we deserve, and is shaping us into his image so that, when this life is over, we will be ready for an eternity with God.

In your suffering may you “not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

The next time that life falls apart, turn to God, and let Him do a work in you.  May your suffering ultimately produce hope in Christ.