Don't know about you, but I am not a fan of suffering. Not.a.fan. Whether you are suffering with allergies or suffering from abject physical pain or suffering the loss of a loved one, it ain't fun. In the picture above, a dreadful earthquake has occurred. The shaking has been so severe that walls are cracked, ceiling tiles have been shaken down. Things are a mess. Suffering and desolation are evident.
Yet, fans or not, suffering is part of this life. It invariably comes, and indeed it provides a backdrop for joy. In happy times, we enjoy life, but we often take them for granted. Past suffering reminds us to appreciate times of happiness all the more. This is common to both Christians and non-Christians. Even though our text was written by Paul to the Christians in the early Roman church, I'm writing to both groups today, because we all experience suffering, no matter how long we live.
So, when we see suffering coming at us like a blazing asteroid...yikes! What should be our response?
First of all, let's examine why suffering/hardship comes, in the first place. Why can't life be all "roses and posies"?
Is it because God hates us?
Is it because God does not care?
Is it because ... there is no God at all?
The answer to all those questions is emphatically, "No".
God is not the author, originator of suffering. Suffering is a by-product of the sin that pervades our world. It is a result of our world's overall broken condition. Because of the pervasiveness of sin, the effects/consequences of it (the suffering) often splatter onto the innocent, as the person on the city curb is drenched by the gritty street water flung from the wheels of a speeding taxicab. We should not be surprised by suffering.
God does, however, allow suffering, in both His children and also in those who do not yet know Him. He allows it and harnesses it as a tool to draw us closer to His heart. In the final analysis He wants us, our love, our worship. Often, in our suffering, we more clearly hear Him calling to us and are willing to answer.
Getting back to today's topic, though, how do we get through it? Part of our answer lies in our text for today, Romans 12:12 (NET) - - -
Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.
We should begin at the end of this verse. Our first action should be to turn to God, to run to Him. He will embrace us in His loving arms and hold us during times of suffering.
A friend was telling me yesterday about how her grandbaby is teething and how miserable he is. When babies are feeling that bad, what do they want? Most often, they want to be held. They want to press their ear against their mother's chest, feel her warmth and hear her heartbeat.
God can't physically hold us, but when we go to Him in prayer, He is there, waiting for us. To the unbeliever, He is there as Jesus Christ extending the invitation to the life-changing salvation relationship. To the believer, He waits with spiritual comfort and healing in His arms. This is why Paul tells the Roman church to "persist in prayer". Although the human inclination is to run the other way, drawing close to God in times of suffering must be the first step. (Why is it listed last, then? I don't know! They are listed in reverse order!)
The next admonition is to "endure". Timothy tells us to "endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3) How do we do that? Well, Believers, after drawing near to God through prayer, we must listen for His heartbeat. He has revealed Himself to us through His Word. We can better endure suffering as we listen to Him in prayer and study His Word. He will reveal tools to help us endure. Invariably, there is something He wants us to see or to learn. As in all things, He wants even our suffering to bring Him glory.
"Rejoice in hope"! What does this mean? Let's remember that the English word "hope" as it is currently used is a very bad translation. In our vernacular, "hope" is sort of like "wishing, on steroids". The original Greek word is ἐλπίδι, which is better translated "a certain future", or "a strong and confident expectation".1
Usually, as in Romans 8:24-25, the direct object of the word "hope" is "salvation".
So, when Paul reminds us later in Romans (4 chapters later) to rejoice in hope, he is reminding Christians that our eternal salvation is our "end result" of life and of suffering, and that we should constantly rejoice in that certainty.
In other words, he is telling us to "reframe", to shift our paradigm, to alter our perspective. Instead of focusing despondently on our suffering, which lasts only a little while (in light of eternity), we should "keep our eyes on the prize"... "looking to Jesus, who is both the Author and the Finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). In making that shift of focus, we can once again find joy.
Psalm 30:5 says, "weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning". This refers to the fact that, at this moment, we may be suffering, but "when the morning comes", when we are face-to-face with the One who saved our soul, eternal joy will rush in and last forever.
Now, that is a "hope" worth rejoicing in!
Father, first of all, I want to pray for those reading this who are not only suffering in some terrible way, but who are slogging through it alone, without your Holy Spirit in their lives. I pray earnestly that they will study Jesus and come to claim Him as their own Lord, their own Savior. So many times, we look for healing, for comfort, in other places, when only the Lord Jesus is the great Healer, the Great Physician. So, Lord God, for those who don't know you, yet have read this far, I pray for them. Oh! Let them find you, the everlasting Source of All Comfort! You have promised in your Word that those who truly seek You will surely find You, and I praise You for that. For those of us who are already Your Beloved, Your Children, Your Church, may we be encouraged today through Your holy Bible, and through drawing near to Your loving side. Make us a praying people, O God! In Jesus' name, amen.
Source:
1 https://bible.org/article/hope
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