Tough Words to Hear

Yesterday morning as I sat in church and listened to the final installment in the "If God is Good..." series, I was reminded of the old song, "He Never Promised Us a Rose Garden."

"God is far more interested in my character than He is interested in my comfort," Mike Breaux told us. He quoted James 1:2-4, which in the New Living Translation reads: "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

How's that for encouragement from the brother of Jesus and my pastor? You want your faith to be stronger? Well, then you need to be tested!

Looking back over the past few years, I'm guessing my lovely bride and I have some pretty beefy faith "muscles." We've endured much in these past few years. While I don't know why, like I recently said in my "Mountain of God" post, I certainly hope the glories of the mountain far outweigh the pain and suffering we currently endure!

Mike further said, "Suffering cultivates humility and draws us into closer relationship with God." Look at Ephesians 3:16-19: "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." (NLT)

Isn't that just like the Christian experience? We want to be close to God, so He allows suffering and turmoil to come into our lives. We want to have a stronger understanding of love, so God introduces us to the move unlovable, difficult people known to man. We pray for patience and God sends trials and tribulations. Everything is opposite in God's economy. However, in case you think you can outsmart God and pray for poverty so He will send you wealth, we were reminded yesterday about God's economy as well.

The story goes a man was talking to God one day and said, "God, is it true that to you a minute is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a minute?"

"Yes," God responded.

"And so I would imagine," the man continued, "a penny is like a million dollars and a million dollars is like a penny."

"Yes," God replied.

"Well," then asked the man, "God, can I have one of your pennies?"

"In a minute," God said.

Hebrews 13:5 tells us: "Don’t love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, “I will never abandon you or leave you." (God's Word Translation)

We cannot understand in this life the whys to many of the issues we face. Mike showed us yesterday that suffering prepares us for eternity and the suffering and hardships of this world are but temporary nuisances. II Corinthians 4:17-18 reads: "For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (NLT)

Do I enjoy hearing suffering is part of this world, and through suffering we are given the opportunity to draw closer to God? Do I enjoy knowing that each day I may have to endure more, not knowing the end game, other than heaven awaits? Do I find comfort knowing I am not alone in my suffering, it is common to all mankind?

Of course not! I need to believe that C.S. Lewis truly understood when he said, "That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, 'No future bliss can make up for it,' not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory."

Take heart, my friends; as bad as your suffering now seems, Heaven awaits! Whatever things we endure on this earth, we have God's promise that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5b, above) and in the end, we will live with Him eternally.

Is that enough hope while I'm stuck in the middle of turmoil? I don't know. All I can do is continue to move forward, one day at a time, and hold on to Jesus.

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Simple words, and yet so powerful! Even in the depths of your darkest despair, hold on to Jesus, hold on to His truth, hold on to His love!