TO ACCEPT SUFFERING

 

For the Christian there is only one way to accept suffering—to know that Jesus is with us during the storm, and that we belong to Him (Isaiah 43:1). He promises that He is working everything out for our good (Romans 8:28) while producing good fruit.

Moses suffered great loss. As the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he might have been slated to become the next Pharaoh of Egypt. However, God had placed it in his heart to lead his Israelite people out of their Egyptian bondage. However, he jumped-the-gun and struck down an Egyptian slave-master who was abusing an Israelite slave. Instead of following Moses, the Israelites mocked him, and he fled Egypt and had labored as a lowly shepherd for 40 years. He had risked all for the Lord and lost all.

 

However, during these painful and humbling times, God had been working everything for good for both Moses and for His people:

 

·       Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3)

 

As a broken and humbled man, Moses was now prepared to place God’s Word above his own understanding. This is also true of all the great men and women of God:

 

·       Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” (Acts 13:21-22)

 

Suffering produces self-despair and opens the door to a deeper trust in God, as Paul had testified:

 

·       For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:8–10)

 

To learn to trust in God, we must die to self-trust and to discover that our Lord is our only hope. This can only come through the painful and ongoing process of dying to hope-in-ourselves. This process is necessary to become like our Savior:

 

·       always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:10–11)

 

Nor should we be surprised by suffering:

·       Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12–13)

 

Suffering also serves to prepare us for eternity:

·       So we do 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)

 

But how can we endure this process and continue to trust in our Lord? There are many answers to this question. Let’s examine just one—the need to understand that only the smallest measure of faith is required:

·       And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6)

 

There are many illustrations of this truth:

 

·       By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. (Hebrews 11:29)

 

Evidently, Israel had only the smallest measure of faith. The original account in Exodus 14 indicates that they had been rebelling against Moses and God. They were literally between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place and had little choice but to chance passing through the Red Sea. But our gracious God saw this as faith!

 

What then does our Lord want from us when we are unable to generate any confidence or feelings of faith? Simply a commitment to trust in Him rather than in our own feelings:

·       Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

 

What must we acknowledge about Him? That He is God and is able to protect and deliver us (1 Corinthians 10:12-13), even if this acknowledgment is no more than a commitment to trust in Him. Jehoshaphat, Jerusalem, and Judah were terrified by the three approaching mighty armies ready to destroy them, and they knew that God was their only hope, but could they trust in Him? It required the Word of the prophet to cause them to rejoice:

·       And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:15–17)

 

They only had the smallest measure of faith, but that was enough. Before their eyes, the Lord destroyed the three great armies. They only needed to watch the deliverance of the Lord as they exercised their tiny faith to rejoice in their only Hope.

 

Would they fear again? Of course! Trust is a lesson we must continue to painfully learn. However, when you find yourself doubting, do not look towards your pitiful amount of faith but towards Him, our only hope, who is able to faithfully protect His people.