One of the qualities of someone that has the gift of mercy is that they are more inclined towards alleviating the cause of someone's hurt, rather than to look for any benefit from their pain. Whereas my natural reaction to suffering is to begin searching for answers. My natural reaction to those who are hurting is to try and figure out why God is allowing them to hurt. I want to give them answers more than I want to give them comfort. That is because one of the weaknesses of my own spiritual gift is to see answers as comfort. But not everyone wants answers, sometimes they just want to be comforted and usually any effort I attempt at comforting ends up awkward and botched.
Last night, my mother called me to tell me that one of our family members went in for a lumpectomy and ended up having a double mastectomy. The cancer has likely spread to her lymph
nodes, and if so, she will have to begin chemo.
She is not much older than me. She has a husband, children, grandchildren, sisters, parents, family and friends that love her dearly. As many of you who read this blog already
know, my pastor, who is also my mentor and father figure, was also diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer last fall. Two
people whom I love dearly are now fighting for their life. So, I search for answers.
Why would God allow my pastor, a man who has dedicated
his life to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to undergo such suffering? Why would God allow my family member, a ray of
sunshine in the life of so many, to experience such a seemingly cruel and
unjust fate? And while we're at it, why
would God allow my friend's brother, a young man with a solid faith, a loving
wife and small children, to be utterly crippled by ALS, unable to move, unable
to play with his own children or wrap his arms around his own wife? Why would God allow my husband's friend to
give birth to a daughter that lived for only a few days, just long enough to
become attached to, to experience the blissful embrace of her own child, only
to have to let her go? Why does God
encumber us with such suffering?
And the answer He has impressed upon my spirit is because
He is glorified in our suffering, but this is not the answer that most people
want to hear. He is glorified when,
despite our suffering, we hold onto Him with both hands and refuse to let go, "And without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and
that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Heb 11:6).
He is glorified when our suffering brings us into a more intimate
relationship with Him that we would have otherwise never pursued as long as
everything in our life continued to go along smoothly, "Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My
will, but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42). Sometimes the suffering in our life is to
remind us that there is nothing in our life that is more important than our
relationship with God, so He will remove those things that have become
stumbling blocks to our faith or those things that we have allowed to take His rightful
place in our lives. Sometimes our
suffering is the only way we will keep our eyes on His abilities and His
kingdom, rather than our own. Sometimes
God's allowance of our suffering is to simply save us from ourselves.
For those who simply want to be comforted, these answers
will not satisfy your desire. But for
those who find comfort in answers, then the scriptural answer to suffering can
be found at Hebrews 12:7, "Endure
suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not
disciplined by his father?" and at 2 Cor 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." You
see, to truly follow Christ the way He calls us to follow Him, we must all endure
suffering, because according to God's own word, it is our suffering that
refines us. It is our response to crisis
that determines our priorities. It is how
we react to our suffering that determines whether we are true disciples of
Christ. Because it is through our suffering that we bear the greatest witness to the power of Christ that dwells within us--- the power of His Holy Sprit that has overcome the world, "In this world you will have tribulation. But take courage, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).
What I have learned about suffering thus far, is that it is
not determined by how seemingly "good" any of us are. What I have observed, is that those throughout
history who seemed to have the greatest devotion to God, suffered greatly. What I believe, is that it was their
suffering which determined their great devotion, because it is our longing for
the comfort that only the sweet presence of God can give, which brings us into genuine,
deep, intimate fellowship with Him. And what I know, is that it was God's own great suffering that brought about the ultimate presence of God-- the redemption and reconciliation of all mankind.
When I told my family member last night that I loved
her and that our whole church would be praying for her, her beautiful response
was, "We have a mighty and strong God, He will take care of me and all of
us through this. I'm grabbing hold tight
and I ain't letting go. All will be
okay." The one thing I have
observed which my family member, my pastor, my friend's brother and my husband's
friend all share in the midst of their suffering, is that they are all reaching
out for something greater, they are all holding onto truth, and God is
glorified. Although their circumstances
of suffering may differ, each one of them dug down deeply into their faith and
have resolved to hold onto God with both hands.
And God is glorified. They have
inspired my own faith, they have strengthened my own resolve to hold onto God
no matter how brutal the storms may get in my own life. And God is glorified. And as they each weather their own brutal
storm and hold onto the cross of Jesus Christ with both hands, despite the
waves crashing all around them, they glorify God with their sacrifice of faith
and are glorified themselves as they each long for the comfort that only God
can give and enter into the sweet intimate fellowship of His presence that only
suffering can bring.
We are all part of the Body of Christ, and each of us
have distinctive and unique gifts that He has given us to operate in unity with
each other. Each of us being one part,
designed to work in conjunction with all the others, to make up a whole. Whereas one may be weak, the others are
strong. One of the weaknesses of those
with the gift of mercy is basing decisions on emotions, rather than on
scriptural reason-- reacting to God's purposes in allowing people to suffer,
being blinded by their emotions, rather than embracing what can be learned from
it. On the other hand, one of the
strengths of my spiritual gift is to analyze a situation objectively and to
speak the truth of God's word even when it is unpopular and difficult for
others to accept-- my willingness to challenge others with truth in order to
encourage their spiritual growth. And
one of those challenging truths is that God disciplines and refines us through our
suffering, "so
that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1
Peter 1:7).
" 'Now My soul
is troubled, and what shall I say? "Father, save Me from this hour"?
No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Your
name!' Then a voice came from heaven: 'I have glorified it, and I will glorify
it again.' " (John 12:27,28).
"And if we are
children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we
suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that
the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that
is to be revealed to us." (Rom 8:17,18)
"For our light
and temporary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs our troubles." (2 Cor 4:17)
"Beloved, do
not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something
strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of
Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory."
(1 Pet 4:12,13)
"I have told
you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!" (John
16:33)
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