Faithful on Fridays Blog

Throughout this series we’ve studied various aspects of suffering grounded in two foundational truths: God’s sovereignty and His goodness. Even before our existence in the womb (Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15) God had a destiny for us (Ps. 139:13-18), therefore, we live fulfilling that destiny. Paul assures us,

… even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, Ephesians 1:4-5, 11 

And that, my friends, includes times of suffering. God’s will? Yes, sometimes He allows us to grieve or suffer in life so that our faith and trust in Him will grow. If you’re like me, when life is good I’m not clinging to Him as when I’m in a tough spot. God permitting suffering doesn’t say, “God doesn’t love or care about me,” it says, “Trust Me, I’ll get you through it.” That’s good theology.

Since troubles and temptation are inevitable, our Lord gave us words of wisdom to help us through to the other side. Consider the parable of The Sower (Matt. 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15) which teaches us to hear God’s Word, let it grow deep in our heart, then when times of testing arrive your faith is strong and ready to endure.

If you are suffering today, or if you want to be ready, keep on mind these jewels of wisdom I found in Scripture for us to ponder.

• He promises to comfort you in the midst of it (Ps. 23:4; John 16:33; 2 Cor. 1:3-7).
• Our faith is strengthened to endure (Ps. 84:5-7; Rom. 5:3-5; James 5:10-11).
• Deliverance is assured (Ps. 34:19, 119:49-50; Is. 43:2; Phil. 1:19; 2 Peter 2:9).
• There’s always a higher purpose (Ps. 119:71, 125:1; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17-18; Phil. 1:12-14).
• Along with those promises are warnings to guard against temptations that inevitably bring suffering in your life (1 Cor. 10:12-13; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; James 1:12-15; 1 Peter 4:12-13).
• Finally, it’s all about the love of God assuring us that nothing can separate us from Him: nothing! (Rom. 8:35-39).

Do we ever get to the place of Paul when he penned these words?

… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, Philippians 3:10 

Ask a believer who is nearing death; what keeps his faith strong to the end? Ask a faith-filled person who’s in the middle of suffering how they keep going? Hopefully the above passages will help prepare you with a solid theology of suffering that’ll get you through it as well.