Beyond Our Strength
Posted by Isaac Butterworth | Filed under Sermons, Suffering
So, what do we do when we suffer? How do we cope with what the book of James calls “trials of any kind” (Jas 1:2)? Here’s what I want to suggest: When you undergo afflictions, go over your convictions. That is, rehearse what you believe. Go over what you firmly hold on to in your faith. Or, to quote Joseph Bayly, “Never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-11 (NRSV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, 4 who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. 6 If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.
8 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the afflictions we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, 11 as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
JOSEPH BAYLY ONCE SAID, “Never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light.” But we do, don’t we? When we go through times of trial, we lose sight of what we believe. We have a tendency to see only the bad our afflictions.
For example, when the heat’s on, we may assume right off that God is punishing us in some way. It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that our suffering indicates divine displeasure.
Do you remember the incident when Jesus and his disciples encountered “a man blind from birth” (Jn 9:1)? Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Do you remember what Jesus said? “Neither.” Neither! Affliction is not always the sign that God is angry with us. Sometimes, in fact, we suffer “for righteousness’ sake.” Jesus said, “Blessed are you” – in other words, you have God’s blessing – “when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Mt 5:11).
So, what do we do when we suffer? How do we cope with what the book of James calls “trials of any kind” (Jas 1:2)? Here’s what I want to suggest: When you undergo afflictions, go over your convictions. That is, rehearse what you believe. Go over what you firmly hold on to in your faith. Or, to quote Bayly again, “Never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light.” So, while we have a tendency to see only the bad in our adversity, we need to see also the good. And what I mean is: We need to see God’s purpose in our suffering.
And the first thing we see is that, in our suffering, God reveals the awful consequences of the Fall. Let’s go back to 2 Corinthians. The truth is, Paul and his companions hadn’t done anything wrong. They didn’t deserve to suffer. And yet, they did – to the point, Paul says, that they “despaired of life itself…. [They] felt that [they] had received the sentence of death” (2 Cor 1:8, 9a).
We know what that’s like. When we go through unwarranted suffering – or, when we see someone else suffer – we find ourselves asking why God lets bad things happen to good people. That question – as natural a thing as it is to ask it – reveals a problem with our understanding. The fact is that we live in a fallen world. And we forget that. The reason innocent people suffer is that this is not the world God created it to be. When our first parents sinned, they did not just incur guilt on themselves. Their rebellion affected the whole created order. It created a fault line in every aspect of life. If you look, you can see the effects of the Fall in our relationship to each other, you can see it in our relationship to ourselves, and you can see it even in our relationship to nature. We must never be surprised that so-called “good” people suffer. The fact is, we live in a fractured, fallen world, and because of that, all people suffer.
Even Paul. Even you.
And knowing that, we will not be surprised or perplexed by suffering. As we grow in Christian maturity, we come to realize that the world is out of sync with the way God created it to be. And that’s not all. We will also shout out all God has done and is doing through Jesus Christ to restore his fallen world. If we lived in a perfect world, there would be no need for a message of salvation, but because the world is broken, people need to hear about the One, the only One, who can repair things – who can repair us! – and make everything whole again. That’s one way God show us his purpose in the time of trial.
Another way our afflictions show us God’s purpose is that, in them, God shows us his design for our lives. He wants us to depend not on circumstances but rather on him. We read how Paul says that he and those with him “despaired of life itself” and “felt that [they] had received the sentence of death.” And then he tells us why. And it’s the same for us as it was for him. It is “so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (1 Cor 1:9b). This is God’s design for our lives. He wants us to rely on him, not on what we might consider favorable circumstance.
There is a third sign of God’s good purpose in our afflictions, and it is that, through them, God strengthens our faith in him. I quoted a few words from the book of James a moment ago. Let me give you the full context. James 1, verses 2 through 4, reads like this: “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” Notice that James says, “You know” this. “You know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” It’s one of the convictions you have – one of your settled beliefs. That’s why I say: When you undergo afflictions, go over your convictions. Rehearse what you believe. That’s what Paul did. His faith in God found expression in verse 10, where he says, “He…rescued us from so deadly a peril….” Then he goes on to say, “On him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again.” He was strengthened in his faith. That’s one of the purposes God has in our afflictions. And that’s a good thing.
There’s one more way we may see the good in our afflictions. There may be other ways, of course, but there is one more way we see it here in 2 Corinthians, chapter 1. God not only reveals the awful consequences of the Fall, he not only shows us his design in our lives, and he not only strengthens our faith through our suffering, but he also equips us to minister to others in their suffering. In fact, Paul says in verses 3 and 4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction” – why? – “so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which ourselves are consoled by God.”
We could revise Bayly’s quote and say something like, What you learned in your own darkness, share with others in their darkness. There used to be a song that said, “If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be.” Paul says it better. In verse 5 he says, “For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.” We can console others in their trials because what Christ suffered consoles us in ours.
Do you believe these things? Are they settled convictions? Do you not only entertain them with your mind but also absorb them in your gut? That’s the hard part for me: to get these things out of my head – where I assent to them readily enough – into my viscera, where I really live. It’s not east. But I think the way to do that is: When you undergo afflictions, go over your convictions. Rehearse what you believe – I mean, what you really believe.
In fact, I want to encourage you: some time this week, write down three convictions you have about God – three strongly held beliefs about how he helps you in your times of affliction. Or, if you’re into social media, tweet them or post them to Facebook. Three things you learned in the light that you don’t want to doubt in the dark. Maybe some of the things we have talked about today will make your list: that suffering comes to all because of the Fall, that our trials remind us to rely on God and not on our situation, that adversity can strengthen our faith, and especially that the comfort we have received from God we can share with others.
Anyway, write down three – maybe four – solid beliefs you hold so that, when you need them, they will hold you.
Photo Credit: Darkness by Roberto Fontana
