It’s
amazing how some people can think that being a Christian is the reason people
suffer. I want to keep this simple in what I have observed: Everyone suffers.
Everyone has problems, trials, hardships, and difficulty whether you are a
Christian or not. That is why it’s amazing that people can believe that because
a Christian is having problems, it is the result of being a Christian, when in
fact, everyone suffers. And in contrast, some people believe that being a
Christian means never having issues and when issues arise, they must not be a
Christian, or they angered God. That is not necessarily true either.
We
are told in God’s word that there will always be suffering. We live in a
sinful, corrupt world where pain and suffering are a part of life as a result
of the curse bestowed on us. It does not matter whether you are a Christian or
not in this regard, you will always have trials and troubles. And I want to say
that is about where the difference stops. Yes, many of the hardships we face
may be similar (financial, family, work, etc.), but in the way we face these
problems differ when you have accepted Christ.
Finally,
I believe there is a misconception as to what suffering and adversity really
is. In summation (because I believe this deserves a post on it’s own), we, in a
general sense, have suffering because of the fall of man and because of sin. I
know that seems broad and when facing problems, does not seem very helpful. I
like to categorize adversity into two categories: saved and lost. I do this
because the way we face adversity and the reasons why differs depending on if
you are saved or not. For a non-believer, their suffering is a direct result of
their sin. They continue to live in sinful lifestyle and are not experiencing
God’s forgiveness, grace, and love. And because of that, their sinful choices and lifestyles
haunt them.
For
a Christian, this is not always the case, though it certainly can be.
Christians experienced, and continued to experience, God’s love and grace. We
are told in Romans, “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (8:38-39) But because God
loves us, it does not mean we will get by problem-free. God will allow things
into our lives for various reasons such as making our faith stronger (1 Peter
1:6-7), helping us to grow to become the Christian God wants us to become (Job
23:8-10), makes us think more about Heaven and eternity (2 Corinthians
4:16-18), and disciplines our sins as a father disciplines his child (Hebrews
10-11). However, just because a Christian is going through problems, does not
necessarily mean it is a result of sin, as we see in the book of Job.
That
is a long introduction for what I want to share with you. I want to share a
little of my heart with personal experience. When it comes to suffering, the
biggest (and maybe most important) difference is the peace that can be found in
the adversity. As a Christian, we have two options when we face adversity:
become bitter and angry with God, or trust God and grow closer to him. For a
Christian who is not strong in the faith, it is easy to blame God and become
bitter, but that will lead to worse problems as well as consequences and
chastisement. I have been on both sides of responding to adversity and becoming
bitter is not worth it. I want to give practical verses that I have found is a
world of difference when facing trials.
I
have grown up as a Christian, so I have never really experienced what it’s like
to not have a peace, knowing I’m going to Heaven. Even in the times I have
grown bitter against God, I still knew I was saved. I can only imagine the
horror of being unsaved through adversity. I imagine a loneliness, a hopelessness
that your life has no meaning and no direction. Knowing you don’t have a
protector to lean on and trust. No love. A life of despair and emptiness that
can only be relieved by addictions which lead you to be more miserable. It’s no
wonder there’s a high suicide rate amoung non-Christians.
As
Christians, we have a protector that we know we can lean on and run to, a
Father we know that loves us. (Isaiah 63:16)
When
facing adversity, we must first “man up”. Evaluate the issue. If it is a result
of your own sin, accept the responsibility. I can tell you that you cannot
honestly face adversity and rely on God to see you through it without accepting responsibility for a sin and asking forgiveness. This also implies that you learn from your sin
and grow from it. But oftentimes, being forgiven doesn’t mean you won’t reap
the consequences from it. This can be difficult to live with. You have asked
for forgiveness and have started on the path to change things, but still having
long term consequences from it. This is when it’s especially crucial to trust
God.
A
lot of emotions can be experienced during this adversity. Loneliness, fear,
anxiety, rejection, disappointment, depression, along with many others. The
Bible addresses each of these emotions, but I want to focus on select verses
that are universal.
One
thing I have learned is that adversity is a crucible for humility. Adversity
can humble you if you let it. For a Christian, it is a reminder that we are
weak in ourselves. “When I am weak, then I am strong”. When we realise that we
need to rely on God and that we cannot get through things on our own, it brings
a genuine humility and breaks your pride. This may not initially be a
comforting thought in times of trial, but as you progress, you will learn that
it has helped you grow as a Christian and that is encouraging in itself. (2
Corinthians 12:9)
God
wants to give us encouragement! It’s how we grow closer to him. When we have to
rely on him and know that we cannot make it without him, our relationship gains
a fullness. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”
(Psalm 46:1). God does not like to see us suffer, but uses suffering to bring
us closer to him as we see in Jeremiah 29: “For I know the thoughts that I
think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give
you an expected end. Then shall ye seek me, and ye shall go and pray unto me,
and I will hearken unto you.” (vs. 11-12)
The
most important thing to remember is that God is in control of the whole
situation and if we dwell on that, it is encouraging. Prayer is essential. God
is in control, but won’t help if you don’t seek out his will throughout the
suffering. You may never understand his will and reasoning for your adversity,
but praying is the way to grow closer to God. Secondly, you should study God’s
word. This seems easier to do when we are going through trials than when we are
going through a good time (same for prayer). But when we study, not just read,
God’s word, we may not always see God’s reason for your trials, but what you
will see is God’s sovereignty. You will see God’s perfectness and that He
really is in control and that nothing can happen to you without God allowing
it. Reading and studying Job is a constant reminder of this. When we adopt this
attitude, it brings peace. Micah 7:7 is a great passage to memorize.
“Therefore, I will look unto the LORD. I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God hears me”. This is a verse that will continually remind you that your
prayers do not go unheard. Memorize it! It’s one thing to study God’s word, but
when we memorize scripture, it becomes a part of our lives and dwells in our
minds.
God
WILL answer your prayer. It may not be in a way you expect, but God is faithful
to give you, and help you in, what you really need. The Holy Spirit that
intercedes in prayer for us knows more than we do, what we need. As we grow
through adversity, our prayer begins to change as well. We start to see what is
really important. Philippians 4:4-9 is a lengthy passage but is an encouraging
verse that not only does God hear us, but that trusting in him gives us a
peace. “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice... (6) Be careful
[anxious] for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus...” I love this verse! This is one of the most important verses to
memorize if you are going through adversity. But understanding these principles
are not enough: we must give control of our live to God!
When
we give up control of our lives to God, it’s amazing that, even through a huge
storm, we have a serene peace “that passeth all understanding”. That is so
true. That peace you will have cannot be explained. Some of the hardships we go
through, we have every reason to be anxious, but yet, have an unexplainable
peace. This is proven in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Fully rely on God and
give him control, and he will take any fears from you. I know it sounds like a
cliché devotional phrase but it is true and real and you can experience it, but
only if you give control of your life over to God. (John 16:33)
And
again, we see in Isaiah 41 that God WILL give us peace and take our fear and
anxieties. “Fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed for I am thy God. I
will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness.” (vs. 10)
Finally, in Joshua 1:9, we are affirmed “...Be strong and of good courage.
Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.”
All
of these verses are great and we may have heard of every one of them, but seem
like cliché proverbs. But I mind you that these verses can become a part of
you. When we hide God’s Word in our hearts, it changes us: not only to keep us
from sin, but ultimately gives us a closeness to God. I want to remind you that
there is a difference between reading and memorizing. Not only in the
mechanics, but in the way the verse affects you.
Praying
to God, asking for his direction in your life (and circumstances) and asking
for his peace, will result in a peace that you will not be able to comprehend.
Your situation may not change, and may even worsen, but YOU will change! God
never changes, but we will. We will realise that God is in control and will
help us. We realise that God may have even had this planned from the beginning.
Romans 8:28-30 tells us “And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them that are called according to his purposed. For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be firstborn amoung many breathern. Moreover, whom he did
predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (also see Deuteronomy 31:8) Ultimately,
God wills that we use our adversity to grow closer to him and to reflect the
image of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Adversity
will change you in many ways if you let it. God will provide encouragement and
peace through your trials, if you only rest on him and give him control over
your life and circumstance; when you learn to let go of control. For me
adversity has led me to become more diligent in memorizing scripture, has
humbled me, has brought me closer to God, and has given me a peace that God’s
love and grace is everlasting. If you go through adversity and trials, I hope
that you decide to rely on God rather than become bitter. I guarantee that if
you do this, you will grow and you will have peace. But don’t let that end when
adversity ends. Christians are notorious for growing close to God in adversity
and trusting him, but wane in their faith when times are good. Continue to
follow God and in the end, be able to say “I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
