Tag Archives: suffering

Day 281: Comfort in the church

Job 13-14; Ephesians 4

In Ephesians 3, Paul revealed a “mystery” (3:4-6). This mystery is the church where Jews and Gentiles can co-exist in peace.

In Ephesians 4, Paul expands upon this concept of “church” and gives all sorts of practical ways to improve church life…

  • Be humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love (4:2),
  • Keep the unity of peace (4:3),
  • Exercise spiritual gifts for the building up of the body (4:11-12),
  • Put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor (4:25),
  • In your anger, do not sin (4:26), and
  • Earn an honest wage so that you might have something to share with those in need (4:28).

And finally,

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen (Ephesians 4:29, NIV).

So what do we do when we encounter the depth of suffering that Job experienced in our own churches? Job is in utter despair because not only has he lost everyone and everything dear to him (apart from his wife)… he also thinks he has lost God’s favor. He doesn’t understand why God would strike him with such hardship, so he assumes that God has turned on him. The assumed loss of God’s favor is so devastating to Job that he longs for death – but fears the lack of renewal and the loneliness of death without God (Job 14:12; 18-22).

We have the privilege of knowing why Job is suffering. We hear the heavenly conversation between God and Satan where God repeats twice, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8; 2:3). We know that Job is suffering to prove to Satan that one can love God even when all the blessings are removed (Job 1:9-11). Job’s suffering has a higher purpose that he cannot see.

And even though we can’t know for sure why people within our churches suffer – or why we, ourselves, suffer, we can apply the principles of Ephesians 4 to these relationships. We can be gentle and bear with one another in love. We can speak truthfully and serve the church in ways that builds it up, instead of tearing it down. We can use our words in ways that build each other up according to their needs that it may be a benefit and not a curse.

I pray that no one in our churches has to endure the hardships of Job… suffering, alone, without a friend to offer the truths of the gospel. May we be a friend to the suffering. May we comfort the “Jobs” in our midst.

Day 280: The God of all Comfort

Job 11-12; Ephesians 2-3

In many ways, the book of Job teaches us how to comfort those who are experiencing great suffering, specifically by NOT following the example of Job’s friends!

We read Zophar’s, “comfort” in Job 11, and it is filled with rude accusations that Job is foolish to claim he is blameless, and that if Job would just repent, his life would be all hunky-dory again. Humph.

On so many levels, Job’s friends say the most horrible things. They are judgmental of Job and presumptuous of God.

We don’t have the power of God to judge a man’s heart! We have no idea if the suffering is because of sin or not. And moreover, our sins have been forgiven!! Listen to what Frankie Bennett writes in her bible study on Job…

God may prune me (John 15:1-5), discipline me as His child (Hebrews 12:7-11), test me (Job 1-2), or have any number of other purposes for my trials, but I need never again wonder if my sufferings are His retribution for old sins or His condemnation of my failure to achieve perfection (Job, Lessons in Comfort, Frances Bennett, CEP, 2009, pg 46). 

This is the gospel! That all of our sins have been forgiven! That Christ took the punishment we deserved and God’s wrath has been satisfied. It is finished. No more punishment. We are accepted!

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

This is where comfort is found…in the grace of God. God’s comfort is deep and profound. It makes it way deep into our hearts and assures us that we are loved and accepted. In fact, his love is so vast that we need the Spirit’s help to understand it!! I’ve prayed Paul’s prayer at the end of Ephesians 3 so many times… for myself and for others who need the strength of God’s comfort…

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21).

Now that’s comfort! The kind of comfort that seeps into your bones and quenches your thirsty soul. That’s the power of truth, offered graciously in love.

Day 279: The value of Truth

Job 8-10; Ephesians 1

Job needed Ephesians 1. Seriously.. he desperately needed the truth found in Ephesians 1.

For Job misinterpreted his sufferings and chose to believe that God was angry with him. Job feared that God’s anger would cause him more and more pain…

And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion
and again work wonders against me.
You renew your witnesses against me
and increase your vexation toward me;
you bring fresh troops against me (Job 10:16-17).

Job’s friends were no help. In fact, they should be lifted up as an example of what not to do when someone you know is suffering. Today, in Job 8, Bildad theorized that Job’s children were destroyed because of their sin (8:4), and that God had rejected Job because he was not blameless (8:20). Encouraging, eh? But even more damaging, Bildad’s words were just not true!

What Job needs is truth. Healing, refreshing words of truth to pour over the bitterness of his heart. He needs the truths found in Ephesians 1….

That before the creation of the world, God chose us to be adopted as his children. And because of His great Love for us, we have been redeemed and forgiven.

Job longs for an arbitrator to stand between him and God (Job 9:32-33). He needs to know that Christ is our mediator! That God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus on the cross… that his wrath has been satisfied – that we are not to fear His anger.

Job needs…

the Spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of God…He needs to have the eyes of his heart enlightened, that he may know what is the hope to which God has called him, what are the riches of the glorious inheritance in the saints (adapted from Ephesians 1:17-18).

How thankful I am to have God’s word to guide me when trials strike! God will reveal Himself to Job in time, but for now, Job’s thoughts about God’s purposes and plans are distorted. Consequently, he is left hopeless, despairing for his life. He needs truth. He needs Christ!

Day 278: The “Who” outshines the “why”

Job 4-7

The first of Job’s three friends speaks in Job 4-5. It would have been much better if all three of them would have just kept silent (as they did in Job 2)!

Eliphaz clearly believes in God and understands glimpses of God’s character. I’m sure he means well, but his words are filled with false assumptions and presumptuous claims. But most damaging, he places his own observations and dreams above the truth of God’s word.

For example, in Job 4:7-11, Eliphaz makes sweeping generalizations when he says that the innocent never suffer – only the evil are destroyed. Later he presumes that God is “disciplining” Job (5:17-18) and promises that God will restore all of Job’s blessings if Job learns from the Lord’s reproof. Eliphaz even goes so far as to suggest that Job is a “fool” (5:2-6)!

Poor Job. He has lost everything, and now he must deal with disappointment in his friends (Job 6:14-21).

But the hardest thing that Job has lost is his belief that God loves him.

The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me (Job 6:4, NIV).

Ironically, it is because of God’s great love for Job that God has entrusted him with this trial! Satan suggested that Job’s love for God was really just love for his blessings – not for God, Himself. So God has entrusted his beloved Job to stand firm in this test to prove to Satan that God, alone, is worthy of our love.

And Job’s only comfort through this trial is that he has not “denied the Holy One” (Job 6:10).

So even though Job has sunk into complete despair and is devoid of all hope, he is standing firm in his faith in God. Satan has not won!

But here’s where I relate to Job the most… Job magnifies his pain because he seeks to know the “why” behind the suffering. How many of us have echoed Job’s question to God in the midst of suffering?? “Why me, Oh Lord??!!”

Why have you made me your target? (Job 7:21)

In Frances Bennett’s bible study on Job, (Job, Lessons in Comfort; CEP, 2009), she asserts that we must not seek after the “why” of suffering but the “Who.” She writes, “God teaches from Genesis to Revelation that all we really need to know is Who.”

Job has temporarily misunderstood God. He has assumed that God doesn’t love and care about him. This false belief has led him into hopeless despair. He needs to remember Who God is – and then the why of suffering will fade in the splendor of God’s character!

*Anything I’ve written about these chapters in Job, I have learned from Frances Bennett’s excellent teaching in her bible study on Job. I highly recommend her to you: Job, Lessons in Comfort.

Day 277: God of all Comfort

Job 1-3; Galatians 6

For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
and my groanings are poured out like water (Job 3:24).

This, friends, is grief. Job has lost everything.

When he lost his possessions and children, he said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

When he lost his health, he said, “Shall we receive good from God and not receive evil?” (Job 2:10).

But now, after time has settled in, and the reality of his loss becomes heavier, Job curses the day he was born (Job 3:3).

This was it. This was all he could bear. And Satan waited – and watched – and hoped that he had taken away the thing Job cherished more than God.*

But that was impossible, because Job loved God above all else. And because of Job’s love for God, the thought that God, Himself, might have forsaken him… well this was Job’s hardest trial.

For Job didn’t suffer because of his sin. And Job didn’t suffer because of someone else’s sin. He suffered to prove his loyalty to God.

How do we reconcile God’s goodness with the heavenly conversations recorded in Job 1 & 2? How does Job wrestle with these same doubts? This is the crux of Job.

But sprinkled through Job’s test of faith in God’s goodness are lessons in comfort. The word “comfort” finds its roots in the Latin words meaning “with strength.” So we must not mistake comfort for removing the pain. Sometimes the best comfort comes from finding truth in the midst of the pain. For instance, God knew Job’s limits. And he refused to let Satan overstep those limits. This is a comforting truth. Job’s friends come and sit in comforting silence (Job 2:11-13). Even Job offers comfort to his wife, in the form of a gentle rebuke (Job 2:9-10). But ultimately, it is Job’s hope in God that provides him the most comfort (Job 3:23).

Paul, in his final words to the Galatians, gives specific ways to comfort those around us who are suffering…

restore him in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1).
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

Do you see God’s comfort in the pages of Job? I do. I am comforted that God limited Job’s afflictions. I am comforted that God gave room for Job to grieve. I am comforted that all suffering doesn’t come from sin – but that my response in the midst of it could thwart the plans of Satan and bring glory to God! I’m comforted that God had a purpose for Job’s suffering that transcended Job’s lifetime and ripples into our hearts today. I’m comforted by God’s sovereignty, his authority over evil, and yes, His goodness. For even in the midst of suffering, God is still good.

*Job, Lessons in Comfort, by Frances Poston Bennett, pg 24

Day 270: Forget not His benefits

Psalm 78; 2 Corinthians 12

Before we continue on to the book of Esther, let’s pause for a few days and consider the Psalms that relate to the restored people of Ezra and Nehemiah’s day…

Psalm 78 is a historical Psalm – written to preserve God’s work in Israel from generation to generation. No doubt, this Psalm was a useful teacher to the restored exiles in Jerusalem – working to reestablish their Jewish community and heritage!

Fast-forwarding in history to Paul’s day, he is still defending his authority as an apostle of Jesus in 2 Corinthians 12. Remember, he is writing in response to false allegations made against him by false teachers. Paul is reluctant to list his qualifications, and responds to his offenders by focusing on his weaknesses, rather than his strengths!

In today’s reading, we find Paul’s famous assertion that he was given a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from being conceited after receiving glorious visions of paradise, the place where God dwells.

This passage has always been comforting to me…for two reasons!

  • First, it reinforces my hope of heaven…that there really is a spiritual realm where God dwells – and that place is like paradise (2 Cor. 12:3)!
  • And secondly, it gives a good purpose for pain. In this case, so Paul would not become conceited. God gave him a constant trial to keep and grow Paul’s godly character. God gave Paul the “thorn” because He loved him.

If you are going through a trial, are you convinced that God still loves you? If we struggle to persevere in our faith during life’s trials, we must take a lesson from the Israelites. We must look backward in our history and remember his faithfulness to us in the past. 

The act of “remembering” is sprinkled throughout Psalm 78…

…so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God (78:7);

They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them (78:10-11);

They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer (78:36);

They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember his power
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe (78:35-36).

When the Israelites failed to remember God’s faithfulness, they fell away. But when they remembered, they were encouraged to draw near to God! We must not forget His goodness to us!!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:2-5).

Day 263: Leadership (Biblical-style), pt. 1

Ezra 7-8; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Ezra and Paul – both were amazing leaders…

Today’s passage in Ezra fast-forwards 57 years from the building of the temple to describe Ezra, the priest, coming to Jerusalem. We learn from the text that Ezra wasn’t just any priest…he could trace his lineage all the way back to Aaron. He also had authority from the king of Persia AND extensive knowledge of the law of Moses. But in addition to all of his earthly qualifications, he dedicated himself to serving God and studying His law (Ezra 7:10). He was uniquely qualified to lead the people of God. 

Now consider Paul’s testimony from our reading in 2 Corinthians…He was beaten, imprisoned and starved (among other afflictions) yet he persevered in his apostolic calling (2 Cor. 6:4-10) . Paul’s leadership was refined through weakness – and because of Paul’s weakness – the power of God was revealed. Paul was also uniquely qualified to lead the people of God.

Both leaders respected and loved the Lord, His word and His people. But above all, they gave their very lives in service to their God. Leadership begins with service and requires great sacrifice. Are you cut out to be a leader in God’s kingdom? If so, get used to being on your knees – in humble reliance on God for all he’s called you to be!

Day 261: Look to the unseen

Ezra 3-4; 2 Corinthians 4

Today we continue the story of the exiles working together to rebuild their lives in Israel. Here is the historical context for Ezra (adapted from: Introduction to Ezra, ESV Study Bible, Crossway)

  • Cyrus king of Persia captures Babylon: 539 BC (Dan. 5:30–31)
  • First year of King Cyrus; issues proclamation freeing Jewish exiles to return: 538–537 (Ezra 1:1–4)
  • Jewish exiles return from Babylon to Jerusalem: 537? (Ezra 1:11)
  • The Altar is rebuilt and the people celebrate the Feast of booths: 537 (Ezra 3:1–2)
  • Temple rebuilding begins: 536 (Ezra 3:8)
  • Adversaries oppose the rebuilding: 536–530 (Ezra 4:1–5)
  • Temple rebuilding ceases: 530–520 (Ezra 4:24)

In Ezra 3, we read of the people laying the foundation of the temple. As they completed the foundation, many praised God and celebrated with great shouts of joy. But mixed in with the celebration were men of old who remembered the grandeur of Solomon’s temple, and they wept in bitter grief at what had been lost (3:13).

Later in Ezra 4, we read of the beginnings of opposition to the rebuilding of the temple, and this opposition continued for approximately 20 years (Ezra 4:4-5) – even resulting in the cessation of rebuilding altogether (4:24).

(Note: Ezra 4:6-23 is a tangent from the historical narrative which looks forward to other historical examples of opposition to the Jewish nation).

The Jewish people lived in this constant tension… Between celebration and grief (3:13) and rebuilding and opposition (4:24). This tension existed because they expected God to fulfill His promises physically… by restoring the world’s power and resources back into their grasp – to return them to the glory days of Solomon – when Israel was the most powerful nation on earth.

Their eyes were blind to God’s plan to restore them spiritually. This is what Ezekiel referred to when he said that God would replace their heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Eze. 36:26). Ezekiel looked forward to the new covenant – when God’s people would live by the Spirit instead of the law.

This is what Paul refers to when he says, “We have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:1). It is a beautiful picture of our physical brokenness alongside the treasure of our spiritual renewal.

This is the key to not losing hope during trial and suffering. Consider the Jews from our passage today… They had to endure 20 years of opposition to the rebuilding of the temple. How do you endure patiently during suffering? By taking your eyes off of what is seen, and putting them on what is unseen.

In order for the Jewish people to not lose faith, they had to fix their eyes on their covenant-keeping God. If he had bent the will of the mighty Persian king, surely he could handle a little opposition from the local officials! Their faith was being tested. Where would they rest their eyes? On the physical? Or the eternal?

We, too, live in a time of waiting for God to ultimately and finally fulfill His covenant promises to His people. We will endure affliction as we wait. So how do we not lose hope? How do we persevere in the faith? How can Paul so confidently say?

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair… (2 Cor. 4:8).

Paul has fixed his eyes on the Savior. He knows the eternal treasure is hidden inside the temporal jar of clay.

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 Cor. 4:16-18).

Day 258: God determines the end-date!

Daniel 7-9; 2 Corinthians 1

Today, Daniel shifts from historical literature to apocalyptic literature. Keep in mind that God does not give apocalyptic visions so that we can predict the future. These cryptic visions usually contain strange imagery which is difficult to interpret. So as we breeze through Daniel’s  visions, it will be difficult to invest time in all the many interpretation theories. But we can focus on what we learn about God! Daniel’s visions consistently teach: (1) God is sovereign over all of history, (2)There will be a final judgment, and (3) God’s kingdom will endure forever!

Especially poignant in today’s reading is Daniel’s prayer for mercy from Chapter 9. As Daniel is pleading to God for mercy for Israel as a whole, the angel Gabriel comes to show mercy to Daniel on an individual level. Gabriel says, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved” (Daniel 9:22).

What a comforting personal message from the angel, Gabriel! And even though Gabriel prophesied that Israel’s suffering would continue, his words proved that God had determined the duration of suffering. In other words, there is a predetermined end-date!

This is our hope and encouragement to persevere in the face of affliction!

Paul has much to say about the purpose of suffering in the opening chapter of 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians is an interesting letter. Opponents to Paul’s ministry had infiltrated the church and caused a large rebellion against Paul. Paul wrote a letter (which is now lost; 2 Cor. 2:3-4; 2 Cor. 7:8-16): pleading for the church to repent – which thankfully, most did. But some opponents still remained within the church. Consequently, Paul spends the first 7 chapters defending his apostolic ministry and indirectly refuting his opponents.

One argument against Paul being a true apostle was that he suffered too much! It is in this context that Paul addresses suffering in 2 Corinthians 1.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

God in his grace has designed suffering to produce good in our lives! God’s comfort in the midst of affliction transforms our hearts in a profound way. This enables us to share God’s comfort with others, and also share more in the person of Christ!

The ways of God are beyond understanding!

He controls all of history.
He has a plan to redeem a people.
There is an appointed time for suffering,
And in the end, God’s kingdom will stand in glory forever!

Day 248: Victory through submission

Isaiah 49:1 – 51:8; 1 Corinthians 9

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them (1 Corinthians 9:19).

Paul speaks of relating to people as their servant… from a position of humility. He was intentional about this. He made an effort to relate to people on their own terms – not from a position of superiority or piety (9:19-22).

I believe this was the Spirit’s work in Paul’s life – shaping him to be more like Christ. For Christ came into the world so that He could identify with the world. He came to save, not to judge. He came in humility, and associated with “sinners.” He came as a servant.

Which brings me to Isaiah. Isaiah’s “servant” was a mysterious figure. Jewish scholars of Jesus’ day (for the most part) had not connected the “servant” with the Messiah. It seems so obvious to us that the Servant in Isaiah has to be the Messiah. But the concept of a great conquering Messiah also being the “servant” was a new paradigm and a concept that even Jesus’ disciples didn’t fully grasp until after Jesus’ ascension.

But fortunately, we have the hindsight to see. We read two of the four Servant Songs (42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-9 & 52:13-53:12) in today’s reading. The voice in these “songs” is the Messiah himself. He was the one to rescue the remnant from the hands of captivity and restore his people in the land! And he is the one who rescues our souls from the clutches of death – and restores us to new life!

It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).

But consider the way in which the Servant saves… It is not through power and strength – but through righteous suffering. This was a new paradigm…

The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting (Isaiah 50:5-6).

Who would have thought that victory could be won through submitting to the strong? This is the way of the Kingdom. This is the way of our God!!

Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of [my adversaries] will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up. -The Servant, Isaiah 50:9