When We Suffer

A Biblical Perspective On Chronic Pain And Illness

Why we suffer may always remain a mystery on this side of eternity. However we can gain certain truths from God’s Word.

If God loves us so much, why do we suffer? Whether your a Christian or not, it’s a question that comes up repeatedly during times of illness and tragedy. In times of distress, we want to know that our suffering matters to God and that He cares about our pain.

Sometimes a fresh word May in fact be a timeless one. Truths that are timeless often need only the time brushed away in order to reveal the polished product that has shined the entire time.

Pastor TimHager asserts that we suffer because we live in a fallen world. When sin entered the world, death also entered and Chronic pain, illness, and disease are a form of death.

Despite this harsh reality, I urge anyone suffering to take their questions to God rather than allow them to become a wedge in their relationship with Him.

If we follow the example in Psalms, which says to cry out to God as though taking Him to task for our problems, those who persist in their conversation with Him, will eventually receive their answer and reinforce their faithfulness toward Him.

Suffering in many ways, remains a mystery, one that we will never fully understand on earth. We can however learn from God’s Word.

Suffering Produces Intimacy With God. – Job 42:5

  • Job endured unspeakable suffering, he said “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Intimacy with God is often born in the furnace of affliction. There’s an opening of the soul that happens during times of stress . During suffering, we experience God at a deep profound level.

Suffering Equips Us To Comfort Others. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

  • Suffering gives us compassion for others who are hurting, enabling us to help people more effectively. Sufferers want to be ministered to by people who have suffered,

People who suffer want people who have suffered to tell them there is hope. They are justifiably suspicious of people who appear to have lived a life of ease

Piper, John and Justin Taylor (Suffering and the Sovereignty of God)

Those who have suffered make the most effective comforters.

Suffering Refines Us. –Isaiah 48:10

Isaiah 48:10 says, “I have refined you, though not as silver, I have tested you in the fur of affliction.”

The meaning of this verse makes it clear that pain and suffering have a way of bringing our strengths and weaknesses to the surface. When the dross floats to the surface, God skims it off, He purifies and refines us to be the radiant bride of Christ we need to be at the end of days.

Suffering Produces Growth And Maturity. -James 1:2-4

  • If we turn toward God in our pain, He can use our suffering to mature our faith. We see this biblical truth illustrated through the persecuted church. After hearing the testimonies, few would deny that suffering produces beauty and maturity of spirit.

Suffering Conforms Us Into God’s Image. -Romans 8:28-29

  • We may be tent to read these verses to say that God will bring good out of everything. While He can and does redeem pain in our lives, these verses speak of being conformed to God’s image through our suffering.

Through horrendous experiences, God does incredible things. Simply put, when we seek God through His Word and prayer, we find Jesus. Remember, Jesus understands our pain because He too, suffered.

Psalm 22:1 reads “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me? So far from the words of my groaning?“

Did God abandon His Son in His hour of suffering? We find the answer three days later. God raised Him from the dead. Because of this promise, we can have hope for our future.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

Recognizing Who You Are

There are a multitude of studies in the last 40 years that indicate the way we perceive ourselves determines a large degree and how we act and react in life. That one’s self perception, self-worth, self-esteem tends to be a governing factor in our life. If we see ourselves as a loser, we end up to a large degree acting like a loser. If we see ourselves as a victim, we can’t let people victimize us. If we see ourselves as uncreative, we never come up with any creative ideas. If we see ourselves as a piece of junk, we began to think that we are garbage. If we see ourselves as successful then we can to repeat successes that we’ve made in the past. We set ourselves up, in life. Our beliefs about ourselves determine our behavior.

Sometimes our story indicates the belief that we had ourselves originated in childhood. Unfortunately, so many of those beliefs are false. Many people have negative views of themselves because of enormous information that they have received permission formed an unauthorized sources in their lives.

We need to look at ourselves from a different perspective. We need to hear from an informed an authorized source. For example: A student in architecture enter the nationwide contest for building design. Judge by a panel of architects his design received honorable mention. He was utterly depressed, he believes he is what is the best design. At lunch on the last day of the convention he was sitting over here on eating sandwich, looking at his creation. An old man who was looking at it too. At last he remarked, not knowing who had designed the building,This one I think is the best of the lot.” Judges had merely given his work honorable mention, but the old man had like it. The young student went home elated. Why? Because this old man was Frank Loyd Wright, Probably the greatest architect of all time.

When the authority tells us something we can count on it. God is the authority on who we are. He is our Creator. He gives us correct information. He is the one who should be listening to about who we are. Peter, in the 1st chapter, said what God has done for us. In verse 2, He talks about what God says about us. And believers in Jesus he informed us of who we are.

You are acceptable

. “You are the ones chosen by God… From nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” (1 Peter 2:9-10, the message). Most of us spend our entire lives trying to earn acceptance. We seek it from our parents, peers, partners. We seek acceptance from the people we respect and the people we envy. Our desire to be accepted . Influences the kind of clothes we wear, the kind of car we drive, the kind of house we buy, and even the career we choose.

Why are we so driven by acceptance? Because we love the feeling of acceptance. We love you know that someone has chosen and accepted us. Baseball players are divided up into teams, usually the two best players would be the captains and they choose which sides each play is on. In childhood children are chosen by the team captain, they remember how great it felt to be chosen by the best player. On the other hand how bad they felt when it got down to the last two or three and they’re still not chosen.

When we are chosen, accepted, it raises our self-esteem.

There’s a story I heard, about some parents on the East Coast that received a telephone call from their son during the Korean War. They were thrilled, because they haven’t heard from him in many months. He said he was in San Francisco and on his way home.

“Mom, I just wanted to let you know that I’m bringing a buddy home with me” he said. “He’s been hurt pretty bad, and only has one eye, one arm, and one leg. I’d sure like him to live with us.”

“ sure son, his mother replied. He sounds like a brave man. We’ll find room for him for a while.“

“ mom, you don’t understand. I want him to come live with us.“

“Well, OK, she finally said. We could try it for six months or so.“

“ No, Mom, I want him to stay with us always. He needs us, he’s only got one eye, one arm, and one leg. He’s really in bad shape.”

By this time his mother has lost her patience. “Son you are being unrealistic about this. You’re emotional because you’ve been in a war. That boy will be a drag on you and a constant problem for us all. Be reasonable.”

The phone clicked dead. The next day, the parents got a telegram: your son had committed suicide. A week later the parents received the body. They look down with unspeakable sorrow on the corpse of their son – Who only had one eye, one arm, and one leg.

Even with our disabilities, character flaws, shortcomings, insecurities, and immaturity. God will accept us as we are. He invites us home. No conditions. Nor restrictions.he chooses us for his team. We don’t have to get cleaned up or stitched up or made up to be accepted by God. He accepts us with one eye, one arm, one leg – Feeling like a piece of junk.

You are Valuable.

How much do you think of your self-worth? I am not talking about your Net worth, but self-worth. We should never compute valuables with value as a person. To answer the question, how much do you think you are worth? We need to ask another question, what determines value? There are two things that determine value in life: value depend on what someone is willing to pay for something. A house, a car, a piece of art, a baseball card are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. Value depends on who had on them in the past. The Auction of Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana’s personal possessions reveals the value that enhance the previous owners.

Based on these two criteria, what’s your value? How much are you worth? The scripture says “ you have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him” (1 Corinthians 7:23). Who owns you? What has paid for you? Christ owns you and paid for you with his life. God exchange his own son for you. The cross proves your value. God said I love you this much. Jesus gave his life for you. And Jesus didn’t die for junk.

A frightened woman found her place in a life boat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic from the Titanic. He suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her state room before they cast off. He was grounded 3 minutes are they would have to leave without her.

He ran across the deck that was already slanted and a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that I have been roll to one side, ankle deep. He came to her state room and quickly pushed aside her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces and he reach to the shelf above her bed and grab three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to life boat and got in.

Likewise, as believers in Jesus we have been rescued into his life vote of salvation. That’s the woman going back for the oranges, Jesus went to the cross for us. Why? Because we are such an incredible value and worth to him. One cannot begin to comprehend the incredible worth we are who Jesus. And societies value system we may seem like nothing more than an orange in comparison to a diamond. But to Jesus, we are the most precious treasure in the world.

You are capable.

No that makes down like a little scary to us. But Peter is saying there are two benefits to how available everybody, whoever is a believer in Jesus. One, we have access to God. We have the right to go directly to God. We don’t have to pray through anyone else. We don’t have to confess our sins to anyone else. We can go directly to God. Two, we have a responsibility to minister to the needs of other people. Every Christian is a minister. God says that you and I have been gifted for ministry to serve other people. We are “God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night and day difference he made for us” ( 1 Peter 2:9 the message).

The Latin word for priest means bridge. The priest is a bridge builder between God and man. Or as the old preacher said, “We are saved to serve.” If we are not serving what in the world were we saved for?

I would never want to reach out someday, with a soft, uncalloused hand – a hand never dirtied by serving – and shake the nail- pieced hand of Jesus

Bill Hybels

Can you imagine the feeling of esteem when one realizes that God has entrusted his work to us?

You are forgivable

In other words, you are forgiven. There are no three words to communicate self-worth than: You are forgiven. God doesn’t rub our sins in, he rubs them out. He doesn’t rehearse your sin, like we do, he releases it.

When we come to Christ our sins are wiped out. We will not be held accountable for them. They are forgo. Gone, Erased. Treated as though they never existed,

Four Pillars Of Self-Esteem

1 I am acceptable

2. I am valuable

3. I am capable

4. I am forgiven

Because of what God did for us we can proclaim the praises of the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light ( 1 Peter 2:9). We are God‘s handiwork, his masterpiece, his creation. Therefore, we declare praise to him for who we are. Peter goes on to say, Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” ( 1 Peter 2:10). We are his own – we are chosen, we have worth, we are found capable, we are forgiven. When we have that and know that the world’s judging system just doesn’t mater. We know we are not junk. “We Are God’s.

Who Is Jesus?

Bear in mind that while a man claiming to be God is a radical thought, Jesus is the on,y leader of a world religion to have made the claim – not to mention backed it up. How?

He is the Son of God, equal with God, and with authority from The Father.

Then they all said, ‘Are You then the Son of God?’ So He said to them, ‘You rightly say that I am.’

Luke 22:70

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth

Matthew 28:18

Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5:17).

Again in John 10, the enemies of Jesus attest to the fact that He claimed to be God. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to the, that they will never perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me? The Jews answered Him, For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God” (John 10:27-33).

Bear in mind that while a man claiming to be God is a radical thought, Jesus is the only leader of a world religion to have made the claim – not to mention backed it up. How?

Jesus lived a sinless life

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Som of God, let us hold fast our confession. Or we do not have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin

Hebrews 4:1

Because He didn’t sin, God was able to accept His sacrifice. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.”

Also, 2 Corinthians 2:21 says, “He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become righteous of God in Him.”

Jesus said He is the one and only way to God

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me (John 14:6).

He had the power to forgive sins and provide everlasting life

“Jesus said, “ I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever leaves and believes in me will never die“ (John 11:25),

When Jesus saw their faith, He said, friend, your sins are forgiven. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, who is this fellow who speak blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?

Luke 5:20

“For my Father’s will is that everyone looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40).

“I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life” (John 6:47).

Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection

“Jesus took the 12 aside and told them, We are going up into Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophet about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, and salt him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again” (Luke 18:31).

He said He would come back

Matthew 24:26 says, “ So as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man… At that time a sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, with power and great glory.”

Again the high priest asked Him, ‘Are you the Christ, the son of the blessed one?‘ I am, said Jesus. And you will see the Som of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Mark 14:61

Jesus clearly knew He was the Lamb of God, the Messiah spoke of in the Old Testament. He knew He had to live a life without sin, no matter what. When He returns, He will judge the sins of the world… Except for those who have already acknowledged conviction, entered a plea of guilty, and sought His mercy by believing in Christ.