Suffering

This is a talk I gave at Sunday School last week. I thought it might be worth the post. Forgive the format, it was written to be spoken, not read. And I took out the examples.

Suffering. No one wants to teach about. It’s one of my favorite subjects though, because it is so crucial to our lives as believers and, yet, so misunderstood in our culture. We think that being a Christian and suffering are mutually exclusive. That couldn't be more wrong. We have bought into this idea that once we are a Christian our lives will be easier, but that is not what Scripture says. The Bible is full of people who are messy, hurting, abused, and misunderstood and in the struggle, namely Jesus. But that isn’t what we see in our “Christian” setting today is it? We come to church and youth group prettied up, hiding our pain. We plaster on a fake smile, hide under the flag of “God is in control.” That’s our pride and its wrong. One of my biggest pet peeves is someone who qualifies their real life pain with the sentence of “it will be fine though, no worries.” That is junk. It isn’t real and it hacks me off. We kick at the goads of God being in control and mask our lives of struggle because we don’t want to be judged. We don’t want people to think that we don’t have it all together. And we don’t want to admit that God isn’t who we thought He was because struggle has entered our lives, and a “good god couldn’t be a part of pain.” But, until we let go of the idea that pain has no part in our lives, we will never know the fullness of God’s grace, mercy, kindness, faithfulness and goodness.
We continue to look at Paul’s life. He provides us with a picture of suffering that we can relate to. Because, honestly, Paul faced every type of struggle imaginable (short of taking on humanity’s sin).
1.) Suffering is a part of our lives and that is good
2 Corinthians 6:4-5, 11:23-27
What would we think of someone who had that account of their life?
-to have more faith
-that the person were missing something, because God wouldn’t put that much adversity in lives if they were walking with Him
But that’s not true. It’s in our suffering that we learn and mature the most, because it is in our weakness that we are dependent on God.
Example:
How can suffering be good?
We don’t think that suffering and rejoicing can coexist. But Acts 5 says that we should rejoice in suffering. We are counted worthy to suffer. What does rejoicing in your suffering look like?

2 Corinthians 1:3-4….God comforts us, so that we can comfort others. God gives us hope, grace, insight and tangible comfort through His body, so that in turn we can comfort others both in the body and out.
We have experiences in life that allow us to relate to others and comfort them. And even if we haven’t gone through the exact circumstance, we have suffered and tasted God’s goodness and comfort. And that is good.

2.) Thorns
Let’s be honest, Paul is a stud. He’s tough. He endured. He went through a lot, positively influenced a lot of people, saw incredible things. He suffered and survived. If I were Paul, I would be so prideful. But Paul says that he “boasts in weakness.” How?
2 Corinthians 12:7
So because of the revelations Paul experienced, God gave him a thorn in his flesh, more accurately it is a sharp stake in his side. Why? To keep Paul from exalting himself, to keep him humble. This is hard for us to understand. No one knows exactly what the thorn was, theories range from a physical deformity such as epilepsy or a humpback to extreme persecution or temptation. We know that three times Paul prays for its removal and God doesn’t take it away. So why is that hard for us? Because God puts something in Paul’s life that hurts so much that Paul refers to as a “messenger from Satan.” That means it must have been so tough that it could have and practically should have kept Paul from doing the work God called him to. And how do we reconcile that with our understanding of God? Well, I don’t think we do reconcile those things, I think we get a better picture of who God is. He is sovereign and uses all things for His glory. This thorn kept Paul from pride which is sin, and God used it in Paul’s life to better Paul for his calling.
Why do we hate the idea that God put a thorn in Paul’s side? Because we think that God exists to make us happy. We think that being in good standing with God leads to a smooth, comfortable life. That’s a lie. If you think that God equates a life of ease, happiness and fun, you don’t understand the Living God. And hopefully we will all experience these things at some point, but they aren’t promised and you aren’t owed any of them.
Quotes:
“If fun is your ultimate goal, then you won’t follow Jesus very far, because His path was hard.” -Rob Edwards
“Life is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain free. It is about becoming the man or woman God has called you to be”
-Charles Swindoll

Don’t be mistaken. God does not exist for you. You exist for God. Interchanging the two is idolatry and that is a sin. See Paul understood that it was never about him, 2 Corinthians isn’t about Paul, it’s about God. Your life isn’t about you, it’s always been about God.

3.) The Good News
a.) God’s grace is sufficient for you
Three times Paul prays for God to remove the thorn, but what does God say? 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s plan for us is bigger than we can see. So everyday God tells us “my grace is sufficient for you” and Paul reminds us that when we are weak, then we are strong. It is in our weakness, that His strength is perfected. We are taught that success is power, not weakness. Success makes us proud and independent, but in weakness we are dependent on the Lord and He pours His strength into us. And that should change the way we look at suffering and weakness and success. Paul shows us this attitude when he says that he delights in hardships. His view on strength and success come from God.
b.) God’s grace is sufficient for everyday
i.) Paul calls his thorn a “messenger from Satan.” What does that mean? It means that with this thorn comes a message from Satan. It says “you aren’t good enough,” “you can’t do this,” “you should quit,” “you are weak,” “you are sinner,” “you can handle this on your own,” etc, etc. But God’s grace covers all of this. So when you are in the midst of struggle you can rest on who He is and what He is doing. Exodus 14:14, Psalm 35:1-3. God’s grace fights this message from the thorn, because He gives you strength, makes up the gap for your sin and leads you.
ii.) Another way that His grace is sufficient is that it sustains you when you want to give up. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. Paul says that they hated life. They didn’t want to be here anymore. Paul also says that “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Christ is our hope everyday at every moment.
c.) God’s grace is sufficient in giving us hope
The struggles of this world will fade away. They are not eternal. Because of grace we will be glorified and the pain goes away. See we think that this world is supposed to bring us happiness, ease and a pain free existence. That’s not this life, but the next. And that is the hope that Christ offers, that because of His grace one day, some day we are in heaven with Him, free of sin and struggle.