In the End, We Win

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, 

that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 

 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; 

we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; 

cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about 

in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, 

that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Like Job, we may never know the full reason of why some of our suffering occurs; why it seems at times that everyone around you is blessed but you.   Apostle Paul encourages us to be strong and not give up in the face of adversity.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  Galatians 6:9

Peter encourages us to endure our suffering:

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.  1 Peter 5:10

Though we can't see it during the situation or crisis, we have to have faith in God to believe that He is working together all things for His glory which is to our benefit.   Not only that, we have the power of the Holy Spirit within our earthern vessels which equips us with what we need to withstand.   Suffering, though unpleasant, should be viewed on it's merits of strengthening us in God.  We may not believe it, we certainly, at the time don't see it or feel it, but we must have faith to know that suffering, when we go through God's way, has benefits.

®      SUFFERING BRINGS SPIRITUAL BLESSING:

Jesus said:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:10-12

®      YOU LEARN OBEDIENCE THROUGH SUFFERING:

Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. . . Hebrews 5:8

®      SUFFERING TESTS THE WORD OF GOD WITHIN YOU:

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.   Psalms 12:6

®      SUFFERING HUMBLES YOU:

Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end. . . Deuteronomy 8:15-16

®      SUFFERING ENLARGES YOU:

This means you grow spiritually:

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.            Psalms 4:1

®      YOU COME TO KNOW GOD INTIMATELY:

You come to know God on a more intimate basis through suffering. Job, who suffered much, learned this truth and said. . .

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 

Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.  Job 42:5-6

Some of us know God only second handedly. When you are experiencing the blessings of life, God is often a luxury instead of a necessity. But when you have a real need, God becomes a necessity. Job came to know God more intimately through suffering. Before he suffered, Job knew God through theology.   Afterwards, he knew Him by experience.

Apostle Paul expressed a similar desire when he said:

That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.  Philippians 3:10

You can only come to know God in resurrection power through the intimate fellowship of suffering.

Throughout his trial, Job questioned God as to the cause of his suffering. It is not wrong to question God. Jesus knew the purpose for which He had come into the world was to die for the sins of all mankind. Yet in His hour of suffering He cried out, "My God, My God, WHY hast thou forsaken me?" It is what follows the questioning that is important. Jesus's next words were, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit."

Despite the questions, Job's response was. . .

Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. . .  Job 13:15

For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:  And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.  

Job 19:25-26

After all the questioning is finished, the emphasis must change from "me" to "Thee." You must commit your suffering, with all its unanswered questions, into the hands of God.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

God may reveal some of the purposes in your suffering, but it is possible you will never fully understand it:

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing. . .    Proverbs 25:2

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us. . .   Deuteronomy 29:29

There are some secret things that belong only to the Lord. As Job, you may never understand all the purposes of your suffering:

  

Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24

When God finally talked with Job, He used several examples from nature which Job could not explain. God stressed that if Job could not understand what he saw in the natural world, he certainly could not understand that which he could not see in the spiritual world.

When Job faced God, it no longer mattered that he did not get an answer to his questions about suffering. He was no longer controlled and tormented by human reasoning. He replaced questions, not with answers, but with faith.

When you come to know God intimately through suffering, you see yourself as you really are. You no longer know God second-handedly. That face-to-face encounter with God does what arguments and discussions cannot do.

When Job stood before God, he had no new answers. He was given no new facts about his suffering. But he replaced questions with faith. Job had been in the direct presence of God, and that experience left no room for questions or doubts.

Unlike Job, we now have the gift of God, His Holy Spirit, residing in us.  The Holy Spirit within us gives us the strength to stand, the power to be endure and enables us to come out on the otherside victorious!




Bible Study

09/27/19

03/30/21