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| Photo by 7 Nation Army 2008 |
When we first become born-again believers by placing our
faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:4) as the only
Way to Heaven (John 14:6), we may
feel overwhelming relief as He lifts the tremendous burden of sin from our shoulders.
But as the days or years pass and our initial euphoria subsides, we may feel
disappointed that being Christian does not mean that our problems are over.
Far from it, for Satan targets not only the newly saved
believer but particularly mature leaders who are being most productive for God,
and everyone in between (1 Peter 4:12-13; 5:8). God’s Word
counsels us to put on the whole armor of God to ward off the attacks of the
devil (Ephesians 6:11-18).
No matter how faithful we are to do this, Christians as
well as the unsaved can expect the shadow and sorrow of physical death and of
all the heartache in this world, for all still experience the curse of sin
during our earthly life (Romans 3:23-24;
Genesis 3:16-19). And yet, praise God, believers have Christ to
comfort, heal and deliver us (Psalm 25:12-20;
42; 56:1-4,13; 116:3-9; 62:5-8; 68:20; Proverbs 24:11-12; Isaiah 38:17; 2
Corinthians 4:8-9).
I don’t know how those who don’t have a personal
relationship with Jesus can endure the pain and sadness of this world. Comparing
my own emotional life before and after I was saved, from despair and turmoil to
joy and peace in the Lord, reminds me of this. And yet, no life is free of earthly
cares.
Sometimes believers may think that admitting our
discouragement, pain, or distress may be disloyal to our Savior, as if we are being
ungrateful for the tremendous price He has paid to free us from the punishment
for our sins and to give us eternal life (John
3:16; Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).
The truth is that all Christians hurt from time to time,
and yet we have Jesus to help us always, in all circumstances and dangers (Isaiah 43:2). He is the Friend
Who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs
18:24) and Who never leaves us nor forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews 13:5). He alone can heal us
physically and emotionally (Jeremiah
17:14), give us hope (Psalm 62:5),
restore the joy of our salvation (Psalm
51:12) and empower us to live holy lives (2 Peter 1:3-4).
Every born-again believer should also have a trusted brother
or sister in Christ as a mentor and/or confidante (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Proverbs 15:22; 20:5; 27:17),
as well as the loving support of a church family (Hebrews 10:25) so that we can bear one another’s burdens and
so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians
6:2).
Although a Bible-preaching, Christ-centered church and
Christian friends are invaluable, they may not be available to all believers,
and even these suffer from imperfections resulting from our sin nature. Too
often we hear of church leaders who lose their testimony and their ability to
counsel others effectively when their own sins or burdens interfere with their
ministry. Even Paul, chosen by Christ to deliver the Gospel to the Gentiles, to
plant churches, and to write 14 books of the Bible, was concerned that he could
lose his usefulness to God and have his ministry put on the shelf (1
Corinthians 9:27).
Our former (late) Pastor used to say that man will always
let you down, but that God will never let you down! (Proverbs 29:25-26)
Praise God for His faithfulness! When we suffer, there may be times,
circumstances, and people best served by our silence (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7),
as complaining or admission of sinful thoughts or acts could actually be a
stumbling block and discourage others from their Christian walk, ministry and
obedience (Romans 14:13; 15:1;
1 Corinthians 8:9).
But praise God, He is available 24/7, not only willing
but actively seeking us to tell Him our troubles, confess our sins (1 John 1:9), and lay our
burdens at the foot of His cross. We can boldly approach His throne in prayer
knowing that He not only hears us (Psalm
17:6-7), but that He has compassion on us because He has experienced every
human grief, yet without sinning Hebrews
4:15-16). When believers pray to Him in despair, He listens, encourages
us, and answers us (Psalm 10:17; 102:17).
If we trust in Him with all our heart, He will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Not only does He love us infinitely and permanently (Romans 8:37-39), but He has the
infinite power and wisdom to do what is best for us. Think about what that
means – His perfect love means that He desires to do what is best for each of
us (Luke 11:9-13), and His
complete knowledge and power (Psalm
147:5) means that He can accomplish exactly that.
So why are we sometimes disappointed with what we
perceive as Him ignoring our prayers, refusing our well-intentioned requests,
and allowing trials in our life? His ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), and He sees the
total picture while we clutch desperately to one tiny piece of the puzzle. God
does not tempt us with evil (James 1:13),
yet He may allow us to suffer for one of several reasons, as we shall discuss
next week.
Praise God that He turns our despair and confusion into joy
and peace, if not always in this world, then completely and eternally in Heaven!
© 2014 Laurie Collett
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