Help When We’re Hurting

                                                                    

Photo by 7 Nation Army 2008

As we hear the daily news, it seems that trouble surrounds us – violence, death, wars, civil strife, cybercrime, disease, drought, and famine. In our personal lives, we are all afflicted at some time by suffering through loss of a loved one, sickness, pain, or disability, if not ourselves directly, then a family member or friend. 

In the wake of yet another school shooting, war-related deaths, natural disasters causing widespread destruction, and rampant identity theft, I pray that all readers may find comfort in our Lord Jesus Christ, a mighty Fortress from the storms of life.

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 we 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, I turned from despair and turmoil to joy and peace in the Lord, despite ongoing trials and problems. 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). Or some may even be afraid to admit they are going through illness, financial hardship, or relationship problems, as if these show that they lack faith or are being punished for sin.  

The truth is that all Christians hurt from time to time, 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 that his ministry could be 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 sin 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 give us His greatest blessings (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. If we persist in disobedience and fail to ask for forgiveness, there will be consequences, just as a loving Father disciplines His children to shape their character and behavior (Proverbs 13:24; Hebrews 12:6; Revelation 3:19). Yet not all our suffering is the result of our personal sin (John 9:1-3). He sometimes allows us to go through trials to strengthen our faith in and dependence on Him (Romans 5:3-5), and to have the compassion and experience to help others going through similar trials (2 Corinthians 1:4-6). 

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!

© 2016 Laurie Collett

Edited, expanded and reposted from the archives

Who Will Help Us?

Photo by Ablakok 2015

When Christians suffer, there is the danger that bitterness may grow in our heart, if we get angry with God for allowing this trouble into our life. Even Job, a man so just that God bragged about him to Satan (Job 1:8), went through unimaginable trials with the loss of his wealth, family, and health. At times he questioned God, yet he remained faithful to Him throughout his ordeal, proclaiming “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

For the unsaved, God may allow trials so that they come to the end of themselves and realize they are sinners in need of a Savior. Once we are saved by placing our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), God may still permit suffering in our lives.

If we are willfully sinning, He may chasten us to bring us back in line with His perfect will (Hebrews 12:6). Even if we are faithfully following Him, He may allow trials in our life to strengthen our dependence on and faith in Him (Psalm 9:9; 27:5; 37:39), to shape us into Christ’s image (Who suffered for us even though He was without sin; Philippians 3:10), or to give us experience, wisdom and compassion to help others going through similar testing (Galatians 6:2; 2 Corinthians 1:4-7).

But as born-again Christians (John 3:3-8), we can find peace and joy through the trouble in knowing that His grace is sufficient, that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and that He will help us! (Psalm 46; Isaiah 41:10). Job’s sons were taken from him, his “friends” criticized him, and his wife told him to curse God and die. But God’s Word assures us that He will never leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5).

Our Lord Jesus Christ experienced all the testing we could possibly face, yet He never yielded to sin. He now sits on the throne of grace, freely offering us mercy and grace to help us if we boldly ask Him (Hebrews 4:15-16).

We should realize that He knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32; Luke 12:30), yet He wants us to pray because it changes us. His perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), and His presence strengthens and upholds us so that we have no need to be afraid (Isaiah 41:10). God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). The Bible commands us to “Fear not!” 365 times – one for every day of the year!

He urges us to cast all our cares, or anxieties, on His broad, loving shoulders (1 Peter 5:7). We can find peace by keeping our mind, heart and priorities fixed on Him (Isaiah 26:3-4), through prayer, studying and mediating on His Word, and praising and worshipping Him in all circumstances, knowing that this is His perfect will (1 Thessalonians 5:18). God is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).

We can try to carry our own burdens of sin, guilt, shame, regret, unforgiveness and bitterness ourselves, and grow weary to the point of exhaustion and despair. Or we can lay them down at the foot of His cross, where He paid the complete price for all of these, once and for all, freeing us to find His rest (Matthew 11:28) and to receive all the blessings He longs to give us (Luke 11:13).

He exchanges our burdens for His blessings, and He renews and transforms our mind if we turn from thoughts of evil and the darkness of this world (Romans 12:2) to meditating on His light of truth, beauty and excellence (Philippians 4:8).

The greatest blessing we could have in this life is to be in the center of His perfect will, for He created each of us for a purpose designed long before we were even conceived (Psalm 139:13,16). We are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:8-10), created for a specific plan destined for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

When believers face Jesus Christ at the judgment seat, it will not be to pay for our sins (He has already paid for these in full) or to determine whether we can enter Heaven, for He has given us His perfect righteousness allowing us to spend eternity in the presence of Holy God (Romans 3:25).

Rather, at the judgment seat, believers will be rewarded for service done for Christ with the right motives, or we will suffer loss for not using opportunities He gave us to fulfill His perfect plan for our life (2 Corinthians 5:10). How sad it would be to miss out on these opportunities and rewards because we gave up too soon (Galatians 6:9), losing hope in our own ability (with good reason) yet failing to trust in His unfailing power!

No matter what struggles we face in this life, we can have victory in Christ Who has overcome all the evil in this world (John 16:33). If we have repented of our sins and asked Him into our heart as Lord and Savior, we have the glorious hope – meaning the sure and joyful expectation – of eternal life with Him in Heaven, and the hope of victory in all our earthly woes (Romans 15:13).

Where there is life, there is hope! (Ecclesiastes 9:4) Jesus wants us to enjoy abundant life in Him (John 10:10) here and now, in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13), to choose life over death as commanded in His Word (Deuteronomy 30:19; Proverbs 13:14). His promises preserve our life (Psalm 119:50).

Realizing that our body is His holy temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19), which we should present to Him daily as a holy, living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2), will help us make the right choices to honor our body as His dwelling place. Not only is this pleasing to Him, but healthful choices in how we nourish and rest our body and protect it from toxins and other harm will help to keep our vessel in optimal working order to serve Him and persevere through trials.

Time on this earth to serve Him is short (James 4:14; John 9:4), so may we utilize it to the greatest extent possible! Praise God that He is always with us, faithful to hear and answer our prayers, to love, protect, guide and comfort us in our earthly journey until we meet Him face to face in glory!

Isaiah 41:10: Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

© 2016 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Who Will Help Us?

When Christians suffer, there is the danger that bitterness may grow in our heart, if we get angry with God for allowing this trouble into our life. Even Job, a man so just that God bragged about him to Satan (Job 1:8), went through unimaginable trials with the loss of his wealth, family, and health. At times he questioned God, yet he remained faithful to Him throughout his ordeal, proclaiming “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

For the unsaved, God may allow trials so that they come to the end of themselves and realize they are sinners in need of a Savior. Once we are saved by placing our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), God may still permit suffering in our lives, as we saw last week.

If we are willfully sinning, He may chasten us to bring us back in line with His perfect will (Hebrews 12:6). Even if we are faithfully following Him, He may allow trials in our life to strengthen our dependence on and faith in Him (Psalm 9:9; 27:5; 37:39), to shape us into Christ’s image (Who suffered for us even though He was without sin; Philippians 3:10), or to give us experience, wisdom and compassion to help others going through similar testing (Galatians 6:2).

But as born-again Christians (John 3:3-8), we can find peace and joy through the trouble in knowing that His grace is sufficient, that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and that He will help us! (Psalm 46). Job’s sons were taken from him, his “friends” criticized him, and his wife told him to curse God and die. But God’s Word assures us that He will never leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5).

Our Lord Jesus Christ experienced all the testing we could possibly face, yet He never yielded to sin. He now sits on the throne of grace, freely offering us mercy and grace to help us if we boldly ask Him (Hebrews 4:15-16).

We should realize that He knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32; Luke 12:30), yet He wants us to pray because it changes us. His perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), and His presence strengthens and upholds us so that we have no need to be afraid (Isaiah 41:10). God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). The Bible commands us to “Fear not!” 365 times – one for every day of the year!

He urges us to cast all our cares, or anxieties, on His broad, loving shoulders (1 Peter 5:7). We can find peace by keeping our mind, heart and priorities fixed on Him (Isaiah 26:3-4), through prayer, studying and mediating on His Word, and praising and worshipping Him in all circumstances, knowing that this is His perfect will (1 Thessalonians 5:18). God is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).

We can try to carry our own burdens of sin, guilt, shame, regret, unforgiveness and bitterness ourselves, and grow weary to the point of exhaustion and despair. Or we can lay them down at the foot of His cross, where He paid the complete price for all of these, once and for all, freeing us to find His rest (Matthew 11:28) and to receive all the blessings He longs to give us (Luke 11:13).

He exchanges our burdens for His blessings, and He renews and transforms our mind if we turn from thoughts of evil and the darkness of this world (Romans 12:2) to meditating on His light of truth, beauty and excellence (Philippians 4:8).

The greatest blessing we could have in this life is to be in the center of His perfect will, for He created each of us for a purpose designed long before we were even conceived (Psalm 139:13,16). We are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:8-10), created for a specific plan destined for good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

When believers face Jesus Christ at the judgment seat, it will not be to pay for our sins (He has already paid for these in full) or to determine whether we can enter Heaven, for He has given us His perfect righteousness allowing us to spend eternity in the presence of Holy God (Romans 3:25).

Rather, at the judgment seat, believers will be rewarded for service done for Christ with the right motives, or we will suffer loss for not using opportunities He gave us to fulfill His perfect plan for our life (2 Corinthians 5:10). How sad it would be to miss out on these opportunities and rewards because we gave up too soon (Galatians 6:9), losing hope in our own ability (with good reason) yet failing to trust in His unfailing power!

No matter what struggles we face in this life, we can have victory in Christ Who has overcome all the evil in this world (John 16:33). If we have repented of our sins and asked Him into our heart as Lord and Savior, we have the glorious hope – meaning the sure and joyful expectation – of eternal life with Him in Heaven, and the hope of victory in all our earthly woes (Romans 15:13).

Where there is life, there is hope! (Ecclesiastes 9:4) Jesus wants us to enjoy abundant life in Him (John 10:10) here and now, in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13), to choose life over death as commanded in His Word (Deuteronomy 30:19; Proverbs 13:14). His promises preserve our life (Psalm 119:50).

Realizing that our body is His holy temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19), which we should present to Him daily as a holy, living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2), will help us make the right choices to honor our body as His dwelling place. Not only is this pleasing to Him, but healthful choices in how we nourish and rest our body and protect it from toxins and other harm will help to keep our vessel in optimal working order to serve Him and persevere through trials.

Time on this earth to serve Him is short (James 4:14; John 9:4), so may we utilize it to the greatest extent possible! Praise God that He is always with us, faithful to hear and answer our prayers, to love, protect, guide and comfort us in our earthly journey until we meet Him face to face in glory!

© 2016 Laurie Collett