Suffering Well
In my sermon this weekend, I mentioned that the watching, unbelieving world sits up and takes note when Christians suffer differently than the rest of society. Our rejoicing amidst our adversities forms a profound argument for the truth of what we believe. I didn’t really have time to develop the reasons why I thought Paul and Silas suffered so well when imprisoned in Philippi, so I thought I would give you a couple of reasons here. I’ll post the first one today and the second one later this week…
Reason #1: They weren’t surprised by adversity, but expected it as part of following Jesus in a fallen world…
I have been musing lately about the subject matter of many Christian songs written in the last 10 years or so. I must admit that I am the furthest thing from an expert in this area, but it has been hard to miss the sheer number of popular songs I have heard recently about suffering and adversity. Certainly Christians throughout the ages have struggled to understand why so many bad things happen in a world where a good God is sovereign. This has probably been the most pressing challenge to Christian faith (just read the Psalms or Lamentations). But, for the most part, this question is more of a difficulty in times of great sorrow than in a time of great prosperity. What I find interesting is that we are living in a time of unprecedented prosperity, but the question is raised today as much as ever. People are wondering about suffering while living in homes larger than anyone has ever lived in before. Why is this?
Now, it is likely that one of the reasons is that we have access to more news today than ever before. It used to be the case that little was known about a war in Africa outside of those it was waged upon. Today, this is not the case. I can read about Darfur every day. I can watch video of the refugee villages or tanks firing on civilians on YouTube. Whereas suffering was something that I only knew about when I experienced it in days gone by, it is a subject that is at the forefront of my mind whenever I watch the news today.
But, I think there is more to it than just that. I think we have become so accustomed to comfort in the West that we are shocked when affliction strikes us. We assume that life can and should be a bed of roses, so we are genuinely surprised when it turns out to be more thorns than petals. David Wells, in his outstanding book The Courage to Be Protestant, puts it this way…
In the older world we left behind, people thought of adversity as inevitable. Adversity was a consequence of the fall for those of a Christian outlook. But even for non-Christians it was never seen as an unexpected intruder in life. It was never thought that life should be without pain. Pain, disease, setbacks, disappointments, and wrong done to us were all seen as part of our life in this world, part of its texture, a thread woven with all the other threads through the fabric of our daily experience. Adversity was seen, even, as a necessary component in life.
Today we resent adversity as an interruption in our pleasure seeking, a rude disruption of our opportunities and our sense of calm. It is a gross injustice. Why should bad things happen to good people? Where is the justice in that? We are entitled to better. Indeed, we are demanding better! Adversity of any kind is unacceptable.
When Paul and Silas sat in a prison cell in Acts 16, the victims of an unjust trial and painful beatings, I don’t think they were surprised to be there. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul wrote it plainly - “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” They knew that to follow in the way of Jesus would mean experiencing many of the things that Jesus experienced.
So, to put it bluntly, I think one of the reasons we don’t suffer joyfully like Paul and Silas did is because suffering surprises us more than it did them. We aren’t convinced that it should happen, so when it does we are left paralyzed, asking “Why, why?” Or, to put it more positively, if we want to become the kind of people who suffer with uncommon joy, we must change our expectations about living in a fallen world that is hostile to God and His ways. We will suffer.
I’ll suggest another reason in a couple of days…
Jeff
#1 from Nancy Williams on November 17, 2009
There are so many different kinds of suffering.
1) Natural disaster or circumstances – causes suffering that is inflicted on us outside of our control. In the world my parents came from it was normal to suffer. My grandparents had 16 children; 10 died from illness due to lack of proper medication, food or the freezing cold weather with little or no heat. I agree we on the whole in this country have not known suffering to that degree. I admire people from this culture who forged through disaster after disaster and whose faith sustained them through unbelievable suffering. Today, I could name a few from Northview who for years have persevered through horrendous challenge. They are clearly testimonies to God’s prevailing presence and providence in their lives and they are people who suffer joyfully and I envy their spirit.
2) Suffering as a result of religious persecution from the world – we do not experience that much in this county; maybe I’m just not seeing it. I think most of our suffering caused by persecution comes from within our own ranks. (My own observation.)
3) Suffering that results from our own sin. This suffering can affect all of life and all who are in our lives. It is suffering that can produce guilt and ongoing sadness and the hopeless desire to do things over again. Unless one gets positive perspective on it this kind of suffering will always render powerlessness and keep us from experiencing God’s best in life.
4) As I have already alluded to, suffering at the hands of others who call themselves by the name of God. This is the worst kind of suffering to experience; it is often unnecessary and unfair suffering caused by gossip, misinformation, lack of support, misunderstanding, lack of love, jealousy, paranoia, resentment etc. That kind of adversity because it comes from those who should support and uphold us, can be immensely crippling and take a long time to recover from and does not seem joyful at the moment but as someone once said, “joy comes in the morning”. (A great new book on this subject is called “Magnificent Obsession” by Anne Graham Lotz.) Unfortunately the watching world is also taking notes on how Christians treat each other and those observations aren’t good.
Suffering seems to have a common thread; really there seems to be no distinction between rich or poor; suffering seems to be relative. I believe that real suffering comes from lack of purpose or faith in God’s protection and providence. Two people might suffer from the very same circumstance; one will view their suffering as an opportunity to rely on God and thrive in the midst of it and one might turn from God and use the suffering as an excuse for withdrawing from God.
It’s of huge comfort to me to know that men and women of great faith both in the Old & New Testament and current positions of leadership have suffered possibly from all 4 scenarios. What is most interesting is to see what God does for and with people who suffer regardless of reason, depending on how they process it. Personal opinion: I don’t think God can make us into His vision of us without allowing the type of suffering that brings us to brokenness. Perhaps that’s why we in our culture suffer in different ways that other countries have not experienced.