Our bible study group is studying the book of Job at the moment. And I am finding it hard... Really hard. The studies that we are going through are really good, and I feel that I'm learning a lot from them. But at the same time a lot of it is hard to swallow. On an academic level, I can come to terms with the concepts so far:
- Everything is God's and is His to give and take away. Tick.
- Through suffering, we can bring glory to God through our actions and our response to our circumstances. Tick.
- On a personal level, suffering is not just a matter of cause and effect. Such as in Job's case, he was (in Gods words) "...he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (1:8). Yet he still suffered as part of God's greater purpose. Tick.
OK. So far, I'm down with all this. As a Christian, I can understand this and it does provide comfort. But when I'm presented with a friend who doesn't know Christ and who has suffered greatly, what can I say? None of these things are going to provide them any comfort...
Now in the wonder of blogging, at the start of writing this post, I had no answers. But putting down these thoughts is leading me to the conclusion that I find comfort in the lessons in Job through the power of the Holy Spirit. It brings me to a true understanding and peace, as it says in 1 Cor 2:9-12:
9However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him" - 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
So, should we explain what we learn in Job to someone who doesn't know God in an attempt to help them understand and get through their troubles? Well probably no. Explaining the concepts in Job as a starting point will most likely get someone who doesn't know God nowhere, except possible further from God with a harder heart.
What can we do then? We can walk beside our friends, we can love them and do whatever we can to help them through whatever they may be going through. We can tell them of the saving grace that we have and they can have too through Jesus. But most importantly, we can pray, pray that God would reveal Himself to them and that they would turn to Him.
3 comments:
Hi Dan, another very thoughtful post!
Lately I have been thinking about this whole idea of suffering and still am a good way, I figure, from coming to a settled understanding. Even so, one thought which I think is giving me some appreciation of what it means to suffer is this: suffering is to experience that thing which has a negative impact on our lives, that which we would NOT NATURALLY CHOOSE for our selves. In the sense that we serve others by putting aside our own personal agenda for ourselves is (I think) one way that we 'suffer' for the sake of others. Jesus suffered even to being executed although he was innocent, so that we may be saved.
Sickness is to suffer that which we would not choose for ourselves. We also see others sick and wish they would not suffer so -- they also would not choose to suffer as they do. So, what can we say to them; how can we encourage them? Suffering brings us all to consider (if we so allow ourslelves) our lack of control over our humanity. Naturally we choose a certain direction (with its hopes and dreams) but 'life' or perhaps more truly 'death' gets in the way and upsets our plans. Naturally we dont like this and wish otherwise.
You have rightly noted the verse, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" which confronts our whole worldview about the possibilities of what real life is about -- a life according to God's will. It is a life that transcends our brokenness but at the same time doesnt ignore our fraility. That is, it is not just some pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die hope. Rather, God is right here with us and wants us to believe that he is the one who saves -- he saves eternally, and that begins now.
I have taken great comfort in Psalm 41:3, where God sustains us on our sick bed, and at some future time restores us. Our continuing sickness is no barrier to a personal and real relationship with the Lord but offers a unique opportunity to know and experience him that well people cannot know. Furthermore, it shows that the worldly perspective of only finding fulfilment and happiness through perfect wellness and everything going according to 'our plan' is nonsense. What sickness can do is push us toward the one who has our life in his hands so that we might come to know him and what he has prepared for those who love him." And so, through our suffering we are comforted by Him who knows what it means to say, "not my will but yours be done."
That's pretty much the direction I am working at in an effort to understand what it means to suffer as a believer -- to put aside our own will so that we might live for Him. At its core, this is the heart of repentance; and you are right to say that we should pray that God would reveal himself to these our friends who are suffering so that they would turn to him.
That's my view from here; hope it is helpful. Apologies for the length.
Great post Dan.
I have to agree with PoetPete, it is only through brokenness and having no where else to go, that we sometimes seek God. When things are going well, trusting in God means little. My own experience has been that through illness God has blessed me with a better understanding of his mercy and grace - not an intellectual understanding, but a 'heart' understanding.
We can certainly pray that God would use the suffering of our nonChristian friends to draw them to himself.
I think your suggestion of not leaping to biblical catchphrases but just walking beside those who are hurting can be the most helpful thing - listening, maybe reading the psalms, being together.
Something huge I've learnt is that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. I know it sounds cliche, but I think a lot of people underestimate the power of God that can work through the most simple things like simply listening, giving them a hug or a prayer. In the book "The Case for Faith" by Lee Strobel there's an awesome chapter on suffering. If you haven't read it I'd recommend you check it out!
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