SUFFERING

Suffering of God’s people is never void of a purpose.

Troubles, difficulties, pain and suffering have an element of mystery as to why?  The Bible gives glimpses of what God may choose to do through our sufferings.  Although there is no comprehensive explanation for suffering in the Bible; there are some purposes we can glean from it.

In our sufferings, as God comforts us; we can, in turn comfort others.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV) ^(1:3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁽⁴⁾ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

John Wesley prayed  “Lord let me live not to be useless”.  What God permits to happen to us may be the answer to such a prayer and desire.  Often we can only help others as we ourselves have trodden the path they have to tread.

Nothing is ever wasted in God’s school of suffering.  The Christian receives in order that he/she may pass on that which they received.  It is in the same way that we are blessed so that we may be a blessing to others.

2 Corinthians 1:7 (NIV) ^(1:7) And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

In our sufferings, God allows us to come to the end of our selves so that we may come to rely on Him.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV) ^(1:8) We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁽⁹⁾ Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

Paul is alluding that there were times in his Asian missions tour that were very hard and produced much suffering.  Paul was under considerable distress.  Often life circumstances press us further than we have the ability to deal with and threatens to crush us or utterly defeat us.  Paul came to the end of himself “feeling the sentence of death”.  In other words it was hopeless.  It may have been on a spiritual or physical level but in either case Paul was in desperate straits

God however, gave the strength to endure.  God allowed it to happen to Paul and his companions so that they would not rely on themselves but on God “who can raise the dead”.

Self reliance is the greatest problem within our society today!   It can also become the downfall for many Christians.  We all have strengths and God given gifts but we cannot put such a degree of confidence into them that we do not turn to God.  God is to be our focus;  God is the one we praise.  God often has to teach us through hardships not to rely on ourselves but upon Him and He will keep putting us there until we learn!

In our sufferings, God teaches us to trust Him as our deliverer.

2 Corinthians 1:10-11 (NIV) ^(1:10) He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, ⁽¹¹⁾ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Paul deliberately sets his hope on God’s deliverance. Paul knew that the help he and his friends needed could come only from God and to Him alone therefore they looked.  He knew that intercessory prayer,  helps God’s rescue plan,  in His scheme of deliverance.

An important part of Christian fellowship is praying for one another.  The person going through hardships may find it hard to pray or at a loss as to what to pray.  God the Holy Spirit often places upon the hearts of others the requests to be made to God for them.

Read: Psalm 71:17-21 & 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

FOCUS

If all you do is forget the past, you may just have amnesia. Successful people are goal oriented. They focus on the future.

Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal."

Successful people are goal oriented.  Paul had a single priority. The most common disease for many people today is fragmentosis, which is trying to do one hundred different things at the same time.  Jack of all trades; master of none. For many people it’s all about multitasking.  Most people are spread out too thin. Like having to text message and drive at the same time or having two or three phones on the go at the same time.

Light diffused is powerless and weak. If you take light and concentrate it, you have a laser.  It is powerful. That is the power of focus. Life focusing on one thing is powerful.

If you want to be successful, there is a secret; focus.  Professionals concentrate on one thing. They specialize. You can't know everything, be everything or do everything.

The Apostle Paul says "I face my faults, forget the former and focus on the future and that is the one thing I do. I have my goal clearly in mind."

Less than 5% of the people ever write down a life goal.  It is not by accident that the 5% that do are the top leaders in their field. Write it down and focus on specific goals.

1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

There is a certain way of running, the way professionals run towards the goal.

What was Paul's goal?  2 Corinthians 5:9 (NIV) So we make it our goal to please Him.

There is no more rewarding goal in life than to please God. Paul wanted to be able to stand at the end of his life and hear Jesus say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant. You were faithful in a few things. Come into my joy." (Mt 5:21; 23)

The question we need to ask ourselves is: What am I living for?  What is my goal in life?  What's most important?  

If you don't know where you're going, nobody else does...... Focus!

Read: Philippians 3:12-16

COMPLAINING

A complaining Christian is a bad witness.

A young man joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. "Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throats and says, "Bad food." They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. "I quit," he says. "That’s not surprising," the elders say. "You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here."

Complaining is a kill-joy. It makes you unhappy and everyone else around you unhappy. The problem is that it is a hard habit to break. We are naturally negative. We tend to look at the bad things in life. We are conditioned by society. Bad news makes the headlines. We are bombarded continuously with what's wrong with everything. By our own nature and by our conditioning we tend to develop the habit of complaining.

The Bible says God wants Christians to be different. Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV) Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

"Do everything without complaining or arguing..." and then he gives us three results. "so that you may become blameless . .." This means that when you don't complain,  nobody can find fault with you.  Nobody can point a finger at you. "... and pure..."  The Greek word here means "having integrity".   Non complainers are people of integrity.

"Children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe."   Our culture is so negative.  When you find a person who is genuinely positive they stick out like a sore thumb. The contrast is obvious.  They shine like a star in the middle of a dark night.  It is so different to be positive in this world, to not be a complainer, not be critical, not be a put-down person, that when you become that in your own life, you will shine like a star.

The point of the passage is Paul is saying that Christians are to react differently to the circumstances in life.  A complaining Christian is a bad witness. A positive attitude is a great witness; it has impact.

How do you make an impact in the world so that the world takes notice? Check your attitude. Be positive in a negative world.

Wouldn't it be great if the church had the reputation of "That's where all the positive people go. You never hear a complaint or grumble over there. That's the church where there is love, unity, harmony." Where there is harmony, love, unity you would have to lock the doors to keep people out. The church would grow automatically because people are looking for love. Every time you give a smile, shake somebody's hand, say "Hi", greet somebody, you are spreading love.  You're making a difference. You're making an impact. You're shining like a star in a dark world.

What would happen in your home if your family made a pact that they wouldn't complain, be critical, tear each other down?

Understand however, that you need a power beyond yourself, Jesus Christ.  He is the antidote to our culture and our nature.  He makes us new people inside.  Maybe the complaining is an embedded habit.  The only way that will be broken is by an external power in your life who will begin changing you from the inside out.

Read: Psalm 130:1-8 & Philippians 2:14-15