Ever wonder what God is doing in your life? Ever complain bitterly about a situation that causes you discomfort? Me too!
Before I go further, I must acknowledge the blessings in my life: a relatively healthy body for a 70-year-old man, a comfortable home, resources that more than meet my needs, children who are wonderful people living good and worthy lives, and friends who enrich my days in countless ways. The list could go on.
But those blessings aren’t the whole story. I have known great sorrow, terrible disappointment, and real failure. Within just a few years, I lost both my parents and my wife to cancer, watching their bodies slowly destroyed. Some friendships have faltered, lost to reasons only God knows. I wrestle with questions about my part in those failures. I have seen people who were under my pastoral care for years slip away from faith and have wept over their choices, again feeling the weight of questions about my effectiveness as a minister of the Gospel.
Joy and Sorrow
To know both joy and sorrow is to be human. Over the years, I’ve walked alongside amazing Christians who were greatly blessed and yet broken by divorce, rejection, or sickness. Some emerged from those seasons with a deeper faith and sweeter spirit. Others became angry and cynical—still clinging to faith, but barely.
So, what makes the difference? I’m sure many factors are at play, but one key element is something most of us avoid as long as possible—submission.
Choice
We must choose between God—the Lord of Heaven—or self. Will I, like Job of old, “put my hand over my mouth” and worship a God whose ways are beyond my understanding? Or will I kick and scream, insisting He do what I desire?
Such submission grows in the fertile soil of eternity’s hope. Inspired by the Spirit, Paul teaches: “Our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NLT)
Suffering is Common
We suffer because this world bears the mark of sin’s curse—wars rage,
disease strikes, relationships break, and injustice prevails. People lie and
cheat. Terrorists destroy. Companies value profit over people.
Even Christians of great faith often face deep pain and sorrow. What can we do? We can trust God while we weep and wait on Him, or we can rage against the world and decide He is unjust and unfair.
You don’t have to be a “super-saint” to choose faith. We have an Advocate on whom we can lean: “The Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” (Romans 8:26, NLT)
Some of the best prayers in the world are sobs, groans, and tears of submission to God’s will.
The Word assures us—no situation in our life is wasted or meaningless! Paul, writing from prison, says: “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.” (Colossians 1) That’s not foolishness. That’s faith that looks beyond what human eyes can see.
So, are you struggling today? Are you suffering in a way you can’t understand?
Yes, weep—grief is not a sign of
weak faith.
Yes, pray—God invites us to ask for relief.
Let no one dismiss your pain as
pointless.
Let no one tell you that you alone are the cause of your suffering.
Give the Devil no place when he accuses your Heavenly Father of failing you.
Instead, find a quiet place and make this prayer your own: “I do believe, but help me not to doubt!” (Mark 9:24, NLT)
Amen.
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