This morning I listened to three podcast by Alistair Begg on
the faithfulness of God (www.truthforlife.org
broadcasts for August 19-21, 2014). In the second
half of “God’s Faithfulness in Affliction,” he presents ten purposes of God
in allowing us to go through affliction, which I thought were well worth
sharing:
- To develop perseverance (James 1:3)
- To manifest His faithfulness in bringing us to maturity (Hebrews 5:8-9, James 1:4)
- To assure us of our sonship (Romans 8:17, Hebrews 12:6)
- To prove the genuine nature of our faith (Deuteronomy 8:1-2, 1 Peter 1:7)
- To develop humility (2 Corinthians 12:7)
- To keep us on track (Psalm 119:67, Proverbs 3:11)
- To deepen our insight into the heart of God (Hosea)
- To enable us to help others in trials (2 Corinthians 1:4)
- To reveal what we really love (Deuteronomy 13:3, Luke 14:26)
- To display God’s glory (Genesis 50:20)
In the broadcast from August
19 on Lamentations 3:1-24, he makes the comment that “the absence of lament
in contemporary evangelical Christianity is arguably one of the things that
presents to the watching world a substantial sense of a Christianity that is
not actually authentic.” If all that the world sees are happy, put-together,
on-top-of-the world Christians, they wonder how it can possibly be real. Such a
picture can alienate seekers (or even Christians) who feel they can never fit that
image. But if they see people who suffer and struggle and lament and yet hold
onto their faith, they may be drawn in by wondering where that perseverance
comes from.
I recently read A
Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament, by
Michael Card, who urges honesty with God, ourselves, and others in praying and saying
what we truly feel. He uses the words of Job, Psalms, and Lamentations as
models for our own prayers and living.
It seems to me that songs such as “Come As You Are” by
Crowder stir in us an awareness that it’s okay to be broken and wounded. God
doesn’t expect us to get our act together before we come to Him, but sometimes
the church seems to have higher standards. The unspoken rules create walls
instead of bridges: dress nicely, keep smiling, hide your problems, and never under
any circumstances admit your sins, temptations, or struggles. Whether we admit
it or not, we are proud people and we don’t want to give anyone reason to think
less of us. I wonder how many souls have missed salvation because of the fear
of going up to the altar?
I hadn’t thought of it before, but one application of
Philippians 2:3 (NIV), “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but
in humility consider others better than yourselves,” could be that the humility
that allows us to be honest before others opens doors for them to be honest as
well. And verse 4 doesn’t tell us to neglect our own needs, but implies that we
are all better served by looking out for one another. Pride leads to contempt,
but humility leads to honesty, openness, and healing.
Looking back over the ten purposes of affliction, I
recognize some of the lessons I’ve been learning. One of the comments made by
Joni Eareckson Tada in When
God Weeps was that those who don’t have to endure suffering have a
harder time learning some of these valuable lessons. Holding onto faith isn’t
too hard when everything is going well, and easy living can give way to apathy.
May we take courage to share in Christ’s sufferings (2 Corinthians 1:5), but
also to know that He shares in ours (Hebrews 4:14-16)!
“Put on then, as God’s
chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility,
meekness, and patience… And above all these put on love, which binds everything
together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:12, 14 ESV).
