Often I will download Kindle books when they are available
for free, and sometimes I discover a hidden jewel. Such is the case with The Uninvited Companion: God’s Shaping Us in His Love through Life’s Adversities
by Scott E. Shaum. (However, it is no longer free.) I haven’t finished
reading it yet, but here are a few quotes from the first half:
“God created the
human soul to require suffering in order to mature. He has also designed the
redemptive process to necessitate suffering” (8).
“If you carefully listen to my
story, you will hear assertions that God took me into seasons of deep pain to
bring about unfathomable transformation that otherwise (humanly speaking) would
never have taken place… Honestly, the journey has really stunk at times. Yet I
like the fruit it has produced in me through the required endurance of this
journey” (36).
In Romans 5:2-5 and James 1:2-3,
Paul and James “can say they rejoice in suffering because they have come to
learn a significant spiritual truth: something profound is going on in us as we
endure through hardship. What we find is that they are not rejoicing in the
pain but in what our glorious God does in us through pain” (45).
“God’s glory, who he is—namely, a
God of love—comes into clearer focus as we grow in our communion with him in the
midst of life’s hardships. Experiencing God’s love is the fruit of a matured
character, which is the fruit of perseverance, which is the fruit of suffering.
Thus, Paul rejoices in suffering because he ultimately wants to know the Father’s
love for him in increasing ways” (46).
“Faith is a trait that will be
tested. Your faith will be tried—you can count on it. The trying of our faith
is as certain as the goodness of our God” (53).
“God does not expect us to be
competent to handle all of life’s challenges on our own. No, we need a Savior,
and we need him again and again. Every breathing moment of my existence, I need
to be saved. Every turning toward God is an expression of faith” (55).
“God does not always resolve hurts
in our lives, but he always promises his presence for good purposes” (57).
Shaum highlights an important truth. Our natural tendency,
even within the church, is to do everything we can to avoid or remove painful
circumstances. Whether we espouse a prosperity gospel or not, we tend to associate
God’s blessing with ease and comfort. But what if His intent is to mature us
and strengthen our faith through testing and trials? Would we rather be
comfortable or faithful? Can we pray as Shaum did, “Allow this to continue for
as long as you want, to do whatever you want in my life” (38)? I’ve prayed that
before, though I’ve also prayed at times, “Lord, I don’t think I can take any
more of this.”
Ironically, I’m also reading a fiction book that made a
similar connection. In The Pilgrim of Hate by Ellis Peters, Brother Cadfael notes, “He has gone
far along a difficult road who has come to the point of seeing that
deprivation, pain and disability are of no consequence at all, beside the inward
conviction of grace, and the secret peace of the soul. An acceptance which can
only be made for a man’s own self, never for any other” (52).
While there are many books that wrestle with the “problem of
pain” and question why God allows bad things to happen to good people, there
are few that I’ve found like Shaum’s that so clearly illustrate the good
purposes God accomplishes in our lives through pain and difficulty. We can
fight against the trials of life and try to escape them, or we can embrace them
as part of God’s design to draw us to depend on Him and to conform us to the
image of His Son.
“Count it all joy, my
brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing
of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full
effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4
ESV).
© 2019 Dawn
Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from
pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of
my church or employer.
