The Bible is clear that we go through seasons in life, and one of the seasons that God talks about again and again is the season of waiting. He sees our lives from a perfect perspective. Clearly, God had no more for my daughter to do on this earth; this was his will. For more information about subscriptions, click here. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. In the midst of suffering, it is more important to know who God is than to know why you are suffering. He did not send his Son only to be unwilling afterward to make our hearts enthralled with him in a way that surpasses our circumstances with undeniable hope. Trust Him. Father God, help me to know what a wonderful God you are and to trust you no matter what happens in my life. Trust him hourly and learn to trust him moment by moment. God is good. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. Use wisdom and listen to sound advice. He sent Jesus to suffer and die. - Luke 10:27. He is our faithful God! "I couldn't … How can we pray for you today? Questioning God in the midst of suffering is natural, and Job did struggle with the question, “Why me, God?”. In February, a Texas newspaper wrote about a couple that had “endured multiple strokes, two amputations and countless dialysis treatments.” Anna, 60, and Ralph, 59, have been married for 36 years. Lianna Davis (@liannadavis) is wed to Tyler and mom to two girls, one who lives in heaven and one who lives on earth. Our confidence before God in suffering goes beyond our felt-needs to spiritual needs. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2; When we trust in God we are not afraid. We don’t need to have all the answers. The doctor remarked, “This is one of the good stories.”. A waiting through the suffering. 10 Marriage Goals Every Couple Should Have for 2021, This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright © 2021, Crosswalk.com. One the biggest blessings that came about through my trial with chronic insomnia 10 years ago was learning more about God Himself and why I could trust this God. “Therefore” connects 5:5 with 5:6 & 7. We can be assured that he is greater than our hearts—greater than us—for he knows everything (3:20). Our God is good and has good plans for us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). David poured out his heart to God in the Psalms. Perspective During Suffering. Trusting God’s Definition of Good. What other truths from God’s Word can you trust in suffering? Seek Truth in Scripture. Our God is true, as falsehood only comes through denying him (2:22). In Christ, our spiritual needs are met in full and our true hope transforms us. Let us join with Job and affirm with all of our hearts the absolute sovereignty of God in our suffering. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. What Is Emotional Purity and How Can You Protect It? Do you know that your Redeemer lives and that he will come again to receive you into eternal glory, even though your earthly body will be destroyed? Do you want to remain confident in him? God has come; he has actually been here (1:1-3). Ralph is a double amputee and stroke survivor who needs dialysis three days a week. Affirm God’s Sovereignty over Our Suffering. “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; … For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. Article Images Copyright ©, How to Start 2021 Strong in the Midst of Chaos. Have confidence. Just fill in the form below and one of our mentors will get back to you as soon as possible. But God sees our lives from a completely different perspective. He laid down his life for us, demonstrating what love is (3:16). True confidence can be found in the Source of our hope, according to 1 John. Used with permission. She serves with Hope Mommies, a non-profit organization sharing the hope of Christ with bereaved mothers, and is editor of Of Larks, a blog for theologically-minded women writers and readers. It is through the suffering of Christ that His followers’ sins are atoned for. The men and women of the Bible understood this. He is Love. My mind was grappling for answers and our lives were in a whirlwind of chaos. Job expressed deep anguish in the midst of incredible grief and suffering. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? (1 John 5:14-15). At that glorious moment, we will see him as he is (3:2). Spiritual Growth and Christian Living Resources, 20 Prayers to Keep God First in the New Year, Amazing Children's Choir Sings 'I Can Only Imagine', 5 Things a Wife Really Needs (But Doesn’t Know How to Ask For), 10 Bible Reading Plans to Start This January, 10 Ways Wives Disrespect Their Husbands (without Even Realizing It), Get the Power to Go after Your Goals - New Year Devotional - December 29, iBelieve's Top 10 Messages of Hope in the Crisis of 2020, Grace for Families in the New Year - Crosswalk the Devotional - December 30, 10 Things the Bible Says about the Mark of the Beast, Top News Articles of 2020 Christians Should Know About. He is light in whom there is no darkness (1:5). When we ask to know that his life is within us so that we can continue with him through suffering, he hears us. Woman healed by Jesus: trusting God is taking risks despite the pain. Even when the dearest temporal prayer requests are not answered affirmatively, he assures us that he is true and never the source of darkness; he is pure and never evil. But God sees the good in going through discipline and trials. Do you want to honor him even though the way ahead seems only uncertain? Written by Tricia Patterson 05 Nov, 2012. His resources will not only get you through, but you will truly grow to experience him as the source of overflowing hope "by the power of the Holy Spirit." In him, our spiritual needs are met in full, and we see that our true hope is what transforms us. Every brother and sister will encounter trials, like illness, persecution and suffering, natural and manmade disasters. While you’re waiting, God is working. Keep a Right Perspective of Suffering. (2:28). Throughout history, suffering has struck all people regardless of culture, ethnicity, personality or location on earth. Even in trials, he assures us that we will learn how to walk in purity and love—as we watch our hope create increasing purity within hearts that are set on him. God will walk through this with us. If there is an action you can do to protect yourself, do it. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. We have passed out of death into life; this transaction is already complete (3:14). CBN.com-“Even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.” – I Peter 3:14a. We who believe in him surpass the world with a faith that goes beyond it; we overcome the world (5:4). All throughout the Bible, we see God’s people “meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). Hannah complained loudly about her childlessness. We will be like him when he appears (3:2). Job knew truths about God that allowed him to trust God and “maintain his ways” before him, just as he always had done. A trusting Him through the suffering. Terms of Service & Privacy Policy. When these situations befall us, they are tests of our faith and obedience toward God. The older we get, the easier it is to recognize that life is a combination of suffering and joy. All Things for Our Eternal Good He chose to make my daughter whole and holy before she breathed at all. We all have our own ideas of what is good. He has given us reassurances in his Word so that we might believe, so that we might continue to persevere in believing, and so that we might see our belief spread thoroughly into every part of our inward beings. Scripture, or the Bible, is God’s Word. Yet, we will abide forever (2:17). But three years ago, I sat in a delivery bed at the maternity wing of our hospital with a nurse circling and circling my full-term belly with her monitor—searching for a heartbeat. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. To grow solid through suffering, humble yourself before God (5:6-7). For “everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (3:3). Trusting God in the Midst of Trouble: The cross stands as the final symbol that no evil exists that God cannot turn into a blessing. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; … What Does it Look Like to 'Do Justice, Love Mercy, and walk Humbly' Today? But no cancer was found. The darkness we experience in this world is passing away (2:8). We prayed for a miracle; we knew that our sovereign God could give us a miracle. Trust and Obey: Loving God Through Suffering By Chris Carpenter CBN.com Program Director. In him, our spiritual needs are met in full, and we see that our … People from all over the region rushed to him and pressed against him. Remember God’s Character. The world itself is passing away (2:17). He is able to make all of us both whole and holy, and one day his work that was foreshadowed in my sister’s case will be completed in every aspect of our existence. The Bible says, “For You, O God, have proved us: You have tried us, as silver is tried” (Psalm 66:10). Our true and legitimate earthly needs—even those dearly felt and desired—are not always his will to meet. Let’s join with Job. I was reading through the book of Job this weekend and was very convicted by … 1 John 5:14-15 is an answer to prayer in the miraculous grace given to my sister of circumstantial saving, because it leads me to praise God for the light of eternal salvation that already shines. Amen. In Mark 5, we find a scene that is prevalent throughout the gospels: a large crowd has gathered around Jesus. 1 Peter 5:10. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have … Sharing my story of trusting God through recurrent miscarriage, hysterectomy, and fertility loss. Trust him daily. My daughter’s residency in heaven brings me increasingly and consistently to the light of my eternal salvation. Sufferer, you know this well. When trials come, we do not need to sin in bitter unbelief, in fear that any darkness of this world will take us from him, or in fear that if we have wandered, he will not do a cleansing work within us (1:7). They are ordinary Christians willing to step out in faith and join people on their spiritual journey in a compassionate and respectful manner. Personal implication number one. By submitting, I accept The Life’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. In the crowd was a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for 12 years. So, how do we do that? The book of Job is my favorite, not because it is about suffering, but because it is about knowing God in a deeper way to the point that I can trust Him and say with Job, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though worms destroy my body, yet in my flesh shall I see God…” (Job 19:25-26). But our spiritual needs are his present agenda, and meeting them is his will. While we look forward to the joyful times, our suffering has the potential to draw us closer to the Lord … if we choose to steward that season well. Suffering doesn't mean God has turned against us. God sovereignly intervened in my sister’s life this year to rescue her body from cancer—an obvious, even miraculous, grace. Do you want to follow God in your pain? We ask for gender and age to assign you the appropriate mentor. In both stories, we learn that there is a waiting period that God requires of us at times. Subscribe to daily devotional emails! 1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. If you’re hurting, the Lord … It was precancerous. When we know that he hears us because we have made a practice of abiding with him (2:24) in his Word (1:1), he will give us what we ask. But he didn’t. Tag: trusting in God through suffering. God knows you need somewhere to go … “I trust the LORD God to save me, and I will wait for him to answer my prayer” (Micah 7:7 CEV). How many times does God have a purpose in events that seem senseless when they happen? God sent his Son so that we might have life forever (4:9). Anna wakes up at 4:30 a.m. on those days to drive him to those sessions. Most of us would say we desire to trust God more through suffering, but how well do we know this God we're trusting? What the Bible says about trusting God in trials “Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When we trust in God we find strength. One prayer request—for my sister’s health—was answered affirmatively; another—for my daughter’s—was not. Our mentors are not counsellors. “Trusting in God in the midst of trial does not mean everything will work out. In our confidence, we do not shrink back from him, but are made ready for him to appear because in all circumstances, we can be made pure by a confident hope. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain my own ways before Him.” - Job 13:15, I remember sitting in a seminary class with 6 or 7 other students and my prof, discussing the book of Job. A family and friend reunited. Connect with a mentor now! Lamentations 3:21-23 says, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have … Scripture teaches us that in our sovereign God’s loving hands, no suffering we face is ever purposeless, no matter how it seems at the moment. Finally, suffering is a great way to point people to Jesus and carry out the Great Commission. He will answer the prayer that we will walk in his light both now (3:2) and forever (2:27). A biopsy was done. When we ask that the reality of being fully alive in him might overwhelm us so that we can live to the praise of his glory when in pain, he hears us. Trusting God in Suffering It was a few weeks after the accident and our pastor came to our home to spend some time with us. All rights reserved. Significantly so, for when we are confronted with suffering, every true and solid confidence we can learn to claim becomes especially dear to us. I asked the question, “Can we really trust a God like this, someone who allows a person like Job to suffer incredibly?” Human nature would say to forget about a God who would agree to inflicting pain and then abandon a man like Job when he needed God the most. When we ask to know that our belief is true and that our hope is real, he hears us. Trusting in the wait. Yet, there is confidence in prayer before God. What we view as good often equates to pain-free and lack of suffering. You don’t need to worry. I am reminded that it is real, such that this life is to be lived in view of my promised, impending future. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. When we suffer, rather than criticize God, we need to learn to trust him, knowing that he is good and loving and there is a greater purpose at work. Confidence can truly be found in our hope, according to 1 John. Now, distressed believer, why has God given these reasons for confidence? Would you like to talk about anything in particular? For he promises to attend to our prayer requests for faith  that shines in the present. God used the suffering that sin brought into the world to pay sin’s price. Beginning talking to God about that struggle as honestly and openly as Job did, knowing that trust in God is built through dialogue with God. "That is the kind of human being she is, a devoted person," he said. While we can still maintain our faith because of our unchanging God, it is still important to exercise wisdom instead of becoming paralyzed by worry. In this, we overcome this world and, together in this purity of heart for him, our joy is complete (1:4). This article was originally published on UnlockingTheBible.org. I don’t presume to … When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 The Message We do not have to wonder if he is willing to be here with us in any pain. He loves us and “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). After examination and tests, something else was found—a cyst on her pancreas. (1 John 5:14-15). That is what Job learned (see chapters 38-42). Surgery was required. February 5th, 2019 / Karen Woodard “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain my own ways before Him.” ... Beginning talking to God about that struggle as honestly and openly as Job did, knowing that trust in God is built through dialogue with God. Clearly, God has more for her to do on this earth; this was his will. It is in those times that through our faith we trust that God must have a plan, that there must be a greater purpose to our suffering. 1. Why does God put us through trials? Our confidence before God in suffering goes beyond our felt-needs to spiritual needs. We have a song to sing. Jesus resurrects Lazarus, for all to see, to bring glory to God. The cyst was larger than anticipated, requiring not only a third of her pancreas, but also her spleen, and a portion of her colon to be removed. We need not wonder if he will be present through suffering—if he will be closer than any person, becoming more dear than we could have otherwise imagined. It is a mystery to the world how God would show forth his Glory on a cross. It means that by trusting we have peace, even if the worst case scenario happens. Trust in the midst of trial is a result of a Spirit filled life.” – Andy Stumbo. One fear that clouds the minds of many suffering … Go Deeper — Are you struggling with trusting God with a difficult or painful circumstance? This is the power of the God. These verses are also an answer to prayer in my life amidst the storm of grief that has came and the longing that remains. Her irritating stomach ache never returned after that first appointment. She went to the doctor with an irritating stomach ache that wasn’t going away. Because we live in a broken world, we know that suffering is a guarantee. Peter here gives us four strategies for growing solid through suffering: To grow solid through suffering, humble yourself before God, resist the devil, trust the Lord, and stand firm in God’s grace with the saints. The true light is already shining (2:8). Suffering did not change how he lived or what he believed, but it did cause him to know God more deeply than he ever had before. Trusting God in Suffering. And here is a confession, so often I cry out to God in despair because I want Him to fix things! William Carey Trusting God Through Tragedy and Suffering Leadership Resources | 10:33 am The following story is an excerpt from the book Finishing Well in Life and Ministry by Bill Mills and Craig Parro dealing with the topic of Christian ministry burnout . God knows we’re prone to grasp for certainty in all the wrong places, and that could be why he litters the Bible with reminders not to fear or be anxious. 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