The problem is that suffering usually seems so random. It appears to be without purpose. It feels harmful to us, not helpful. While we want to thank God for the good things, we sometimes forget that his providence embraces bad things, too.[i] We often talk about how God's timing is perfect with respect to blessings, but somehow we don’t see our trials that way. But it's really all one package, one purpose, with all things pointing in one direction: God is at work to conform us to the image of his Son.
Of course, discerning the loving purposes of God in the
afflictions of someone else often seems easy! (Although we are as often wrong
as we are right in our diagnosis – remember Job’s friends?) But it is not so
easy to trust the Lord when the heat is on in our own lives. Our own trials
always seem unusually difficult. Why is this?
Because God tailor-makes our sufferings. Gene Edwards
writes,
What kind of person can best endure
suffering? Quite frankly, once suffering takes up residence, it seems none of
us are qualified. Why? Suffering that comes from the hand of God seems to be so
selected, so tailored for the one to whom it is sent. The thing you might
shoulder the easiest may never come to you; but that one weakness you were
never prepared for, that one hidden portion of your life you probably didn’t
even know about – there is where the
blow will fall . . . What kind of Christian can best endure suffering? He
doesn’t exist. I could handle your problems easily. You could handle mine with
a yawn. But it didn’t happen that way. I got the ones I couldn’t handle; so did you.[ii]
I find this helpful. It reminds me that the tough stuff
in my life doesn’t just happen. No,
my circumstances are sifted through the fingers of a wise and loving Father. As
a master artisan who designs to restore his image within me, he knows which
tools to use in my life, precisely where to use them, and exactly how much
pressure to apply.
God
is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don’t understand,
when you don’t see His plan,
When you can’t trace His hand,
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don’t understand,
when you don’t see His plan,
When you can’t trace His hand,
A Gospel-Shaped Perspective on Trials
But how do we know we can trust God’s heart? Because of the gospel. The promise of Romans 8:28-29 isn’t built on sand, but on the rock who is Christ. The cross and empty tomb of Jesus are the ultimate unveiling of God’s love for us. God has shown his love in giving us his Son, and he has shown his infinite power in raising Jesus from the dead. That is why we can rest with confidence in God’s goodwill toward us.
The language immediately following Romans 8:28-29 is
lavishly embedded with promises that are ours in the gospel. Consider these:
• God
has not only predestined us to become like Jesus, he has called, justified, and
glorified us (v. 30).
• God
is for us (v. 31). He is in our side!
• God
has demonstrated his love for us by not sparing his Son, but giving him up for
us. Since he has already given his greatest gift, we know he will graciously
give us everything else we need (v. 32).
• No
charge can be brought against us, for we are justified. The verdict of the
judge is in. We are declared not guilty (v. 33)
• No
one can condemn us, for Christ has died and was raised on our behalf (v.
34a).
• More
than that, he is our advocate at God’s right hand, pleading our case (v. 34b).
• Therefore
adversity should never threaten us, for nothing can separate us from the love
of God revealed in Christ (v. 35-39).
We cannot always readily perceive the love and goodness of
God in our circumstances. But the gospel invites us to look beyond our
situation to the sacrificial love of our saving Lord. As one author discovered:
More than anything else I could ever
do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position
myself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the one great
permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life
is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purposes in me. When I view
my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece
of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize
instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of
my life, including my severest trials. The good news about my trials is that
God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me by
improving my character and making me conformed to the image of Christ.[iv]
How God Uses Suffering
So the cross and resurrection are the ultimate answer to
suffering. And we really can trust the good purposes of God in using suffering
to make us more like Jesus. But it is still helpful to inquire further into the
specific ways God uses trials in our lives. Understanding God’s various
purposes will help us better cooperate with him in our responses.
Let’s explore Scripture to discover six ways God utilizes
suffering in our lives, understanding that each of these uses serve God’s
ultimate purpose of glorifying himself by restoring his image within us....
[i] Jerry Bridges notes two errors we often make when we
talk about the Providence of God. First, “we almost always use the expression
‘the providence of God’ in connection with apparently ‘good’ events . . . But
you almost never hear anyone say something such as, ‘In the providence of God I
had an accident and was paralyzed from my waist down’. . . The second problem
with our popular use of the expression ‘the providence of God’ is that we
either unconsciously or deliberately imply that God intervenes at specific
points in our lives but is largely only an uninterested spectator most of the
time.” Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even
When Life Hurts (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1994) 24-25.
