The Sovereignty of God in Suffering - V

4.  The Suffering of the Church 

a.  Unity in Trials 

1 Corinthians 12:26 “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

 As a church, we gather together to worship and learn about God, and to encourage and comfort one another. All people are suffering in some measure at all times. The Church should be at the forefront in offering hope and comfort to a broken and distorted world, starting with its own members.

Believers can be very harsh in disregarding one another. And not only that, but actually in attacking one another over sundry small details, that when rightfully considered, have no bearing on salvation or evangelism. We need to remind ourselves that these people are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are broken. They’ve forgotten the love of Christ. They are beaten down by the cares of this world, by the constant attacks of Satan and his demons. We must remind them of the sovereignty and steadfast love of God. We should not leave them to suffer alone. 

Hebrews 13:3 “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” 

b.  The Body of Believers in Prayer 

God wants us to turn to Him in times of suffering, and through Him to reach out to our fellow believers through remembrance and prayer. 

James 5:13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”

 Wayne Grudem wrote, 

 “…prayer expresses our trust in God and is a means whereby our trust in him can increase.”[1]

 Prayer leads to a far more personal relationship and fellowship with our Saviour and Lord.

God desires deeper fellowship, and He responds to prayer. We ought to pray as a Body, with a unified desire and hope: that many would be saved, that we would be strong in the Lord, and that God would be glorified, whether through signs of His justice or His mercy. 

Prayer is a key part in responding rightly to suffering. In our suffering, we pray “Thy will be done.” We must remember that we can feel pride in suffering. Our sinful hearts whisper deceit: “You’re responding to this suffering in such a godly way.” 

Jesus is our greatest example. He prayed that the Father could remove the cup of suffering, but He showed His obedience and humility with these words: “Yet not as I will, but as You will…” 

We must fortify our hearts with humility. We are small (Amos 7:2), but we can wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14), Who means all happenings in our lives for good (Genesis 50:20). 

Wayne Grudem explains, 

“God has a better plan, even to fulfill his purpose through suffering and hardship…”[2]

 5.  The Suffering of Job, the Righteous Man 

Can God be trusted in Suffering? Let’s turn the question around: would it be easier for us to trust God, or develop a relationship with Him, without going through suffering? Suffering leads to comfort, through greater trust in and a deeper relationship and fellowship with Christ. 

All through the Bible, there are stories of God’s people who suffered. I don’t know of a single one who lived their life entirely free of trial or pain. Job’s prayer “Would that I had died before an eye had seen me…” (John 10:18) is a prayer that many believers can echo during great trials, myself included. There are just too many memories that are full of sorrow and despair. As we saw from Jeremiah, Elijah, etc., even believers can wish they were dead.  But God has better plans! 

He was in control of Job’s life: 

Job 12:9 “Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?” 

Though Satan was the instrument (Job 12:16), it was God Who caused Job’s suffering. It was not outside of God’s control. I can take that and apply it to my own life as well. If God was in control of everything that happened to Job, then He must also be in control of what happens in my life. Job went through far worse than I have, yet he never once fell outside of the care and control of God. 

God’s answer to Job reminds me of Romans 9 – “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” This is why Job’s response was “Behold, I place my hand over my mouth…” 

Job 42:1-2 “Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."” 

The biggest thing to realize in the story of Job is that when God was discussing Job with Satan, Job was not there. The plans of God do not hinge upon our agreement or disagreement. Contrary to our own opinion, we don’t know what’s best for us. I’m sure Job’s opinion of the situation would have been to keep Satan as far away as possible! 

But notice, too, that Job was not doing nothing while waiting around for the will of God to be revealed. He was continuously praying and offering sacrifices for his own sake and for the sake of his children; he was continuously devoting his time to serving the living God. 

This is what we should do as well. We should understand the sovereignty of the Lord and submit to His will, whatever it may be, and we should also, like Job, devote our time to prayer, worship, and servitude. We shouldn’t hang around waiting for suffering to come before putting our faith in Christ. But we also shouldn’t hang around waiting for everything to go right before ultimately judging God a good God. He is a good God, no matter what is happening to us; and we ought to trust Him at every moment, through the good and through the bad. 

When Job was finally given understanding, he was comforted by a right and deepened relationship with God. John Piper understands this well: 

"In the academic classroom and the apologetics discussion, the agency of Satan in our suffering may lift a little of the burden of God's sovereignty for some; but for others, like Job, there is more security and more relief and more hope and more support and more glorious truth in despising Satan's hateful hand and looking straight past him to God for the cause and for his mercy."[3] 

Job 42:5-6 "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

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[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, Chapter 18, “Prayer”, p.461

[2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, Chapter 18, “Prayer”, p.479

[3] John Piper, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, p.23

Part 6