By Rob Flood

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.

God’s goodness is an identifiable truth fixed forever in the heavens.  It is best displayed on the cross of Jesus Christ.  There, a holy God poured his wrath upon the Innocent…and poured his love upon the guilty.  In that single act, God’s goodness is always pointed toward the redeemed.

This truth has comforted souls for thousands of years.  Yet, in my life, all I need is to stub my toe and I can question the goodness of God.  My roof leaks.  …is God still there?!  The car breaks down.  …does he love me still?  It’s kind of silly, really, but my circumstances so often cause my soul to reflexively question God’s goodness in loving me well.

So, when we come to verses like Hebrews 12:6, we are faced with what seems like a very uncomfortable paradox.  “The Lord disciplines the one he loves.”  That means that God is actively loving me when I’m not feeling particularly loved.  It means that my circumstances will lie to me about God’s goodness and God’s love.  It means I’ll have to trust in what God says rather than what I think.  It means that faith will have to guide me rather than sight.

In trials, God is loving us like a Father.  He is loving us for greater purposes than our comfort.  In trials, we take comfort not in our comfort but in the One who is causing our discomfort.  We are told that:

…for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:29)

When we feel the discomfort of trials…particularly extended discomfort…we can question if God knows what he’s up to.  Which is why I’m so glad for the next two verses:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

God is up to something bigger than I’m aware of.  He’s up to a work that is aimed at my glorification…not my “today.” 

Keith and Kristyn Getty capture this difficult, faith-demanding, yet glorious truth in one of their hymns.  It is called, “When Trials Come.”  The video is below…followed by the lyrics.

May God relieve your burden in his perfect time.  And, until then, may he embolden your faith and hope in the Sovereign One who controls every pang of difficulty.  He’s up to something bigger than we see.  And he’s causing it to work together for our good.

When Trials Come

When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
And there His faithfulness is told
And there His faithfulness is told

Within the night I know Your peace
The breath of God brings strength to me
And new each morning mercy flows
As treasures of the darkness grow
As treasures of the darkness grow

I turn to Wisdom not my own
For every battle You have known
My confidence will rest in You
Your love endures Your ways are good
Your love endures Your ways are good

When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in it’s shadow I shall run
Till You completes the work begun
Till You completes the work begun

One day all things will be made new
I’ll see the hope You called me to
And in your kingdom paved with gold
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old

Keith & Kristyn Getty
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

 

By Ramona Doyle

Remember the biblical account of the Exodus when Israel fled Egypt. The Lord worked great and marvelous things for them—miracles that they couldn’t miss. They witnessed the terrible plagues in Egypt, saw the Lord protect them by the blood on their doorposts when the first born were slaughtered, received favor among the Egyptians by the Lord’s hand, stood in awe as the Lord parted the waters of the sea, and felt relief as the Lord tumbled the waters upon the pursuing army. And the Lord’s visible presence was with them day and night in the cloud and pillar of fire. Yet, even with these amazing demonstrations of the Lord’s presence and power, as soon as they became uncomfortable or faced trials in the wilderness, they faltered in their trust of the Lord.

So why recount this familiar story? Because I realize that I can be very much like the Israelites. I not only have the written accounts in Scripture of the Lord’s faithful care for Israel, but also wonderful memories of all that God has done in my own life…saving me, providing for me, caring for my needs, meeting me when I call upon Him. But at times when trial knocks on my door, my first thoughts venture to the worse case scenario. This point was driven home recently when I thought that I had developed another tumor on a salivary glad (I had surgery to remove a benign tumor a few months ago). Instead of casting my care upon the Lord and lifting my prayers to him, my first thoughts were to imagine the worse. My thought patterns went something like, ”Oh no! I’ll need to clear out my schedule because I’ll probably need surgery soon. There goes our vacation…I won’t be well enough to travel by the end of the month. What if something is really wrong this time that they missed the last time?” You get the flavor. Sadly, what I had just done was to imagine my life and trial without the Lord.

How contrary to every thing I know about God to think this way! I had to ignore a mountain of scripture to allow those thoughts to invade my serenity. Psalm 16:5-6 tells us, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” And verse 8 goes on to say, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Our challenge in the everyday is to keep the Lord ever before our eyes. The means of grace He provides in Scripture, prayer, and fellowship are so important. When we avail ourselves of them, we peacefully reside in the middle of the Lord’s chosen boundaries for our lives and there find his presence, care, protection, and comfort, no matter our circumstances. Don’t wait for a trial!  Live each day with the Lord before your eyes, and you will not be shaken!

By Rob Flood

 

Editor’s Note:  Jared is out this week and has asked Rob to write the Pastor’s Study this week.  For those who are committed fans of Jared…fret not:  he’ll be back to the Pastor’s Study next week.

 

As Joel preached this week’s installment of our current series, Words of Comfort, two additional passages of Scripture rose in prominence in my own heart.  We’ve said before that this entire section of Isaiah, beginning with Chapter 40, is intended to bring comfort to suffering souls.  Yet, it is not the only passage that does this.  Much of God’s Word, either directly or indirectly, provides comfort for hurting hearts.  Here are just two examples.

 

Psalm 103

 

What should a soul that is in need of comfort do?  Psalm 103 gives us one of the answers: it should preach to itself.  Sometimes our souls need to be preached to…our affections and remembrances of the Lord need to be roused.  Psalm 103 does that.  Consider verses 6-8:

 

 ⁶The LORD works righteousness
   and justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷He made known his ways to Moses,
   his acts to the people of Israel.
⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

 

This is truth that we must keep in the forefront of our minds.  “The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.”  We know this in our minds, yet forget it so frequently.  Which is where the preaching comes in.  We need to know this so much that David begins by saying:

 

¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul,
   and all that is within me,
   bless his holy name!

 

You see how David is commanding his own soul to bless the Lord.  He is commanding all that is in him to bless God’s holy name.  And, after preaching the truth of God to himself, it seems odd that David’s soul would be the only one lifting praise. So he with exhortations of all:

 

 ²⁰Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
   you mighty ones who do his word,
   obeying the voice of his word!
²¹Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
   his ministers, who do his will!
²² Bless the LORD, all his works,
   in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!

 

Psalm 121

 

This psalm begins with the question asked by all who are in need of comfort. 

 

¹I lift up my eyes to the hills.
   From where does my help come?

 

Essentially, the question is “Where am I going to get some help to get out of this struggle?”  Once you’ve preached to your soul to bless the Lord, you can’t help but be reminded of who he is.  We turn to the Lord for help…and he promises to help us.

² My help comes from the LORD,
   who made heaven and earth.

 ³He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴Behold, he who keeps Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

 ⁵The LORD is your keeper;
   the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

 ⁷The LORD will keep you from all evil;
   he will keep your life.
⁸The LORD will keep
   your going out and your coming in
   from this time forth and forevermore.

 

In times of need, when words of comfort are everything our weary souls require, God’s Word proves itself sufficient again.  As Joel said in his message, “God is not distant.”  Our God is a help to souls in need.  Praise him!

By Doug Hayes

 

Editor’s Note:  Doug is training for and running in two half marathons for Covenant Mercies.  To learn more, check out his original blog on this here.

 

When I left for Africa in September, my suitcase was full of running clothes.  I needed to maintain a training regimen that I had found difficult to maintain even at home.    Now, running in Africa earned me a lot of puzzled looks (except in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - distance running capital of the world!).  The more rural the area, the more strange my behavior seemed.  My running in rural Uganda evoked the most smiles, laughter, and head scratching. 

 

It wasn’t simply the blinding whiteness of my legs that struck them as so unusual… it was the running itself.  You see, in rural Uganda, life is exercise.  So much energy is expended simply carrying out the tasks of daily survival, the thought of going out of one’s way for exercise is a strange thought indeed.  Daily life is exercise enough.  

 

Many times, I’ve questioned my own sanity and felt like quitting.  I’ve thought, “You don’t need to do this! If you were to stop now and simply decide this was a bad idea, life would go on.”  When battling such thinking, I have often wandered back in my mind to those puzzled stares in Uganda.  The hardship of their life is the reason my behavior seemed so strange.  Could it be good for me to endure some hardship so that they might benefit?   

 

I am accustomed to a life of ease.  My 5-6 mile commute to work, preparation and enjoyment of three square meals (okay, my wife prepares most of them), and drawing of water for drinking/bathing are daily tasks that require little effort on my part.  For the average person in rural Uganda, the same tasks are a backbreaking ordeal, and they often consume most of one’s energy and time in a day.  I don’t feel guilty about this contrast.  It’s a great blessing to have the mundane tasks of life made easier; there’s nothing to be gained from an ascetic desire to give up conveniences for the sake of renouncing them.  But it’s helpful to remember that these are blessings…not birthrights.  And it may be helpful to consider whether embracing a certain element of suffering or discomfort could be a net positive for my spiritual health.   

 

I’m not looking to over-spiritualize the act of running.  However, there can be something enriching about enduring a bit of discomfort that I don’t need to endure, with a direct connection to others who routinely endure such hardship as a matter of survival.  To suffer with them as a choice could be a guilt-ridden act of aesthetic noise, but it could also be profound expression of biblical compassion: suffering together with another while alleviating their need. 

 

Have you ever considered doing something like that?  Are there certain conveniences or luxuries that you could intentionally forego as a means of identifying with others in need and alleviating their suffering?  For example, there’s nothing wrong with going out to lunch at work, but what if you fasted one day a week and gave the savings to serve orphans lacking access to a good, nutritious diet?  There’s nothing wrong with Starbucks coffee, but what if you chose to forego this privilege (or some other beverage you enjoy) for a season, giving the money you save to bless communities lacking access to clean water?    

 

These ideas aren’t just clever ways to raise funds.  They’re actually a means of “suffering with” the ones whose suffering you intend to alleviate.  And you might just find, as I’ve found with my running this year, that there are many side benefits you hadn’t anticipated. 

 

For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.  (1 Tim. 4:8)

By Chris Radano

For the last 10 years I’d say that I’ve been pretty healthy, rarely getting even a case of the sniffles.  In fact, I recall my coworkers and I while in graduate school joking about wanting to be sick so we could take some time off from coming into the lab, mainly to avoid the crack of our advisors’ proverbial whip.  The 12+ hours a day in the chemistry laboratory often led to physical and mental exhaustion, but rarely did it ever turn into good old-fashioned sickness.  But…when we did get sick, we would treasure the day at home.  Nowadays, for whatever reason, getting sick is no longer hard to do.  And as a result, I have found myself considering how God has been using my sickness to grab my attention.

I first thought about this as I was recently returning home from a vacation visiting some friends.  After coming down with a head cold during the week, I was in no mood to drive ten hours on the turnpike.  Preparing for my departure home, my friends and I prayed for safe travel as well as this time for my healing.  As we were praying, I felt led to thank God for my sickness.  Sure I wanted to feel better, but I also wanted to express to God my thanks for giving me this cold.  This wasn’t meant to be a “look how spiritual I can be” kind of moment, but sincere thanks for the sickness God brought to me.  I know I’m not the only one who has thanked God for his sickness.  I’m also aware of people who praise God for their trials, carrying them during periods of chronic and even terminal illness.  But to me it seemed a bit weird to thank God for a cold which, honestly, was a real nuisance and I know would eventually go away in about four days, whether I prayed or not.

In my younger years I enjoyed the idea of temporary weakness.  After all, if being weak meant sleeping in, not going to work, and staying home relaxing then I might actually enjoy being weak more often.  What connected with me now was that I became much more excited about the prospect of eventually being healthy again.  And what began as a general hope of getting better became enjoyment of God’s promise that there will be a day when there is no more sickness and complete bodily restoration.

In John Piper’s The Passion of Jesus Christ, he describes one of the many purposes behind the atoning work of Christ’s death,

“But all this misery and disease is temporary.  We look forward to a time when bodily pain will be no more.  The subjection of creation to futility was not permanent…One day all disease will be banished from God’s redeemed creation…We will have new bodies.”

A new body, absent of disease, is definitely something to look forward to.  But this time the presence of disease in the body allowed me to reflect on a spiritual healing of my soul.  And though I’m never really happy to be sick, if the result is to refocus on God’s word, the gospel, and his promises, then I can actually enjoy it.  Even if I have to enjoy it on a ten hour turnpike drive.