Suffering . . . Never Punishment
/For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18 NASB
Everyone suffers.
You may be suffering right now, or you have recently suffered, or you may soon suffer. But for a child of God, suffering is NEVER punishment!
Jesus was punished for us! Isn’t that what God told us when we came to faith in Christ? Isn’t that what we tell our children?
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
We believers still fall for the devil’s lies. He loves to malign the character of our loving Abba Father God, and cause us to feel unloved. I fell for that lie too until God spoke His unconditional, undying love into my life some 35+ years ago now. (See The Smile that Destroyed my Religion)
But before that there was a period of several years when suffering came like a hammer . . . BAM, BAM, BAM . . . cracking my geode-like soul (See Broken Open Glory). We lived in Dallas, Texas at the time. John had just quit seminary (He realized that God had made him a better engineer than a preacher). We bought our first house. Then it all began:
My health began to deteriorate (we later found out that all the new building materials and necessary extermination in the house had started me into a journey of “chemical sensitivity”).
John was laid off from his job.
Several months later in November, my dad died suddenly in New Jersey.
In February, my husband’s dad died suddenly in Arizona.
In May, my mom collapsed with a brain aneurysm in New Jersey.
At the end of the summer we sold our house in Texas, leaving our community and church that we loved, and moved to Ohio for John’s new job.
At first things went well in Dayton, but my health went from bad to worse because of more chemical exposures and “exotic” (not treatable as allergens) molds in our area. The hard part was not so much that I suffered symptoms (though that was bad enough) but that those closest to me didn’t believe me and thought I was a hypochondriac (that is, until eventually I started into anaphylactic reactions when my eyes and face and throat started to swell dangerously). But even worse than that & much more agonizingly painful was I really believed that God was punishing me for “not having my act together” (whatever that was!).
In reality, God was using all of the suffering to get me to the end of my self-effort so that I would give up and throw myself on HIM! That’s when I saw the Smile and heard the Voice that set me free:
I love you even if you never do anything right again!
So now I know that suffering of any kind is not punishment for the child of God. It is His discipline, His child training.
. . . God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:10-11 NLT
His loving child training uses it all, no matter the source — even the tragic consequences of our stupid, sinful choices. He weaves it all for our good to show forth His glorious life in and through us.
I love the following passage of Scripture. It is one of my life passages and has helped me immensely as I make my way through the suffering in this fallen world. Notice the amazing metaphor — we are pictured as common jars of clay containing a Treasure, the glorious living Christ! And how does the glory of that Treasure shine through our lives? By being “cracked open” by various sufferings. Read along with me:
6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
. . . Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:6-10, 16-18 NLT
So dear brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t lose heart in your suffering. You carry within you a Treasure. But don’t forget that we have an enemy who loves to imply that we suffer because God doesn’t love us and is punishing us for some reason. Don’t even give him the time of day.
Say “No way!” Resist him firm in your faith and he HAS to flee. God says so. (James 4:7)
And cast all your anxiety and worries on your Abba Father God . . . Why? Because HE cares for YOU . . . YES, little ole suffering YOU!
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
1 Peter 5:7-9 NLT
