{"id":1078,"date":"2023-03-13T07:36:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T14:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=1078"},"modified":"2023-03-13T07:36:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T14:36:57","slug":"hope-for-the-suffering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=1078","title":{"rendered":"Hope for the Suffering"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Romans 5:1-8)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we come across a verse that we would all do well to put into practice a little more often: \u201cAnd we boast in the hope of the glory of God\u201d (v.2)<\/em><\/strong>. This is one of those Bible verses that certainly sounds spiritual and like one that we maybe ought to have displayed on some wall art in our home somewhere. But\u2026 sometimes we struggle to relate to what verses like this are actually saying. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul doesn\u2019t lack theological jargon in his letters. He uses words and terms that have deep spiritual significance. We have a hard time deciphering the spiritual verbiage and translating it into an understandable application for my life. So what is Paul saying here? I don\u2019t think it\u2019s twisting his words if we take them this way: we rejoice in the confidence of God\u2019s \u201cGod-ness.\u201d I know that last one is a made-up word, but we get it, don\u2019t we? Paul is stating that we can find joy in knowing for certain that God is always going to show up, that he is always going to be doing the things that make him God. How do we know? That\u2019s exactly what the \u201ctherefore\u201d is there for in the first verse and following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTherefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand\u201d (v.1-2)<\/em><\/strong>. Pardon a little more theological jargon from Paul, but let\u2019s restate simply what he is saying here, too: we have been declared not guilty of our sins because of all that Jesus did for us, and because we believe that, we have the perfectly peaceful relationship with God and live every second of our lives as the recipients of his fiercely devoted and limitless love. That is your reality right now and tomorrow and until God\u2019s glorious return on the Last Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And since that is our reality, we find in it an unparalleled spiritual swagger that more than qualifies us not just to \u201cget through\u201d life, but to maximize our lives, to live them to the full, at all times\u2026 even when faced with suffering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You knew it was coming, didn\u2019t you? If you looked at the title of this post or paid attention as you read through this section from Romans, you couldn\u2019t miss the word suffering<\/em>. Let\u2019s go ahead and just acknowledge that that word wouldn\u2019t make the top ten list of everybody\u2019s favorite topics to talk about. And that\u2019s OK. Neither Paul nor God ever says that suffering has to be our favorite. It is never implied that if you don\u2019t get warm fuzzy feelings at the thought of suffering, you are somehow less spiritual or there\u2019s something wrong with you. No, we don\u2019t have to like it, but here\u2019s the thing: we can learn to embrace suffering because of what God will do through <\/em>it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t imagine too many professional athletes relish the grueling hours spent disciplining their bodies in training and practice in the preseason and throughout the regular season. But those who have had the privilege of holding up the championship trophy at the end of the season would – and do! – go through all of it again year after year in pursuit of that end result.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it is with suffering in our lives. God doesn\u2019t say you have to look forward to it or love it, but neither does he want us to shy away from it or to loathe it, because he guarantees that he\u2019s always going to do good things in and for us through suffering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, we don\u2019t necessarily need God to remove any inconvenient or difficult suffering in our lives; what we need instead is hope to endure it. And God provides that hope in two ways: 1) Hope is ours because of Jesus\u2019 suffering, and 2) Hope is ours because of our suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I. Hope is ours because of Jesus\u2019 suffering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wrote a moment ago that God guarantees that he\u2019s always going to do good things in and for us through suffering. Could there be any better proof of that than looking to the crucifixion of Christ? It was the single greatest act of undeserved suffering ever experienced in the world, and through it, God brought the greatest good ever in the world: salvation for all people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul delves into it more in the last part of these verses. \u201cYou see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates <\/em><\/strong>his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us\u201d (v. 6-8)<\/em><\/strong>. Jesus\u2019 suffering stands out so much not only because it was completely undeserved, but also because of those for whom he suffered, described in two ways in these verses: the \u201cungodly\u201d and \u201csinners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider that the next time you try to smooth-talk your sin to someone else or give the \u201cI\u2019m not really sorry\u201d apology. When we try to whitewash our sin, what are we really trying to convince ourselves and others of? Could it be that we\u2019d like to pretend that maybe terms like \u201cungodly\u201d and \u201csinners\u201d ought to be reserved only for the really bad folks out there, but that they don\u2019t really apply to us? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would like our sin to be like the one or two-day-old container of food in the fridge that may not smell 100% fresh, but it\u2019s still good, still edible. Our sin isn\u2019t like the stuff that got shoved to the back of the fridge for way too long that leaves no doubt about having spoiled once you take off the lid and the sight and smell trigger an instant gag reflex. Surely that\u2019s not our sin. We want to think that our slightly less-than-fresh sin is not nearly as bad as the funky smell of other people\u2019s sin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realize that if we could hypothetically somehow make our sin appear less sinful, then there\u2019s only one conclusion we could arrive at: Jesus didn\u2019t come for us. We don\u2019t need him. What a terrifying thought! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Jesus didn\u2019t come for us, then we are on our own, and if we\u2019re on our own, though we might completely fool ourselves about our own perceived goodness, our fraud will be exposed for what it is on the last day when Satan eagerly presents his endless volumes of record books tracking our sins. God would have no choice at that point but to be the just God that he is and condemn any who thought they did nothing to deserve condemnation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Jesus didn\u2019t suffer for the slightly sinful. He didn\u2019t die for the sometimes godly. He died for ungodly sinners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that alone is where the hope comes from which Paul refers to at the end of verse two. Hope because of Jesus\u2019 suffering is only for the ungodly. It is only for sinners. We remind ourselves of that when we gather each week in worship by starting out the service confessing our sins – reminding ourselves of the ungodly sinners that we are on our own.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we do that for a purpose. Not to beat ourselves up or wallow in that guilt for an hour; rather, to set the tone for the hope that Jesus freely gives to ungodly sinners through the suffering of Jesus – hope that is applied to us as we are assured of the forgiveness of sins through the absolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now what does that hope have to do with your suffering? Everything, friends! Jesus\u2019 suffering means that your suffering will come to an end, no matter what it is. Whether the cause of your suffering is financial, relational, health or work-related, or a direct consequence of your own sin – it doesn\u2019t matter – it will end. But more importantly, the hope we have through Jesus\u2019 suffering means always having something to look forward to. Always. Even chronic suffering is short-lived compared to the hope we have because of Jesus\u2019 suffering, a hope that allows us to look forward to an eternity without any suffering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s well and good for the future, you might agree, but it may not seem to be all that helpful while we\u2019re in the midst of the severe storms of suffering. That\u2019s why Paul holds out even more hope to us. Hope isn\u2019t just ours because of Jesus\u2019 suffering, but <\/p>\n\n\n\n

II. Hope is ours because of our suffering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God wants to heap more hope on us. How does he do it? Through our suffering. Paul wrote, \u201cNot only so, but we\u00a0also glory in our sufferings,\u00a0because we know that suffering produces perseverance;\u00a0 perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope\u00a0does not put us to shame, because God\u2019s love\u00a0has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,\u00a0who has been given to us\u201d (v.3-5)<\/em><\/strong>. There\u2019s that word glory <\/em>again. What on earth does it mean for us to \u201cglory\u201d in our suffering? We might better understand what Paul is saying with the word \u201crejoice\u201d instead of \u201cglory.\u201d In fact, a good number of very reliable Bible translations use the word \u201crejoice\u201d here instead of \u201cglory.\u201d Although, you might still be wondering if Paul is off his rocker in encouraging us to rejoice in suffering!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he is not, and he is not because he knows – from first-hand experience, mind you – that God masterfully makes suffering serve our greater good. Only God could do that! Only the God who brought the greatest good out of the greatest suffering of his Son could also use something like suffering to produce a better version of us. And that is exactly what he does. How? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at Paul\u2019s progression: suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which results in even more hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s break that down, starting with perseverance. This one might be difficult for us to see, as we have a tendency to nostalgically remember our past as if we\u2019re fondly remembering a greeting card, which allows us then to filter out a lot of the turmoil that actually we experienced. But if your memory wasn\u2019t so dishonest with you, you\u2019d actually recall some pretty significant seasons of suffering, some things that, when you were just starting to go through them, seemed insurmountable at the time. They appeared to be way too much for you as the suffering loomed, and you couldn\u2019t see any way through them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what happened? You got through it (or better, God <\/em>got you through it!). I mean, here you are today. You (God!) persevered. And because you (God!) did, in your own mind, as more time goes by, you don\u2019t even remember how dreadful it was at the time. God brought you through it and you persevered. And each time God does that, each time he pushes you to persevere, you grow. How do we know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Character is the proof. Perhaps the best way to describe what Paul is pointing out here is that when you persevere through suffering, God changes you for the better. He uses it to shape you and chisel away the character flaws and faults and replace them with faithful fortitude and fearlessness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Christian, you are not the same Christian you used to be. God has changed you for the better and will keep doing so. Yes, he\u2019ll continue to use suffering to accomplish that, but if he is ultimately building my character as a child of God through it, then bring it on! That will only serve me, serve others, and serve God\u2019s kingdom better in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realizing how God does all of that through our suffering adds even more hope. God doesn\u2019t waste suffering. Read that again. God doesn\u2019t waste suffering. He uses it to keep his promises and bring good out of every situation. When I have that confidence – and every one of us reading this can and should – then I have hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may think the answer to your suffering is for God to remove it. And sometimes that may very well be his solution since he also delights in doing that! But other times it won\u2019t. Other times he will allow suffering to persist because he wants to fill you up with hope – hope that is yours through Jesus\u2019 suffering and through the good that God will work in you through your own suffering.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Romans 5:1-8) Here we come across a verse that we would all do well to put into practice a little more often: \u201cAnd we boast in the hope of the glory of God\u201d (v.2). This is one of those Bible verses that certainly sounds spiritual and like one that we maybe ought to have displayed… Continue reading Hope for the Suffering<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[275,65],"tags":[81,5,109,36,230,108],"class_list":["post-1078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-greatest-needs-series","category-sermons","tag-hope","tag-jesus","tag-preaching","tag-sermon","tag-suffering","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-ho","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1078"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1080,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078\/revisions\/1080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}