1—SUFFERING GIVEN AS A TRUST
There are some people who are so holy and consecrated that God can trust them with the ministry of suffering. He has confidence enough in them that He can trust them to suffer for His glory, knowing that His name will be glorified and that the world will be helped by such a ministry as this. Now I am ready to admit that there are not so many people that God can trust like this, but I thank God that there are a few. You have to be very godly and submissive before God can trust you with such an exalted ministry as that. Most of us, I fear, would not be able to stand the test.
However, there are some people that God can trust with this glorious ministry of suffering.
We have a striking illustration of this point in the case of Job. You remember that we are told in the Book of Job that the sons of God came before the throne of God, and Satan came also with them. You also remember that God seemed to get a great deal of satisfaction out of being able to remind Satan that Job was a perfect man, and that he hated sin and loved righteousness. Satan immediately insinuated that Job did not serve God for nothing. Satan is the accuser of saints, and he insinuated that Job served God for what he got out of it. He told God that if He would take his property from Job, Job would curse God to His face. This was a terrible charge, but God met it by turning Job over into the hands of the devil, and giving him power to take all of Job's property from him. This was a bold thing for God to do, but He had faith in Job and believed that he would stand the test.
Satan went forth and did his best. One calamity after another fell upon Job, until all of his property was gone and even his sons and daughters; but instead of Job's cursing God, he lifted his heart in humble submission and said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." And in all of this Job sinned not. My! How pleased the Lord must have been with His servant Job!
When Satan came back before the throne of the Lord, I imagine he stood far back from the throne; and I imagine he was hoping that the question of Job would not come up. Satan had failed and been proved to be a liar. God's servant had stood the test. However, God did not
intend that the matter should be dropped. He was proud of His servant, and wanted to talk about him some more. No doubt you are familiar with the story. If not, I would suggest that you go back and read it. It is truly a wonderful story.
You will find that Satan suggested that if Job be afflicted in body, he would curse God to His face. God accepted the challenge and turned Job over into the hands of Satan, with the understanding the Job's life was to be spared.
In passing, may I call your attention to two facts? First, I would like to remind you that God always sets the bounds of our afflictions. He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. He knows how frail we are, and He has promised that we shall never be tempted beyond that which we are able to bear; and He has promised to supply the grace for every test and trial. Glory to His name!
In the second place, I would like to remind you that some of our afflictions come from Satan. Of course they are permitted by the Lord. God in His providence allows certain things, but sometimes Satan is the active agent in our trials and afflictions. He hates us and will do all that he can to wound us and get us to fall. Therefore it behooves us to be on our guard and be careful not to sin when we are tested and tried. Then, too, in view of this fact it is not always wise to hold God responsible for all of our troubles. Of course, He permits them; but ofttimes Satan is the active agent back of them.
If you will read the story, you will find that Satan certainly went the limit. He caused Job to be afflicted with boils from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. His property was gone, his children all taken, and now his wife turns her back on him. Finally, to cap the climax, his friends come; and instead of comforting him and trying to help lighten his burden, they begin to accuse him and try to get him to doubt his own religious experience. Truly this was a dark hour. I doubt if any other mortal man has ever been put to such a test, and I thank God that he stood the test and that God was vindicated in all of His claims for this man. I am glad that the world has produced one man that God could trust fully with such a ministry as this. This case has been of help and encouragement to thousands of men and women all down through the ages. It will take eternity to reveal the blessings that have come to the world through the trials and tests of this man.
Now I realize that this was a trying experience for this man, and there were many things that he could not understand about it. He could no more understand his afflictions than we can understand ours at times. However, there is one thing that he could do, and that was trust God; and he did that very thing. Some of the most beautiful expressions of faith came from the heart of this man in this trying hour. He said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." "He may put me in the fire, but I know that I shall come forth as pure gold." "Even though after the skin, worms devour this body of mine, yet I know that I shall see my Redeemer." He could not understand his afflictions; but, thank God, he could bear them for the glory of God.
The point that I am trying to get you to see is this: even though Job could not understand his afflictions, yet he did glorify God by bearing them in the right way. The same is true of us today. We may not be able to understand why we have to suffer. We may not be able to explain why tests have to come. In fact it is not our business to try to explain. The only thing that we have to do is to hold still and suffer for the glory of God. If Job could have known that he was being put on exhibition for the whole world to see what faith God had in him, and had known the blessings that would come to the world through his suffering, I imagine that he would have taken a shouting spell right in the midst of his worst trial, and said, "Lord, if You have that much confidence in me, and can trust me that much, then I will bear it for Thy glory and not one word of complaint will I utter." Just think, my dear reader, of such an honor as this! To be trusted with the ministry of suffering! I wonder if God could trust us that much.
May I say to you, my dear reader, do be careful how you bear your afflictions. It may be that God is trusting you with this glorious ministry of suffering, and it would be too bad for you to betray His trust. Bear it as a true Christian and saint, and you shall have your crown.
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2—SUFFERING GIVES JESUS A CHANCE TO GET GLORY
It takes the darkness of the night to bring out the beauty of the stars, and it takes the clouds and the storm to bring out the glories of the rainbow. The same is true of suffering and trials. Many times we do not appreciate the beauty of Jesus, the bright morning star of our lives, until the dark night of test comes; and then He shines forth with new glory. It is after the storms of life, or even during the storm, that we come to appreciate the beauties of Jesus, our rainbow of hope and promise.
Many times we take the most precious things of life more or less as a matter of course until some dark hour comes, and then we awake to a
real sense of their true worth. Many times the husband does not really realize how much he loves his wife, and what she means to him, until he is about to lose her or some test comes; and then he comes to see what she really means to him, and he has a greater appreciation for her. The same thing is often true of Jesus. In the sunny hours of life, when all is running smoothly, we take Jesus more or less as a matter of course; but when the dark days come, we awake to realize just how much He does mean to us.
Many times Jesus does not get a real chance to show to us just how much He can mean to us, until some dark trial comes into our lives; and then, when no one else can meet our needs, He has the chance that He has coveted so long.
You remember the story of the man that was born blind. When the disciples found him they raised the question, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" Jesus answered them by saying, "Neither this man nor his parents, but that the Son of man might be glorified." In other words, "The question of who is to blame for his condition is a matter of minor importance, but the thing that really counts is that this man's condition gives Me a chance to reveal My power and glory." This is just as true with many of us today. We might spend a great deal of time in quibbling over what caused the trouble, but the important thing is to call in Jesus and let Him get glory out of it. That is the thing that really counts.
You will also recall the story of Lazarus and his death. You will remember, that when he was taken sick, his sisters did not spend precious time in quibbling over what caused his sickness. So far as we know they did not have a long debate over why this had to come to them; but they did send for Jesus. Whatever the cause might be, they felt sure that Jesus could meet their need.
However, in this case Jesus did a very strange thing. When they sent for him He did not go immediately. He waited until Lazarus was dead and had been buried four days. That certainly does look strange, when we think of how much Jesus loved them and how much they loved Him. He even went so far as to say that He was glad that He was not there. That really sounds cruel and heartless when we think of how much those sisters needed Him at that time, and how they must have looked for Him. They could not understand it. I imagine that they felt very much as we do at times when we send for Him and He does not come. Martha even went so far as to go out and meet Him, and she virtually accused Him of being responsible for the death of her brother. She said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died." In other words, "You are the one that is responsible for his death. It was just pure neglect on Your part. You should have come." That sounds very much like many people today.
When Jesus does not answer their prayers at just the time they pray, or in just the manner they think He should answer them, they are ready to murmur and complain and some even become rebellious.
Jesus just ignored the unjust charge of Martha and asked to be shown where Lazarus was buried. Martha reminded Him it is too late now to do anything. She said, "Lord, by this time he stinketh." However, Jesus knew just what He was going to do, and He spoke the word that called this brother back from death. In doing this He convinced many of the Jews that He was really what He claimed to be. Many Jews came to believe on Him as the real Messiah because of this great miracle.
Just try to imagine Martha and Mary after this great miracle. They could not understand before, but now they see how Jesus has been glorified in this great miracle, and they realize that it was an opportunity for Him to get glory to Himself. I can almost hear them say, "Lord, we could not understand awhile ago; but now we see, and we are rather glad that You did not come sooner." It was just such an opportunity as this that Jesus needed to demonstrate His power. Oh, of course, it meant some heartaches for them. But was it not worth it? Think of the glory that Jesus got out of it.
There have been many people who, when they were passing through their trials and afflictions, could not understand; they may even have felt like becoming rebellious. But later on they were made to see that it was best for them, and that it gave Jesus a chance to get glory for Himself, and they have been led to say, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes" (Psalm 119:71).
In some dark hour Jesus has come to us with a new light and glory. He has stood by us at the open grave and wept with us, as He did with Martha and Mary; and we have found Him to be more precious to us in such an hour as that than at any other time in our lives. There have been times when we were like Mary on the first Easter morning. We are told that "As she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and saw two men clothed in white." Her tears became telescopes through which she could look and catch glimpses of men from heaven. Many times our tears have turned out to be telescopes through which we could catch new glimpses of the glory of Jesus Christ. When such an hour comes to us, may we have the grace to stoop down. May we not harden our hearts and stiffen our necks, but may we bend in humble submission to the will of God and catch a fresh glimpse of the glory of Jesus.
"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear—
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer!"
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