Bulletin Article April 2024
by David Holmyard
Let’s Talk About Suffering
Many of us are working through the Living Life God’s Way Study and this month we are working through the Spiritual truth to be mastered: The constant affirmation of God’s work in my life and the use of every situation and relationship to grow and please God.
What strikes me in this phrase is the word “every” and how often this word “every” and the word “all” are stated throughout scripture. For example, in Romans 8:28 – “God causes all things to work together for good” and in Ephesians 1:11 – “who works all things after the counsel of His will” to name just a few. As we read these words, we need to let them penetrate our hearts, because the words “all” and “every” are a mystery too great for us to comprehend.
In a fallen world, there is a lot of pain and suffering, and whilst we may not understand the reason and purpose for this, we must return to the truth that God is Sovereign and God is Good. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8.
Whilst we can understand these words to a degree, it is impossible for us to fully comprehend them. We are encouraged in this lesson to ask God in all situations the question “Father what is it you want me to learn from this situation?” – “Show me where I need to transform”.
I find when we think about suffering, we often think of physical suffering and persecution, and we see countless examples in Paul’s life of this type of suffering and his ability to persevere and worship through these trials.
However, in my experience, there is another type of suffering that we find more difficult to cry out to God and ask Him “What is it you want of me?”. This suffering is around personal injustice, betrayal, and false witness. When a co-worker, friend or even family member treats you unjustly, when they lie about you, gossip and slander you, it is humanly impossible not to react and not to blame. Even if the fault is 100% the other party (and it rarely is), we must accept God has allowed that situation into our life and our questions must be “Father, what is it in this situation you need me to see about me?” We must not get into the “flesh” and blame game. We must “see to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;” Hebrews 12:15 NASB1995.
As Disciples, we are called to rush into conflict resolution when we encounter issues, but first, we need to deal with our own flesh. As stated in Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
We must recognise that when the bible says “all situations” it means all. Just as Jesus experienced injustice and betrayal, so it must be part of our training also.
As we expand our definition of suffering and wrestle with the true meaning of the phrase “every situation”, we will find our prayer life and our questions to the Father will become more aligned to His Will and His Ways. We are not victims; we are sons and daughters, and scripture clearly says, “For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” Hebrews 12:7.
God bless.
David Holmyard