Christian Suffering Is Biblical

There is a kind of Christian teachings out there that promotes the idea Christians must not suffer. That's a lie. A blatant lie! Christians suffer. Acts 14:22 says through much suffering we must enter the kingdom of God. We are no different from people who are persecuted and some even killed for their faith. Contrary to modern day, twenty first century, watered down, health and wealth, easy believismChristians are in fact no super humans. We get frustrated. We get stressed. We live with unfulfilled dreams and expectations. Our lives are in no way immune from the challenges of this world. We lose love ones. We lose jobs. We get sick.

World events must call many believers to rethink what gospel they have believed. Are you saved to be materially blessed and divinely healthy? You have believed a lie.

A cursory look at the Psalms–a great source of comfort and inspiration for believers—reveals the realities of pain and suffering in a believer’s life. Some of the Psalms contain expressions of David’s personal pain and sorrows: "I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes"(Ps 6:6). "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?"(Ps 43:5). "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I"(Ps 61:2). "Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins".(Ps 25:18).

In these words, we see “a man after God’s heart” expressing anguish in different circumstances of his life. David was not an exception. Many other characters in the Bible poured out their hearts in pain and anguish. As believers living in a fallen body in a fallen world, we are not immuned from the pain and suffering present in the world. In fact, suffering is ordained in the sovereign plan of God for the world and in the life of the believer. Job said “man is born to trouble”(Job 5:7). Suffering is the portion of every believer. We must all carry our cross and follow Him.

The biblical authors acknowledged what many today will deny in the name of Faith. They acknowledged the place of suffering in the believer's life. James said "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,"(James 2:1). Paul pointed out that "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"(2Timothy 3:12). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself painted no rosy picture of the Christian walk. He told the disciples, "In the world you will have tribulation."(John 16:33).

Suffering teaches us obedience. Writing about the high priestly role of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews tells us that, in His humanity, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered."(Hebrews 5:8). No where in the Bible are we guaranteed a life without suffering and pain. You dont even have to open the pages of the Bible to realise the reality of suffering in the world. The bad news, disease, brutal execution of Christians coupled with the suffering of people around us is enough evidence that a suffering proof christianity is a placebo. Paul describes the inescapable realities of suffering in the believers life. "...we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies”(Rom 8:23)


Though we are saved, we are not in possession of the full benefits of our redemption–the glorification of our bodies. We still live with the presence of sin, pain and suffering. We groan in pain in anticipation of our glorification in future. In all of these however, Christianity doesn't spell as gloom. In our suffering, we are not left on our own, we don’t grieve as people who have no hope(1Thess 4:13). We have the blessed Holy Spirit as a comforter and “present help in need”. What a privilege! In our weaknesses and suffering, we can turn to God through faith in Christ Jesus.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.(Heb 4:15-16).

Grieving With Hope

On 3^rd June, 2015, the capital city, Accra, was hit by torrential rains submerging many parts of the city. The Daily Graphic in an online news headline "Apocalypse in Accra! 150 Dead so far in floods, inferno" reported the devastating effects of the rains:

Flooding, resulting from torrential rains, brought Accra to its knees last Wednesday night, with unimaginable loss of lives and destruction of properties. By press time yesterday, the death toll had hit a staggering 107.Seventy-six of the victims were killed at a fuel station that exploded in the midst of the rains, while many others who suffered serious burns were taken to major hospitals in the city.¹

Also, “President John Mahama has declared three days of national mourning of some 200 citizens who lost their lives in an explosion and deadly floods in the capital, Accra."² The presidential candidate of the opposition NPP is also reported to have said: “It is a tragedy, a major tragedy for Accra. It is a dark moment in the history of our city”³

These media reports presents us with an imagery (I hope it does) of the wreckage that "brought Accra to its knees". The day after the floods, as will be expected, and rightly so, the electronic media’s agenda was driven by the incident. During one of the radio phone in sessions, a caller, who phoning in to express his grief, queried the host in response to his (host’s pleasantries) "What is good about the morning?"

“What is good about the morning?” That startled me! The caller has life and he is asking what's good about the morning?

Truth be told. No matter how despondent our situation; being alive is enough reason to give thanks to God. Is today, despite the ghastly aftermath of the rains, the day the Lord has made? Then Scripture says, "Rejoice in it". Are you faced with an insurmountable situation? Rejoice. Rejoicing in hard times is tough. Nonetheless, Scripture says that is what we must do: "Rejoice".

The Apostles reiterated these truths in their epistles.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.(1 Thes. 5:16-18). 

 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.(Phil 4:4). 

 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,(James 1:2).

"Rejoice…In all things give thanks...count it all joy". Are these not mere placebos and denials? Doesn't Scripture tell us there is a time for everything, including a time for mourning (Eccl 3:4). Certainly, as humans, we must grieve when it hurts. However, if Scripture tells us to "Rejoice", we must pay attention and obey.

As Christians, to rejoice in difficult times is not escapism or living in denial. It means grieving as people who have hope. “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope”(1 Thes. 4:13). All humans grieve. But some grieve with hope and others grieve without hope. The latter live their lives for the here and now. They have no hopes of a life hereafter. The believer however knows that, the suffering of this present time cannot be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us. We also know that nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. We also know that, one day, we will spend eternity in the glorious presence of our King and Saviour where there will be no tears or pains.

These and many promises of the Bible give us hope even when we are grieving. It is good to often remind ourselves of the hope that is stored up for us in Christ Jesus. We must not become short sighted and forget that being alive is in itself a blessing. Every day is another opportunity to ravish in God’s unceasing steadfast love and mercy. His love and mercy renewed everyday. In the grave, no one can praise God.

If you are alive today, Praise the Lord! And to those who lost loved ones and relatives, my sincere condolences.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,Count your many blessings, name them one by one,And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.⁴

Notes

1 http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/44214-apocalypse-in-accra-150-dead-so-far-in-floods-inferno.html

2: http://m.myjoyonline.com/marticles/opinion/floods-mahama-declares-3-days-of-mourning

3 :http://citifmonline.com/2015/06/04/floods-and-goil-fire-a-dark-moment-in-accras-history-nana-addo/#sthash.LIG9d5vW.DjjN65av.dpuf

4: http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/countyou.htm

The Lord Is Our Portion

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.(Lamentations 3:24).

Assuming your faith is a mansion. On what foundation will that mansion be standing? Beliefs - trust, faith, hope - have consequences. They shape our worldview and determines how we respond to life and its intricacies. If your faith is not built on a solid foundation, the storms of life has the potency of crumbling and leaving you disillusioned. The words “The LORD is my portion...”, paints the picture of a life built on a firm foundation: it simply means "The LORD is sufficient for me". The writer of Lamentations-Jeremiah- seem to be saying, "despite my predicaments, God is enough. If I have God, I have everything". Hear David also:

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." (Psalms 73:25). 

No wonder this David got the tag a man after God's own heart. Is your desire towards the Lord that intense?

"The LORD is my portion forever" says Jeremiah and David. Can you also, especially in the face of adversity, confess The LORD is my portion forever? If you are a believer, you should. We can easily grasp the reality of God as our portion if we dig further to understand God's original intent for creation. In Genesis 1, where we find the creation story, one phrase appeared consistently: "and God saw that it was good" Further, down the Chapter (vs31) we see a climax of the joy God derived in His creation:

...God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good

 The meaning of "...behold, it was very good" can be explicitly explained by Revelation 4:11:

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

It was very good because it all turned out to be what He intended His creation to be; for His pleasure, His joy and glory. We are here purposely on one assignment, giving God pleasure(glory, joy, worship). We are on a God glorifying trip. It is in glorifying God that we also discover our self and our purpose. Saint Augustine, one of the Church fathers of the fourth century said, "Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.

One of the revealing words of Scripture, that sometime ago, in a period of personal crisis, became a bedrock for my life are the words “In him”. Let me share a few of those specific Scriptures with you: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him...” (Colossians 2:9-10). "For in him we live, and move, and have our being…"(Act 17:28). On countless occasions, I have returned to the words "In Him"-and I still do return to it - to find strength in moments of weakness and despair. Apart from Christ, we are nothing—absolutely nothing: "without me you can do nothing"(John 15:5).

The LORD is our portion. He is our inheritance. He is all we need. He is enough for us. He is incomparable to all the best of things of this world. He is the infinite being who satisfies the longings of finite hearts. In the search for fulfilment, many are trapped with insatiable pursuit and held captive by the trivia of this world: "lust of the flesh... lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..." (1 John 2:16). Until, we come to an understanding and appreciation of how sufficient God is for us, we will forever be satisfied with shallowness and crumbs of bread, instead of eating the choicest of meals from the King's table.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness Part Three

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceaseth; his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning; GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV).

"Great is your faithfulness". 

Those words, if care is not taken, will appear like words written in response to a great breakthrough, blessings or a massive, joyous victory procession.

No, not at all, they were scripted in intense anguish and torment of soul. Ever experienced personal pain and crisis? The whole world seems to be against you. The heavens feel like brass and your prayers, you are tempted to believe it just bounces off your roof. Life becomes flat. As if that's not enough, you bring yourself to believe God has gone silent on you.That's exactly Jeremiah's emotions towards Jerusalem's destruction: "...when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer (vs 8). 

Such pain and anguish! If God shuts out my prayer, who else will I turn to? Yet, in all these, Jeremiah found hope in God. He didn't get depressed and despondent while lamenting over Jerusalem. Rather, he was humbled and found hope in God. Read his words in vs 19-21:" 

19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope". In his adversity and mourning; he paused, probably, to blow his nose, wipe his tears and ponder the faithfulness of God in the midst of it all.

Look up the vs 21 again: " This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope". What did he recall to mind? See vs 22-23. That's what he recalled to mind: God's steadfast love, his unending mercy and his GREAT FAITHFULNESS. 

There is hope in adversity when we ponder God's love, His mercies and His faithfulness. Every misfortune of life is an opportunity for God to be glorified in us. Adversity is God's refinery; through which He refines and polishes our lives for His glory: "...he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).

God is faithful and "great is His faithfulness". His promises are immutable. Regardless of our circumstances, God has an agenda for our lives that is greater than our minds can imagine. Furthermore, God's faithfulness has nothing to do with our faithfulness. It has nothing to do with how well we try to obey God: "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13). He cannot deny himself, whatever He has promised, He will accomplish. It's not about us, it's about His integrity; the glory of His name and His word. Hold on to the promises of God, especially His promises in His word, because it is His words He watches over to perform. Every promise of God for our lives should deeply be rooted in His word.

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. (Hebrews 6:13-19).

A Blessed Good Morning

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV ).

Image: Courtesy cranberryteatime.com

Life can't get any exciting and glorious than this; the unceasing steadfast love of the LORD plus His unending mercies renewed EVERY MORNING. What an encouragement! Have you ever heard someone responding to a good morning greeting by asking "what's good about the morning?" That's ungratefulness of the highest order. Here is what is good about the morning: Every morning is a gift from God; we wake up and face the day with a new supply of God's love and mercies: "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah" (Psalms 68:19KJV). 

Regardless of our situation, we should make a commitment to keep hope alive in God.

Every morning is a good day. It's a day the Lord has made. There's no day we can run short on God's supply. His love---agape love--- for us never runs out. His mercy is ever available. In the wilderness, when the Israelites were fed with manna, God categorically warned there shouldn't be any leftover manna for the next morning. This I believe is an indication of how God renews His Provision every morning. I pray that by the time I finish with these portions of Scripture in Lamentations, no spirit of discouragement will find a foothold in your heart. I pray that yours will be a heart that bubbles with joy and glories in the grandeur of our soon coming King and Saviour ; Jesus Christ. Who loved us and offered Himself as a ransom for our sins to reconcile us unto God our father (2 Corinthians 5:21).

In Scriptures and I believe in our everyday life, "morning'' signifies a season or period of newness, new beginnings and freshness. Solomon in Ecclesiastes 11:6, advises that," In the morning, sow your seed...". That text speaks against procrastination. It entreats us to seize the moments and opportunities that comes our way. And it's amazing he used the morning season. It simply tells us every morning comes with it's new opportunities. One of the popular text of Scripture many have found encouragement in, mentions "morning": "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).

Morning also signifies a period we renew our fellowship with the LORD. In Genesis 3:8, we are introduced to a phrase "In the cool of the day''. I believe in the morning---cool of the day---God came for fellowship with His creation after ''His image and likeness". Jesus Himself also used the morning season to rejuvenate His strength: "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." (Mark 1:35). Every new day(morning) is an opportunity for us to be showered with the blessings of the Lord. It's an opportunity to experience the benevolence of God anew. Be blessed as you start the day in the renewed steadfast love and mercies of the Lord.

...Showers of blessings/Showers of blessings we need/Mercy drops round us are falling/But for the showers we plead.

God's Mercies Towards Us.

...His mercies never come to an end they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.(Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV ).

Mercy!Truly it is Mercy---God's mercy---that sustains us. A piece recently made the rounds on my facebook news feed reads " If you think it's your alarm clock which woke you up this morning, try putting your alarm clock by a corpse". Isn't that so true?

Image Copyright: artfire.com

We are seeing today because the Lord's mercy has spared us. David said "I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me."(Psalms 3:5). David acknowledged he is seeing another day just because God watched over him. All he knew was that he slept and woke up having contributed nothing to it.

Our very existence has nothing to do with what we have done so well. In fact, if God is to weigh us on the scale of our own righteousness, none will survive: " He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." (Psalms 103:10). 

It's God's mercy and providence that has granted us life. If you're one of those who acknowledges God for today, join me in saying "thank you LORD for a wonderful day. This is the day you have made and we will rejoice and be glad in it" We will proclaim your love and your mercy to the whole world! Praise be unto your name.

If it had not been [you] who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.(Psalms 124:2-8). "Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth[and everything in it including us]": That's meat to chew on! Our help is not in our smartness, or riches. Neither is it in our giftedness or intelligence.

This morning, let's step out with confidence knowing God's abundant and never ending mercies has granted us life.

God's Unwavering Love

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.(Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV ).

Lamentations, as the name suggests ---weeping, dirge---is a book written to mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Popularly ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah who is also described as the weeping prophet, Lamentations 3, where we find vs 22-23, paints a very sad and hopeless picture .

" I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. " (Lamentation 3:1-8KJV)

However, as gloomy as the situation was, it's heartwarming and comforting the author of Lamentations still found the strength to pen the words : "The steadfast(unwavering, persistent, firm) love of the Lord never ceases" .

That should be our attitude: things might not always go as we expect. In fact, life presents everyone of us with our fair share of troubles, pain, hurts , disappointments and challenges . But in the midst of it all, we have a God whose “ steadfast love never ceases". That's enough a guarantee to keep our heads up. Whatever life throws at us, we are persuaded nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us form the steadfast love of God.

As a new week begins, may you have  a blessed and wonderful week.