Memorial Drive
10/5/14
The Blessings of Suffering (Pt. 1)
Various Texts
Intro –
“Why did this happen?” “Why does so and so have to struggle with such great challenges?” “Why
doesn’t God intervene?”
“… suffering is a token of favor and a mark of God’s intimate involvement in my life!”
… An initial and critical truth about suffering in the life of a believer (Jas. 5:10-11)
Suffering itself is not the source but rather the opportunity for blessing
“As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of
the Lord. Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job
and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is
merciful” (James 5:10-11)
According to James, the OUTCOME (“the Lord’s dealings”) is
related to Job’s RESPONSE OF PATIENT ENDURING”!
... “BLESSINGS OF SUFFERING” IN THE LIVES OF BELIEVERS
… Suffering for doing right finds favor with God and fulfills one of God’s purposes
in our lives (I Peter 2:19-23)
The Right Circumstance:
The Right Response:
The Right Motivation:
What God calls me to when He is taking me through high waters is to “patiently endure” and to do so
with an awareness that He is in charge of my every circumstance and is calling me to submit to Him
even as I continue to do what is right in the situation!
2
Note that favor is a blessing in suffering precisely BECAUSE
suffering is one of God’s “purposes” for me!
… Suffering is a significant means of bringing me to spiritual maturity (Various)
“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about
perseverance, and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope …” (Rom. 5:3-5)
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of
your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of
suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have
suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will
Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” (1 Pet 5:7-10)
“God loves you better than He does your peaches! He knows that while peaches do better without
frosts, it is impossible to grow the best men without frosts. His object … is to grow men, not
peaches.”