Lessons from Affliction

Written by Dawn Rutan

This morning I listened to three podcast by Alistair Begg on the faithfulness of God (www.truthforlife.org broadcasts for August 19-21, 2014). In the second half of “God’s Faithfulness in Affliction,” he presents ten purposes of God in allowing us to go through affliction, which I thought were well worth sharing:

1. To develop perseverance (James 1:3)
2. To manifest His faithfulness in bringing us to maturity (Hebrews 5:8-9, James 1:4)
3. To assure us of our sonship (Romans 8:17, Hebrews 12:6)
4. To prove the genuine nature of our faith (Deuteronomy 8:1-2, 1 Peter 1:7)
5. To develop humility (2 Corinthians 12:7)
6. To keep us on track (Psalm 119:67, Proverbs 3:11)
7. To deepen our insight into the heart of God (Hosea)
8. To enable us to help others in trials (2 Corinthians 1:4)
9. To reveal what we really love (Deuteronomy 13:3, Luke 14:26)
10. To display God’s glory (Genesis 50:20)

In the broadcast from August 19 on Lamentations 3:1-24, he makes the comment that “the absence of lament in contemporary evangelical Christianity is arguably one of the things that presents to the watching world a substantial sense of a Christianity that is not actually authentic.” If all that the world sees are happy, put-together, on-top-of-the world Christians, they wonder how it can possibly be real. Such a picture can alienate seekers (or even Christians) who feel they can never fit that image. But if they see people who suffer and struggle and lament and yet hold onto their faith, they may be drawn in by wondering where that perseverance comes from.

I recently read A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament, by Michael Card, who urges honesty with God, ourselves, and others in praying and saying what we truly feel. He uses the words of Job, Psalms, and Lamentations as models for our own prayers and living.

It seems to me that songs such as “Come As You Are” by Crowder stir in us an awareness that it’s okay to be broken and wounded. God doesn’t expect us to get our act together before we come to Him, but sometimes the church seems to have higher standards. The unspoken rules create walls instead of bridges: dress nicely, keep smiling, hide your problems, and never under any circumstances admit your sins, temptations, or struggles. Whether we admit it or not, we are proud people and we don’t want to give anyone reason to think less of us. I wonder how many souls have missed salvation because of the fear of going up to the altar?

I hadn’t thought of it before, but one application of Philippians 2:3 (NIV), “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves,” could be that the humility that allows us to be honest before others opens doors for them to be honest as well. And verse 4 doesn’t tell us to neglect our own needs, but implies that we are all better served by looking out for one another. Pride leads to contempt, but humility leads to honesty, openness, and healing.

Looking back over the ten purposes of affliction, I recognize some of the lessons I’ve been learning. One of the comments made by Joni Eareckson Tada in When God Weeps was that those who don’t have to endure suffering have a harder time learning some of these valuable lessons. Holding onto faith isn’t too hard when everything is going well, and easy living can give way to apathy. May we take courage to share in Christ’s sufferings (2 Corinthians 1:5), but also to know that He shares in ours (Hebrews 4:14-16)!

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience… And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:12, 14 ESV).