Lamentations 3:22-33; 2 Cor. 8:1-9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43
Does God
cause suffering in our lives? There are a lot of Christians who would answer
this question with an emphatic, “No!” Positive Thinking theology and the
prosperity gospel have influenced many, maybe even most, Christians in our
culture to think that God only wants us to experience joy, comfort, ease, and
success in this world. They declare, “My god would never cause anyone to
suffer!” And they are right because the god that they speak of is not the God
of the Bible. That God, the true God, clearly says that He does cause
suffering.
Why does God cause suffering? God Himself provides the
answer when He says, “Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great
is His unfailing love” (Lam. 3:32). It seems strange to us that God brings us
grief (i.e., causes suffering) in order to show us His compassion so that we
will know that His love never fails us. While God could (and does) use other
ways of teaching us His love, our hardness of heart and slowness to learn make
this the best way for us to know what His love means to us. In grief, suffering,
and loss we are drawn to God. We despair of our own understanding of things and
the thought of having control over our circumstances. After everything and
everyone in our lives has failed us, we embrace our God as our only hope. This
was certainly the case for Jairus.
Jairus
came to Jesus while his daughter lay dying. He knew only Jesus could save her.
In response to Jairus’ urgent pleas, Jesus consented to go to the dying girl.
Why didn’t Jesus just say the word and heal her from afar? He did so elsewhere,
why not in this urgent situation? The answer comes when word that his daughter
has died meets Jairus on his way to her side with her Healer. Jesus knew that
His delay would result in her death. He brought this terrible grief to Jairus
along with a word of hope, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” When faced with
such a stark contrast between the facts as we know them and the promise of
God’s grace, we stand with Jairus in grief tempted to fear all kinds of things.
Our problems loom large, solutions evaporate, and suffering settles in. But
then God shows His compassion. His unfailing love breaks through our doubts and
fears. He does more than we ask or imagine. He does the impossible. But first
He brings grief.
Audio file of the sermon "Though He Brings Grief ..."
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