"False" Guilt?

Have you ever experienced a sense of guilt even though you know you have not violated Scripture? This is more common than you may think.

When a person feels guilty without cause we say they may be suffering from what Scripture calls a weak conscience. This is triggered by something other than the Word of God. Often a person with weak conscience is an immature believer, and is easily swayed by every wind of teaching both unbiblical and extra biblical. This believer is untrained in grace and law and feels guilty for all the wrong reasons. She is subjected to self-imposed standards, or people-imposed standards.

Perhaps it is from having a very legalistic church background. If the particular church or denomination held to separatist views or was very intrusive into areas of life a sense of guilt develops and you are looking over your shoulder to see if you are being watched for the sake of rebuke. But it doesn’t even have to be that severe. Many churches set up these ideals for people that are not wrong and are even respectful- like men should always wear a tie to church, and women must always wear dresses with heels. We could also include opinions on the version of the Bible you read or the kind of music you listen to. Many of these picky areas among Christians are things Scripture is silent on. But the person who dares to step outside of the strict parameters set up by their church or group of people will experience guilt when they decide not to follow those rules any longer. One person said she felt like a traitor to her religious upbringing when she began to attend a Bible Church! I was afraid the first time I went to a different church, because the Catholic Church I grew up in said that I would go to hell if I ever set foot in a different kind of church!

The issue of weak conscience was a huge issue among Paul’s Gentile converts, who in their former way of life participated in pagan rituals and ate the meat from the temple sacrifices, and among the Jewish converts who were learning from Peter that all food is clean and can be eaten. The ceremonial law had been fulfilled in Christ and so the dietary restrictions were now a thing of the past for everyone. Paul addressed the area of Christian liberty in Romans 14:1-5 and Romans 14:22-23 where he said,

“The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.”

In Rome, people were going against something they thought was a command of Scripture. In Corinth the issue was eating the food from the temple. The person with a weak conscience does not act in faith (Rom. 14:23) and sins against what he thinks is God.

Warren Weirsbe says, “If it’s doubtful, it’s dirty!” is a good policy to follow. No one would drink milk or water that possibly was contaminated; nor would we accept food that might possibly be poisoned. Yet many Christians carelessly engage in practices that even the world questions. They never face the fact that whatever is doubtful is not of faith, and therefore is sin.”

If you are struggling with this, I would encourage you to put your “guilt” on paper and then seek out the truth from God’s Word and see if it is sin you have committed. If it is, then the remedy is confession and repentance. Change your actions by renewing your mind, putting off the old sinful behavior and take the righteous life Christ has purchased for you with His blood.

If it is not able to be pinpointed as sin, then I would suggest you get some solid counsel from another believer who is well grounded in the Word. You may be tormenting yourself needlessly and you are not to live as a slave to fear.

Tomorrow we will learn about a seared conscience, Lord willing.

The Center of the Storm

My mom is in failing health and many of my days are spend caring her for her and my dad and ministering to their needs. Sometimes it feels like too much. Sometimes it feels like I can’t do it another day, go to another appointment, or make another trip to their house.

There are days when seeing her deteriorating condition is very discouraging and downright depressing for me. It is in these times that I have to remind myself where I am to look when I am feeling discouraged or dismayed.

The Bible gives us the obvious answer: we must look to the One whose promises are sure, whose power is unsurpassed, whose wisdom is eternal, and whose love is infinite. Whether we look to the provision of our heavenly Father, the Person of our Savior Jesus Christ, or the promises of Holy Scripture the point remains, hope is found in God alone.

After all, Jesus Christ is God the Son, God in human flesh. And Holy Scripture is God's book, written by the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Peter 1:21).

There are times when we are being "sifted like wheat," and there are times when we are called upon to reveal Christ in us to other people. All these days are to be lived with the Lord's intention in mind. There is always more at stake than whatever makes up our trials and adversities. What is at stake is the proof that our faith will not fail.

When you are in the thick of it, remember that Christ is praying for you, and your faith will not fail. It will strengthen and hold. And Christ will make it possible for you to strengthen other believers because of your experience. That's what I truly believe.

I was talking with a friend the other day, and sharing my story with her. I am thankful I had the experiences I have had in life, because I believe others are emboldened by this walk of faith God has had me on. I believe that each experience we have brings us closer to Christ, and my prayer is that you will cling to Christ! I pray you stay so helpless and dependent on Him that you attempt nothing in your own strength. He has promised to show you the plan He intends, but the main priority is to cling to Him.

I've added some excerpts from one more passage I'm praying for you today:

Psalm 46 --

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

I pray that you find Christ to be a refuge in the center of the storm. Continue to draw near to Him and just pour it all out to Him. He is a very present help in time of trouble.

How Do I Deal With Guilt?

Often counselors of all kinds are approached by people dealing with issues of guilt. Some are long standing issues, others are new and fresh. I thought perhaps I would take a few days and post some things about dealing with guilt biblically.

I think we will agree that we all have guilt to some degree. You may know people who say that guilt is unimportant, that guilt is unnecessary, or that it is the creation of religion. What we know medically is that guilt left unresolved can lead to ulcers, migraines, digestive difficulties, and others. What we know emotionally is that unresolved guilt will distort other problems.

Guilt is not new. It is spiritually a result of sinning against God and becoming aware we have violated God’s principles. An example from Scripture would be Adam’s son Cain. He knew true guilt long before he ever killed Abel. Cain knew he was guilty of bringing the wrong kind of sacrifice to God. He brought grain instead of animals and was angry because God was pleased with Abel’s right sacrifice and not with his. (Genesis 4) True guilt comes from divine judgment. God righteously judged Cain as guilty for disobedience, anger and murder and sent him away to wander the earth.

The Lord Jesus Christ also spoke about guilt in several passages of Scripture (Matthew 5:22; Mark 3:29; John 9:41; John 15:22).

A person’s belief system has a direct impact on if they experience guilt and how they respond to it. Your view of guilt will determine how you respond when you are wrong and confronted.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:6

Have you ever confronted someone about sin? If you have ever taken that risk, you are a true friend. We know it is a risk to confront because we are never sure what the reaction will be. There could be denial, an angry response, or both! If the person you confront does not have a high view of God, their response to guilt will be minimal. He or she will not be very affected by what she has done wrong and will be more likely to brush it off as no big deal. If the confronted person has been brought up in an extremely legalistic fashion, the confrontation and resulting guilt can tear them apart.

The person who has little response to guilt may have a secular world view. They will want to only deal with the effects or the feelings of guilt, not guilt itself. Often, there are attempts rationalize the sin in an attempt to explain it away (“I had a bad day”; “You make me so angry!”) to relieve the resulting guilt from their actions. Some people take the corporate sin approach, “Everybody does it.” The most common method currently is to call sin sickness- mental illness, mental disability in which case a person cannot be guilty for their actions because, after all, they are “sick.” Maybe they have received bad genes, “It is not my fault, it is bad genetics.”

Another way folks deal with the feelings of guilt is to desensitize the conscience by continuing in sin until you feel no guilt. Many of us know people who try to numb the guilt with chemicals like illegal drugs or prescription medications, and alcohol abuse.

Attempting to create a good self-esteem is also a way people try to absolve guilt. The thinking is if you just need to feel better about yourself. The better you feel about yourself and the more pumped up you are about how good you are then the guilt will go away; the erroneous thinking is that you can smother guilt it in good feelings about yourself.

Finally, the favorite method of many people to dealing with guilt is to blame shift the reason for the guilt onto someone else. (Genesis 3:12) This is where I sinned against you but it is your fault. A typical rational in cases of abuse.

None of these worldly ways of dealing with guilt recognized the cause of guilt is an offense to God. All of the above secular approaches disregard the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the individual’s accountability to God.

The definition of guilt is liability (you are responsible) or culpability (you are guilty) to punishment for wrongdoing. This is not just “feeling” or “result” or effect.” Not how I feel about my liability for wrongdoing, this is a fact. The Biblical view of guilt is not dependent on how we feel about it. Our feelings may or may not follow our understanding of what true guilt is. The fact of guilt is that we are talking about offending a Holy God!

...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

By the way, psychology tells us that we all need to be loved, that it is our greatest need in life. Society wants us to believe that if we all felt enough love for one another we would not hurt each other. This is untrue- the reason we hurt each other and feel guilt is because we are sinners in need of a Savior. What our greatest fundamental need really is to be saved first, and then to walk in a way that honors God- for that is love.

The love of Christ will then motivate our hearts, the conscience is activated, and we understand what real guilt is all about. Then, because of that understanding we are driven by the Spirit of God to repent of the real things we have done that bring with them the realization of guilt.

But, what about feeling guilt when you haven't really done anything wrong? That is tomorrow's topic, unless He comes.

Loving the Darkness

Ladies, this topic is of a sensitive nature. It is placed here not to offend or glorify sin, but in hopes that it will minister to any who struggle, that they may know they are not alone and can come out of the shadows…

Round table discussions with can be very helpful for getting ones finger on the pulse of what is going on in the lives of Christian women. I will occasionally convene a round table if I am working on a new book or material and I need mass input. One evening we were discussing sin and how sin hates to be exposed. The conversation wound its way over to the avenue of sexual sin and how this particular sin is becoming more prevalent among women.

Sexual sin among Christian women is not new, but due to the internet, cable, and pay television it is now possible for us to view things that we otherwise would not have the “ability” to see.

The viewing of pornography and sexually explicit material is a very disturbing trend I am observing among Christian women. It is a Pandora’s Box and once the lid is opened it becomes very hard to stuff the contents back inside. The brain is a wonderful organ, designed to recall sounds, smells and images with crystal clarity. What women are discovering, is that once pornographic or sexual images are viewed they are not easily forgotten. These images appeal to the deceitful lusts of the sinful heart.

It is not only married women, but college students and other single women who are struggling deeply with the sins of viewing pornography and self-gratification. Our societal climate has changed enough that folks almost understand when men begin to speak of their need for help with porn and masturbation, but for women it is uncharted territory, full of fear and shame.

There is tremendous fear of being discovered, of someone knowing what goes on when they are alone. The guilt is nearly overwhelming because as much as they know it is sinful, their desires have been awakened and they want to experience the sensations that come with these behaviors. It has a high rate of repeat offence and has driven several young women to the point of contemplating suicide.

All sin hates discovery but it seems that this sin even more so…this particular sin loves the darkness. One woman said this:

“I was really "treasuring" the darkness that I was in. When I would watch the movies, my house would be completely dark; just me and the tube…”

As with all sin, it takes you much further than you ever want to go. What begins as a curiosity can rapidly become an obsession leading to greater and greater debauchery. Quoting a woman who revealed her struggles,

“I was watching such utter junk and desiring that I could experience sex, just once before I die. Most of what's out there to see, either on the web or in the movies I would watch, was ALWAYS hooked up with roughness, rawness, etc., and almost never a display of the loving union between the two who were engaged.”

The things portrayed in these movies and video clips are the exact opposite of what God intends for the intimate relationship between a wife and her husband. God’s desire is that women overcome this sinful habit as she would overcome any other sin. You are told to “put off”, “throw off” your former conduct. This implies stripping off, or flinging it far away for you as though it were a rotting corpse tied to your back. It is not adequate to just change behavior, because what drives the behavior is still the same. Her mind must be retrained to operate biblically so that when she is presented with the same old temptations she thinks a new response.

Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. Eph. 4:23 (NLT)

You cannot assume that only new thinking will lead to walking worthy/new living in the place of any sin. You must also deal with what is standing in your way of belief and action. Genuine change is more than stopping wrong behavior. There must be repentance that includes an understanding that the actions are not glorifying to God. There must be a change in the manner of life that you live. Genuine repentance is accompanied by a desire to obey.

By God’s grace, I have helped enough women to overcome this sin to know it is possible. There is no reason for any woman to continue to live as a slave to sin. My encouragement for you who struggle, come out of the darkness and into His wonderful light of repentance, forgiveness and righteousness. There is help available through our ministry, and I also recommend Settingcaptivesfree.org, and Pure Freedom.

Desert Living

Recently I have been struggling with various circumstances in life and decisions that must be made. I am a firm believer in the sovereignty of God (that should come as no surprise to you who read this blog every day) and firmly believe that He is in charge of all the events of our lives.

I realized one morning that I have made the same error as some women I meet with from time to time, in that I have made the opinions of man more important that the Word of God. Of course, it is not intentional but nevertheless I found myself realizing this morning that I have neglected to seek the wisdom, direction, and comfort of the Lord in these trying times as much as I ought to.

As I sat down with my Bible I was reminded of the verses in Jeremiah 17:5-8 which begins in this way, “Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man, and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord…”

The passage goes on to describe the results of this as being like a shrub in the desert, inhabiting the parched places in the wilderness. I can tell you- I have been there.

Why do we start strong with the Lord and fade out in the long stretches? We begin praying and seeking and wanting what God wants for us and over time we become wrapped up in the details of the occasion and we turn away in our heart from focusing on Him.

Remembering that all that is of this world is temporary is an important piece of making it through this life.

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

While Paul describes the afflictions of this life as “light” and “momentary” and our sufferings as temporary and designed only for this lifetime there are times I certainly struggle focusing on the eternal weight of glory they are producing (Romans 8:18)

Have you ever thought that present suffering will cause future glory? This is a tremendous promise! All of the difficulties, and trials, and sorrow and suffering that you and I endure in this life is affecting a change in the image of who we will become in eternity! This makes every single moment of our suffering very significant.

Even the worst of our sufferings are light compared with that “eternal weight of glory” which they are producing (1 Peter 5:10; 1 Peter 1:6; 2 Cor. 4:17.) They are nothing in duration. For these sufferings are but for a moment; but the glory we will share will be eternal. Sufferings will soon pass away; but the glory we will one day experience is never going to end. Do you have any concept of how long eternity is? I doubt it; I know I don’t really understand the idea of eternal or never ending.

Paul understood this; he learned it through his trials. His trials began the moment he began to preach Christ. He wanted us to get two ideas in as emphatic a manner as possible; first, that his afflictions were light, and, secondly, that they were momentary, and soon passing away. His object was to contrast trials with the glory that awaited him, as being heavy, and as being also eternal.

Our afflictions are working, producing, and affecting future glory.

This is why we are to set our minds on what is to come. Not on the problems, the suffering, the afflictions and begin to look at the glory that is to come! If we really take these verses to heart and begin to understand in more than a superficial way that in comparison to what is ahead off us- the joy, the wonder, the splendor, the glory- this stuff is nothing.

As you pray about the burdens you bear, where is your focus? Is your focus in prayer, “God please end this” or is it “God be glorified?”  Paul never would have made it if he lived focusing on the suffering, he understood that when it comes to suffering, our minds must be renewed and we must learn to focus on the glory to come.

Today, think of what God is accomplishing in this season of suffering. This time, think of the changes that have been made in your heart and life. Think of how your perspective has changed on things as a result of this trial.

And by all means, stay out of the desert!

Never Doubt

Yesterday we were talking about the trials of life never causing you to doubt God's salvation, God's love, or God's grace in Christ toward the believer. Our trials are given to us as tests to prove His love, to prove His power on our behalf. God brings us trials and sufferings to show us that we are Christians! In times of trial and suffering He is maturing our faith. And since it is God who is allowing our trials and difficulties, we are to be diligent. We are to endure. We are to be patient for the result is the full assurance of hope.

Hebrews 6:10 says, "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name and having ministered and still ministering to the saints, and we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end that you may not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Can you see that trials are the very crucible in which assurance is formed?

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

“…we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…”

And in Romans 8:38 Paul says. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God allowed Paul to be afflicted, perplexed, and persecuted and Paul says I'm convinced; I am absolutely convinced that none of these things can separate us from God! Going back to verse 35 he says,

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, For your sake we are being put to death all day long, we were considered as sheep to the slaughter, but in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us, I am convinced."

God allows awful things to come into your life, but He will not allow you to be overcome by them. There is no trial, or suffering that can take away a believer’s salvation. This is the idea of being overcome, worn down to the point where you chuck the whole Christianity thing. A true believer is eternally secure and God won’t allow that to happen. He keeps you.

This about this: what convinced Paul of the security of his salvation? What convinced him and gave him assurance? What did that? He just told you. Do you realize that he had experienced every negative thing he just mentioned? Did you note that? I would encourage you to do so!

It was Paul’s own experience of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth, created things, he went through it all, none of it removed the assurance of his salvation. None of it stole his assurance.



Paul says I've been through it all and I'm convinced. What convinced you? It isn't just the fact that it's written in the Word, it has been tested.

The Psalmist makes note of God’s faithfulness and our assurance of secure salvation in the midst of adversity.

Psalm 40:11 - You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.

Psalm 18:35-36 - You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

Psalm 54:4 - Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

Isaiah 41:10 - ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Psalm 119:116-117 - Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. Uphold me that I may be safe, That I may have regard for Your statutes continually.

Psalm 32:7- You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Paul and Jude also remind us that God will hold us fast, even during our times of trial and adversity and suffering

2 Thessalonians 3:3 - But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy Jude 1:24

Amen…

God- Our Sustainer

Have you ever been afraid that there will be a time that you cannot emotionally bear what you are being asked to endure? Have you ever been at the place where you honestly thought your suffering (in the body, or emotionally) was too much and that you were unable to make it any longer without relief?

Sometimes we fall back on the mistaken belief that what is happening to us is intended to destroy us, and we rarely think about it destroying us spiritually. We hanging on to the material, earthen vessel part thinking this suffering is going to take our life away and “then what?”

Another mistaken belief is that God is just not around while we are being pummeled by our circumstances or that He cannot react fast enough to preserve us or our faith. In reality, God does not react to things; He is not sitting around up there waiting to see what will happen next. He already knows! God equals causation, not reaction.

We fear falling apart, we fear losing our faith. I have seen it myself. In the midst of suffering, we wonder “Don’t You love me God?” “How can You be good and faithful and let this happen?” We listen to the lies Satan whispers in our ear and we begin to believe…God is not good, God is not faithful, God is not for us.

That message is compounded by the constant negative drumbeat of the world we live in.

Someone is always trying to tell us the Bible is not true, God is not trustworthy, He is not Who He says He is. How much does it take for a long time believer to begin to wonder if this is all it is cracked up to be? How about a new or untaught believer? How long after being saved did that “nothing bad is ever going to happen to me now that I am a Christian” thing last? And if there is no foundation under that profession of faith, what is there to stand firm on?

Listen carefully to this: People who think that trials and suffering happen because you are not a Christian, or not a “good enough” Christian miss the point that the very strongest source of assurance is tested faith...tested faith.



Suffering and trials can reveal a lack of assurance in one’s salvation.



Sometimes a lack of assurance is warranted because actions don’t indicate there is anything spiritual going on within a person. We don’t see inside the heart of a person so we do not judge the heart; but they have made a profession of faith so we expect to see some evidence of the Holy Spirit within them. Could it be that these trials are to draw them to God toward genuine saving faith?



I am very cautious these days about accepting a profession of faith. I am cautious because there is so much easy-believism in churches today, and people are being given the message that they can be secure in a salvation they do not even possess! I want to be sure they are truly saved first. When I am as sure as I can be then I can confidently declare to them that the testing they are in the midst of could be the strongest proof of assurance. A sign from God that you indeed do belong to Him! James 1 says that our trials will produce a perfect faith that never doubts. A faith that is so strong that no matter what happens it never touches your eternal hope.





When your response to trials is correct what will come out of them will be a mature complete, confidence in God’s eternal purposes in your life. This can be your greatest source of joy.

Romans 5:1-4 seems to sew it up nicely for us:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 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…

We exalt in our troubles? Why? Because trouble brings perseverance, perseverance proven character and proven character produces...what?...hope. And hope translates immediately into assurance. If I have a solid hope of my eternal inheritance, I have a present assurance. Where do I get that hope? When my faith is tested and proven.

The trials of life should never cause you to doubt God's salvation, God's love, or God's grace in Christ toward the believer. These trials are given to you as tests to prove His love, to prove His power in your behalf. God brings us trials and sufferings to show us that we are Christians! He is maturing our faith in these times of trial and suffering. And since it is God who is allowing our trials and difficulties, we are to be diligent. We are to endure. We are to be patient.

God is bringing about a result- the full assurance of hope.

We will begin with hope tomorrow!

Suffering Biblically- What does that look like?

My reading friend, suffering biblically looks like not denying you are suffering. It is pointless to deny suffering. There is nothing wrong with admitting to your family in Christ that you are struggling and hurting and that you need help. There is no need to suffer alone.

Suffering is the time the Body of Christ ought to come alive and minister to you with prayer, financial, or other practical things to help you. Find wise counsel that can help you as you journey through this wilderness. I would encourage you to be humble and let others in to your world.

Sadly, there is a sect of Christianity that thinks that unless we are walking around with plastic smiles on our faces all the time we are poor witnesses for Christ. I know they exist, I have met them! These people refuse to allow others to see their pain, instead presenting themselves as some sort of martyr before God, suffering in silence. This is foolishness! There is nothing ungodly about letting others you are suffering or in a period of trial.

David wrote the Psalms, 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, and they are full of David’s trials and suffering. If it is true as Hebrews says that everything that was written was written for our instruction, then it must apply to suffering also. You also have no way of knowing how God intends to use this time in your life to minister to others. How many of you have benefited from reading David’s laments in the Psalms as he suffered? Had he not written any of that down, where would you go for comfort?

Be transparent is what I am saying in all this. Be transparent. Don’t be fearful of those who might judge you; that sin is on their head. You let others see what God is doing in your life as you go through this time.

Through all of your trial, keep the centrality of Jesus Christ and the supremacy of Christ on the forefront. The trials you suffer do not negate who Jesus Christ is. He is still God. He should be central in all you do and think. Keep your focus on who you are in Christ- the struggle is so large down here that we take our eyes off of Him, off of who we really are in Him. Look at Ephesians 1 and 2 to see what is lasting and permanent- and focus on it! You are already seated with Christ in the heavens (Eph.2:4), are sealed with the Holy Spirit awaiting the redemption of your mortal body. In Christ, you are already participating in the new creation that dawned with Christ's resurrection, so you are to be heavenly-minded, Christ minded, fixing your eyes on Jesus.

Of course we still live in this world, but your outlook is to be God ward rather than focusing on the temporary nature of humanity (including yourself and your current sufferings) and instead looking at the eternal rather than this present time of life, at holiness rather than happiness, glorifying God rather than demanding that God meet your "felt needs." Christ is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Is this not better than having "felt needs" met? Felt needs are things like “value” “respect” “love” “time” “emotional connection” Your felt needs today will be different than your felt needs tomorrow. They are fickle like feelings. They come and go hour by hour. The righteousness, holiness and redemption we have in Christ is unchangeable and does not hinge on how I feel.

Only with this kind of orientation can we be free from the burdens of our suffering that threaten to drag us down like so many heavy links of the chains that bind us. You will in essence overcome the pain and emotional torment of the trial while in the midst of the trial. You will see that you can live above the circumstances you are in.

Believe that God is sovereign and that He loves and cares for you completely. Do not doubt His wisdom in your situation and trust that He has something that will provide for your needs at hand, and remain are open to whatever that may be.

I can tell you that you can learn how to glorify God with your life- even in the midst of terrible suffering. You are being pointed back to Jesus, His Word, and challenged to love and serve others. Keep the supremacy of Christ in constant focus. John Piper says, “All things are dependent on God and less valuable than God. Everything and everyone is dependent on Him for existence and for value, and is, therefore, less valuable than God.”

What ever has caused your suffering today, a person, a job, a loss of health or loss of stuff- it is not as valuable as God is. These things should not bring you more joy, more peace, more contentment than Jesus Christ does. They are the created things, and they bow in submission to Christ the Creator.


Suffering brings out our misplaced love. We can sometimes see things more clearly for what they really are. If the bottom has fallen out for you- and your kid calls you and tells you he just was in an accident the first question isn’t “how’s the car” it is “are you hurt?”


We value different things while suffering. Relationships with people we love become more important, our relationship with Christ becomes more important too. Stuff takes a back seat. Understanding this is central to your ability to successfully navigate these rough waters! Remember though- no matter how precious to you the person or thing is to you, the loss of it or them is nothing in comparison to what you have in Christ that you cannot lose!





Does this not want to make you worship Him? Isn’t it truly good to know that our suffering does not eliminate His supremacy?

Ask others to pray for you in this: that you might understand these truths and that you might not take your eyes off of Him. "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matt.11:29

Suffering shows us there is no one like our Sovereign God

There is no one like God…very provoking thought.

Have you noticed that when you suffer your thoughts go to God immediately? Often we wonder in our heart why God is “making” us suffer, we wonder why God “did this to us”, and then we wonder why God won’t put a halt to it or change our circumstances.

We do not like to believe that God could actually be orchestrating our suffering.

Another challenge to our theology!

As you reflect on these times, do you realize that you see Him clearly as you suffer? Perhaps clearer than at any other time? As we suffer we see His hand moving in our hearts. Not always changing the circumstances, but changing our hearts for the better.

No idol we set up or prop up can do that. No other object of worship can change the heart of man for the better, or conform him to the image and likeness of Christ. In the midst of great pain and suffering we see God doing miraculous things within us. He is changing our attitudes, intentions, beliefs and desires. As we internalize Scripture, take it to heart and apply it to our lives the heart begins to desire what God desires. It becomes more important that we bring Him glory than we have our way.

Surely we do not need any more proof than these resulting spiritual changes to understand that a part of the purpose in suffering is to show us there is no one like God.

God is sovereign, and the sovereignty of God is huge. I find it is the place we struggle with our Christianity. We often say at our counseling center that if people understood the sovereignty of God, we would have no need for a counseling center! That is how crucial understanding God’s sovereignty is and how much it affects life!

Jerry Bridges book Trusting God is an excellent book for understanding the sovereignty of God. If you struggle with issues of God’s sovereignty, I strongly urge you to get this book and read it thoroughly.

Dear reader, can you understand that in God’s sovereign purposes, what you are suffering with or under is under His authority? Your heavenly Father is managing it; He is in charge of it! He has a purpose and a plan for it! No matter what “it” is! This is so challenging for us to comprehend…

We see this demonstrated in the life of Christ. Jesus Himself affirmed God’s sovereignty in calamity when Pilate said to him,

“Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.” John 19:10-11

Jesus understood that God had set this chain of events in place, and nothing would change them unless God Himself intervened from above. When we view God’s actions in the life of His own Son, Jesus Christ we have no choice but to affirm that God was completely in control of all the events of that “Good Friday.”

Next time you are struggling and want to believe that everything is spinning wildly out of control and maybe even are tempted to believe that God has no control over our circumstances we must tell ourselves this truth:

“If anything or anyone can act outside of His sovereign rule, then He cannot be God.” (Jerry Bridges, Trusting God)

This means that God is sovereign over all the heinous actions of people in this world, all diseases, wars, and crazy dictators, and government officials, financial issues of the world, the country, and my own family. God is sovereign over the tragedy in your life.

Because God is sovereign He is completely aware and in control of the composition of our suffering. He uses the suffering, He works in it. He ministers through it to us and those in our lives. He controls the duration of the suffering and is always completely 100% in control of the suffering.

You may not believe this is true, or do not want to believe it. This is an error in thinking on your part. It reveals and area of your theology that must be changed. Even in the moments of despair you MUST cling to Him and His sovereignty over people and decisions. He is all you have and He is all you need.

You must accept that God is the sovereign God of the entire universe and He does what He wants with what belongs to Him- and “the entire universe” belongs to Him.

If He is not always in control, then He is not God. This does not make God some cruel despotic dictator; it makes Him the loving Sovereign God who orchestrates the events of life in all quarters of earth and humanity to bring Himself glory.

The suffering we endure is not as much about us as it is about Him and the glory He reveals through us as we suffer. The glory that is revealed is through it all, in spite of it all He “keeps” us. He gives us our ability to believe, gives us the faith to believe, gives us Someone to believe in! He gives us the Holy Spirit who teaches us and seals us gives us the wisdom to know how to act and react.

As we suffer we gain confidence and trust in that sovereignty. Can you look back and see His limiting hand in your circumstances? Can you see how when you really thought you were done in completely that God showed you that you were not? He took you that extra inch, extra foot, and maybe that extra mile to show you that in spite of what you thought, He is sovereign and He is in control and He brought you through it.

Trust Him ~ He loves you!

Suffering Increases our Faith

In times of trial and suffering, we often wonder what God desires to produce by them. We tend to focus on being done with this time rather than on what God is doing rather than understanding that the trials we face are to bring about a complete and perfect faith.

If we could visit James 1:2-4 for a moment, I want you to see that the subject of this passage is not perseverance but faith. James says the goal in our trials is that our faith become perfect, complete, not lacking anything. “Perfect” in this verse means lacking zero faith.

This by the way is why and how we can rejoice in our trials- because they are producing in us a faith that is absolutely completely perfect – a faith that is not lacking anything in any respect. Think about that for a moment. What would that be like- to be so full of faith in God that when trials come our way we have no doubt about them, or hesitancy in going through them?

Faith like this can only be produced by testing and trials- i.e. suffering. This is why we can consider our trials with joy and welcome adversity as a friend- because they are God’s means to an end. Trials can mean the end of self-sufficiency and the beginning of dependence upon Him.

I love it when someone says to me “I can’t go on this way anymore!” I tell them they are right, and thank God they don’t have to! Jesus is here to help them change!

Each trial is a building block of faith. Each time we successfully navigate through the trial (by God’s grace) God proves He is faithful. We experience His sustaining power. He has carried us and directed us. We see He is true to His Word. We see He loves us.

So when the next trial comes we can go into it knowing that He is at the helm, He is only going to allow it to go so far and that it will not steal away our faith in Him.

It is somewhat like riding the waves in a boat in a storm. Each time I successfully navigate the swells my confidence grows that it will all hold together in Christ. By the same token, suffering is a confirmation of your faith. It is wrong to tell a Christian that they are undergoing trials and sufferings because they maybe are not a Believer.

This is what Job’s friends tried, remember? They wanted Job to think that he was cast off by God due to his suffering. God brings us trials and sufferings to show us that we are Christians! Remember that He is maturing our faith in these times. We certainly do not enjoy these times. We don’t say “Yippie! I am suffering! Oh YAY!” but there is a certainty about them, a confidence that God is maturing and completing His perfect work within us. He is making us more useful to Him as we learn and grow spiritually during those times.

Suffering shows us there is simply no one like God!

Suffering For Identifying With Christ

John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

People of faith all over the world suffer today because of their love for Jesus Christ, risking their own lives for the promotion of the gospel. Rarely do we hear of anyone dying in America because of persecution. You may be familiar with the young woman who got a bullet in her brain for refusing to renounce Christ at Columbine, but she is really the only recent American martyr we have on our soil.

However, there is suffering for Christ going on in the homes of believers every day; husbands who ridicule their wives for believing in Christ and children who are God-haters and give their godly parents all sorts of grief. If you don’t think the kids persecute the parents, you are wrong. I see them in my office. Consider the parents who have raised their son or daughter to believe in Christ from infancy. The child decides at some point in their teenage years that they are going to reject all this teaching and begins to live and flaunt a worldly lifestyle. This creates constant tension, anger and dissention in the home every time the family is together.

I have heard children telling their parents they are stupid fools for believing in God and Christ. They tell their parents they hate them because they are not allowed to run around half naked like their friends, or go places other kids can go or see movies or television. These kids can be vicious, cruel, hurtful and hateful to mom and dad.

People in these positions are suffering and Scripture is very helpful to us in understanding suffering for righteousness sake. A careful student of the Word will not be surprised because of how much the Bible says about it. (1 Peter 5:6-10; 1 Peter 4:15-16; Luke 6:22)

The hardest part seems to be the response to the persecution we do endure. For all we know about suffering we struggle mightily with the response to it.

“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled” 1 Peter 3:14

This can be great comfort to a wife whose husband is unsaved and is mocking her and threatening her because of her new found faith.

1 Peter 3:16-17 (NASB)

…keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

I tell people in these kind of situations that it is always, always better to be suffering on the side of righteousness. If someone is going to try and inflict suffering upon you, you want it to be because you are acting righteously before God. It is following the example of our Lord Christ who said,

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44

And the Apostle Paul who said, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Romans 12:14

This means to pray for them, bless them with kindness and forgiveness and forbearance. Refrain from taking vengeance and responding from the flesh.

This is not possible for us to do without the direct intervening power of the Holy Spirit. You must first be completely dependant upon Him for the strength to carry out an obedient response. The next thing that is required for success is that you change your focus- from self to God.

When my heart is not focused on “me” and I am instead thinking about “how can I glorify God in this circumstance?” I will begin to accept and understand certain things that God wants me to learn through the suffering. Then I must put into action the things that I know are right to do. I must be respectful, humble, demonstrate faith and trust in God.

As much as we dislike suffering, it is the perfect place for God to do some of His best work in the hearts and lives of His people. Because it shows us the attitude of the heart.

More next time!

Suffering Because of Other People

While we are often our own worst enemies, bringing trouble upon ourselves due to something we do, some sin we commit, or a mistake we make; we also experience suffering because of other people.

When those we are closely connected with in some way sin, we suffer. They may sin directly against us, or they may sin in a way that affects us.

For example, the sin of a spouse affects us as it damages our relationships, and trust, and confidence in them. The sin of our children affects us. We grieve as we see them making bad decisions, going the way of the world, and sometimes rejecting all they have been brought up to believe. In some cases, the sins of children seem to becoming more complex, aren’t they? U-tube, myspace, school shootings, and beatings of other students… things our parents never had to deal with we find ourselves facing. Some of these bring untold amounts of grief and pain. Sometimes we suffer because of the sin of those who have some form of power over us; like an employer, an official of the government, or a policy maker.

Suffering for the sin of others is what bothers us the most it seems. We cry about injustice and how it is unfair, and our rights being violated. One of the most revealing pieces of home work I hand out in counseling has to do with the area of personal rights. Often when a woman completes this assignment she is amazed at what has been revealed about them! This is because so much of what we claim as rights is not ours biblically! We don’t see this because the world is constantly beating that drum of “rights” or we refuse to believe that we can be denied these things.

I often wonder if any one of us could stand in the face of the injustice our Christian predecessors suffered. Paul says in 2 Cor 11 he was beaten times without number- and he didn’t quit telling everyone about Jesus. If we were beaten just once could the world withstand our outcry? We get upset for being cut off on the freeway! And yet Paul did not stop telling people about Christ after the first beating, the second, third beating or what ever number he was on when he wrote this verse.

Not only can we suffer for the wrongs done by other people, we can and do suffer for doing what is right for other people! There are times in life when doing the right thing is going to cause us to suffer. The early Christians knew this for they suffered greatly for righteousness sake. Paul also suffered for righteousness (2 Cor. 11:23-28) as he was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, left for dead…it is amazing what he went through for the sake of the gospel! I suspect we only have a glimpse of the kind of suffering he endured.

One of the more difficult circumstances we deal with is when one person gets saved after marriage. Often there is a complete turnaround in the person who becomes a Christian and the unbeliever, who does not understand what is happening to their spouse, becomes angry and even hostile.

In know of cases where the newly converted person was formerly quite the partier and since coming to Christ have lost the desire to drink and party. The unbeliever does not get it, and simply wants their husband or wife back. They want them to stop all this “nonsense” and go back to how they used to be. This same scenario happens when one person is saved out of a religion such as Catholicism or a cult. When all attempts to “reason” with their spouse fall on deaf ears the usual course of action becomes insults and accusations of being a hypocrite and a holy roller. The more the converted refuses to respond in kind and seeks to respond biblically the worse the abuse can become.

Often these marriages are difficult and full of discord. I have had many women ask me if they should remain married to their unbelieving husbands since they persist in drinking and carousing and carrying on and want no part of the Christ life the wife is living. They don’t want to go to church, but will allow the wife to go. Usually they see some value in letting the kids go to Awana or Sunday school but not always. The husband wants his wife to join in, to be their partner again, to return to the former things they both enjoyed and the wife cannot do it in good conscience and the husband is angry and confused. The marriage as they knew it is gone, and there seems to be little left between them.

When I am asked, the only counsel I can give them is what Paul gave in 1 Cor 7:10 where Paul instructs them to remain married even if it is to an unbeliever, and in 1 Peter 3 men and women married to unbelievers are both instructed how they may “win” their unsaved spouse to Christ. But too often this takes years if it happens at all, and there is much suffering and adversity along the way.

There are certain kinds of suffering that go along with an unequally yoked marriage. There is little fellowship between the couple except on the superficial plane. The believing spouse keeps an aspect of their life separate from the unbeliever; there is no unity in such a marriage on the deepest level. This is true suffering.

God In Our Suffering

We continue our examination of suffering and today we will be looking at a few specific reasons we suffer.

An important point from yesterday that bears repeating is that regardless of what the type of suffering is, it is important to understand that God is in charge of it. God is an active participant in our trials and sufferings and is orchestrating what kind of suffering we undergo.

Lamentations 3:37-38 (NLT)

Can anything happen without the Lord’s permission? Is it not the Most High who helps one and harms another?

This passage of Scripture offends people, especially people who are hurting. We do not like to think of God helping one and harming another. We have been brought up to think (many of us have anyway) that God is love, and is never angry with sinners. Many are taught that every bad thing that happens is Satan, and that God is no place to be found.

We do not like to believe that God actually orchestrates tragedy! While you may understand that God is a God of love you may not have been taught that he does allow and even bring adversity into our lives. I am not saying God sins; I am saying he uses sin to teach us. God is a sovereign God and you will struggle with suffering if you do not have an understanding of the Sovereignty of God.

The trials and sufferings you are undergoing are necessary and profitable. You will see today that the Word of God says they are. No matter how it feels to us, God says our suffering is purposeful and that is far more important than any personal experience or even our feelings about adversity. We will learn more about the profitability the necessity of suffering in a little while but let’s look at the reasons we suffer now.

One of the reasons we suffer is as a result of sin. Sin always carries a price. Don’t we try to teach our children this? I sin because my heart is set on satisfying and worshipping “self.” All sin is a worship disorder, a theological problem actually. As a believer, I sin because I am an idolater.

Suffering lends itself to self-focus, we focus on our situation, on our pain and before long all we think about is “me.” I make relieving my suffering or pain the goal and focus of my daily life and whether we realize it or not we are committing idolatry. Because the focus is not on glorifying God, or His agenda but on “me.”

Suffering itself is not sinful, but what we do in suffering can be. If we are focused on feeling better, feeling happy, freedom from pain or any of a number of other desires we can quickly become idolaters. God sees the thoughts and intentions of the heart - even when we lie to ourselves, which we are very good at doing. Idolatry is sin, and every sin has a consequence- - an automatic built in negative result. I suffer consequences due to the sin I commit. God is never mocked and we can never put one over on Him. He sees the thoughts and intentions of the heart and even when we lie to ourselves.

In Psalm 38 we read that David suffered physically, emotionally and mentally as a result of his sin. He was tormented and ill. He suffered from fear of man both due to guilt and genuine threat of harm. David felt abandoned by God.

In later Psalms David speaks about understanding (as we can too) that even when we suffer because of our sin God is gracious and merciful. (Psalm 78:38-39; Psalm 106:43-46)

God’s handling of us when we sin is instructive and intentional. The consequences we bear are intended to help us to grow and change. God intends that we learn from our consequences and also from the example left for us in His Word

1 Corinthians 10:11 (NASB)
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Think on these things my friends. More tomorrow, by God’s grace.

Feelings About Suffering

Yesterday we began to look at suffering, which is something many people are dealing with today. How do you suffer?

You may have gone through some of the methods of the world for dealing with suffering already. Have you found any of them to be helpful? Or are you walking through this suffering season with the underlying question of: “Why God, why?” How you view suffering has great bearing on your responses to it.

There are various reasons for suffering, and just as many responses to it. I would like to continue today with some of the ways we respond in thought, belief and behavior to suffering.

• Suffering causes us to wonder if God has forgotten about us, or hears our cries Ps. 27:7-9; 56:8. Often we become angry and frustrated with God because we pray for months and years and it seems as though our circumstances are not changing. I have had people say to me that it seems their prayers appear to bounce off the ceiling, never making it to the throne of God- which is untrue! Psalm 56:8 says, “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle.”
• Suffering causes us to wonder if God is punishing us or is unhappy with us. Ps. 51:11. Have you wondered if you have somehow displeased God by your actions and caused Him to look with anger upon you, and visit trouble upon you? If so, you need to read the blog entry from a week ago on this topic!
• Suffering causes us to feel sorrowful, sometimes to sorrow without hope Ps 22: 1-2 prolonged suffering can bring the ultimate suffering, sorrow without hope. When a person comes to the place in their thinking that this is never going to change, all is lost, why bother? This is the ultimate defeat as all efforts have been exhausted and there is nothing else to be done, and yet the problem remains. This is why suffering causes us to lose heart. (2 Cor. 4:16, Eph 3:13, Heb 12:3) In these cases, we can lose heart. We can seemingly lose our ability to care anymore. People describe this as being crushed and in despair.
• Suffering causes us to have a downcast spirit Ps 42:5, 6; Lam. 3:20. How can we be cheerful when it seems that so very much is wrong in our lives? Sometimes we put on the happy face but it feels shallow and fake because it often it!
• Suffering causes us to wonder if it will ever be “ok” again. Ruth 1 Much like Naomi, we wonder what the future holds and if things will ever be “normal” again. It causes us to wonder what our future holds Ps. 35
• Suffering causes us to grumble and complain against God and our circumstances Ruth 1:20:21 As our circumstances remain unchanged, we grumble and complain to God about them. We shake our fist in anger toward the sky and rage at God who we know could change things with but a word, but does not.

I distinctly remember a time in my own life when I wrote, “I am suffering under the weight of my circumstances. This doesn’t feel good. I feel like I want to quit and give up. I feel like this is too much. And yet I know it is not, that God is right here with me. I know that He is keeping me.

When I am in the depths of sorrow and discouragement I must be able to preach to myself! I must be able to draw from the well of truth that I have in Christ and His Word. When I am suffering I must know and believe that I am being kept by Him. These are the resources that I have to build up before I am in the midst of the suffering or I will have little to hold on to. Nothing in this world sure will hold me fast and steady. I have to cling to Jesus.”

I had to keep going back to 1 Cor. 10:13 and remind myself that there is a way out of trials is Jesus Christ. He is the way through the trial and the suffering. My wise husband says “God isn’t as concerned with what you go through, but how you go through it.” And I would add, Who you turn to as you go through it.

As to why we suffer… The reasons for suffering are more than I can detail here but some were are very familiar with. Sometimes it is illness, yours or someone else’s, financial hardship, loss of a loved one, and the list could go on and on.

Regardless of what the type of suffering is, it is important to understand that God is in charge of it. God is an active participant in our trials and sufferings and is orchestrating what kind of suffering we undergo.

More tomorrow…

Suffering Well Part 1

There is so much pain in my world. It seems most everyone I know is suffering in some way these days. My friends and I have parents and other loved ones who are ill or dying and it causes them emotional pain as they watch these people who mean so much to them suffer physically. Children suffer through difficult years, spouses suffer emotional turmoil, financially many people are suffering due to hard economic times.



How can we minister to those who are suffering? While it is not necessary for us to experience all kinds of suffering to minister to one another, God in His providence allows us to endure trials of many kinds so we can do just that. in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Paul says this:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. for just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also are you sharers of our comfort.



My own life has not been without its challenges! There have honestly been times I despaired of life itself the darkness has been so deep. I have wanted to cry out to God and tell him that this is all too much, and indeed there have been times I have done just that. There have been times I honestly believed that it was too much. I did believe that I could not take another thing happening to me.

But as I by God’s grace have overcome each of the things that caused me to despair, I have learned that what I believed was false. During these times-all of these times- God has been completely faithful. In the darkest of hours, when I told Him I just can’t take another thing God, You have to lay off! He continually reminded me of 1 Corinthians 10:13

No affliction (temptation) has befallen (overtaken) you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be afflicted (tempted) beyond what you are able to bear, but with the (affliction) temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

According to the 1 Cor. verse our sufferings are common. Is it a comfort to you to know that no adversity that has overtaken you is new or original? The world leads us to believe that each person’s problems are unusual or unique. But the truth is that no matter how tempted I am to believe that my situation is different or abnormal, the Bible tells me to think carefully and biblically about it and to realize that God says they are common.

Our trials are common and God is faithful and He will not afflict you to the point in suffering where you lose Him. He is holding you, and He is keeping you. What is it about suffering that is common? The situations are common, and our thoughts, feelings and responses to suffering are also common. These are some things that I have decided about suffering:

Suffering happens to everyone according to 1 Cor. 10:13. I don’t know anyone whose life is untouched by suffering or trials of some kind. Even those Hollywood types with much wealth have trials and hard times! Much of it may be brought on by their own foolishness, but they are not exempt.

Suffering comes in all forms Jas. 1:2. “Various” in this verse means diverse in nature. It is non-specific as to what the trials are. The NIV says “trials of many kinds” that says it well I think.

Suffering is wrenching, anxiety creating, and disaster making Job 9:16. I think our response to suffering dictates some of this, but when bad times hit the physical response seems to begin the same for everyone I know.

Suffering causes us to fear. Psalm 105:38 A variety of words in Hebrew have direct reference to this kind of fear.

Suffering causes us to lose faith or gain faith, to doubt or have hope, to trust or to flounder. Job 3 is an example of this point. He wished to never have been born, v3, why he didn’t die at birth v11, in v 20,21 he complains that he wants to die, but God will not take him. As we read through the subsequent chapters we see that he has lost faith because he does not understand, he has lost hope because even death seems to elude him, and his faith begins to flounder. We could find verses, passages and chapters in Job that display each of these aspects of suffering. In no other book in the Bible do we see suffering as we do in Job.

Suffering will cause you to either look to God or be angry at Him Job. Which of these is your most common response? Does it cause you to run to Him or run away from Him?

I find suffering causes us to evaluate what is truly important to us Phil. 3:7-10. In those times of suffering, how much money we have is not important, our social status is not important, having the newest car is not important. What we find is truly important to us is resolving the problem at hand.

Suffering causes us to be self centered, be self-pitying. Ps. 25:16,17 We look at others who we believe have it so much better than we do, and wonder why them and not us? Especially in the case of unbelievers. We think that we are somehow entitled to relief or should never suffer because of all we do for God. We feel sorry for ourselves and sit in a pile of self-pity, waiting for things to change and begin to go our way.

Suffering causes us to isolate Ps. 6:6. I like to be alone to wallow in my misery. However, that is completely counterproductive!

Suffering causes us to wonder if God loves us. Ps. 22:1-2 Many women have said they wonder if God loves them as they suffer with a sick child, unbelieving husband, or other long standing crisis. They cannot see God through the pain of their circumstances.

So you can see that when we suffer it can really shake our faith to the core and cause us to throw everything we know to be true by the wayside. Over the next few days, I want to discuss how we can suffer biblically. Meditate on these things; ask yourself how many of the above things you are prone to do when life deals you a bad hand.

Only by examining your thoughts and heart and seeing this through the faithful and unchanging lens of Scripture can we continue to glorify God in the midst of suffering.

Beyond Feelings

Foundational to any desire to change habits is the ability to preach truth to yourself and get beyond the emotional strata.

My rant of the day encompasses how many people (especially women) live by their feelings rather than living by what they know to be true and right.

We eliminate our time with the Lord because we don’t feel like it right now, or we aren’t finding something that trips that emotional trigger so we decide that putting all that effort into reading and studying is not for us at this point in time. After all, who wants to do all that work and not feel any better at the end of it?

I find it very easy to decide not to go to the gym some days because I don’t feel like it. I rationalize that I am moving boxes and running up and down steps more so that should make up for it, right? There are a million more examples I could give you for how we abandon thoughts for feelings.

How much like petulant children we are! Whatever it is doesn’t meet our need of the moment so we abandon it and search for something to make us feel better, loved, needed, wanted, good and on it goes.

I am so thankful Jesus did not have such an attitude about His life! I often ask my counselee’s about what their fate would be if Jesus would have lived by His feelings that Good Friday…When He was arrested, scourged, carried His cross, and nailed to that cross. At any moment He could have called out for rescue and in His humanity I can only imagine He wanted to because He most certainly did not feel good during any of the events of that day.

We have examples in Scripture of how Jesus preached to Himself, but more than any other, this one stands out to me, “Not my will Father, but Your will be done.” That and that alone kept Jesus on that cross. Oh! That you and I could have such an attitude about our daily circumstances! Take a moment and ponder what your life would be like if that were your moment by moment prayer, the phrase you preached to yourself on an ongoing basis. “Not my will Father, but Your will be done.”

In the face of desiring God’s will for us, more and more of our own our wants and needs fall by the wayside. They become unimportant and trivial and I would even say some of them are just silly. In the grand plan of our wonderful God and Father we already know that there will be pain and hardship along the way. We won’t always get what we want or we think we need but it really won’t matter.

This is not pie in the sky, Paul, Peter, James, John and most importantly Jesus lived it. When I am thinking eternal thoughts I am living it too. None of these people could ever have withstood the rigors of their lives if they did not preach the truth to themselves and live in truth rather than feelings. They would have been crushed and defeated and discouraged to the point of giving up. But their lives were not rooted in or built around how they felt they were grounded in truth and in doing what honored God in spite of how they felt.

Their examples are there for us to follow, to learn from and to imitate. The weekend starts today, can you make it your goal to practice “Not my will Father, but Your will be done” this weekend? See what a difference it makes in your attitude and thoughts.

Practice it this weekend and pop in and leave me a comment or two about it. I want to hear your thoughts from this exercise. It is time for you to talk back to me!

Until Monday, unless He comes!