Suffering and Hope

Suffering and Hope

If you are a praying person you deal with suffering and hope.

Often that hope is in the ending of suffering. We see ending suffering as Jesus being glorified. And He is when His will and ways are manifest on the earth, and in our lives.

But in the passage from Romans that follows Paul is exulting in our tribulations. In the midst of what we are in.

Circumstances play a huge role in our joy and happiness. In the life and teaching of Paul, circumstances matter greatly, but not so much when it comes to joy, rejoicing, gladness, and thanksgiving. Paul seems to live in a different kind of world. Once in which all things work for the good. Not the good of the individual, but for the good and glory of God.

And while many will argue that the good of the individual is considered, that seems not to be the emphasis of Paul. Paul seems to say over and over that our lives are good when they glorify God, even through loss, suffering, persecution, pain, or weakness.

If we can get this idea of who we are and how God works, we can help people be healed and be filled with the love of God. It is not a matter of one or the other, but we often oversell the removal of suffering and fail to equip people to live in tribulations with the door of their heart open to receive love from God.

“If God loves me why doesn’t he make my life better” seems to have one answer in America, and a different answer in the prisons holding the persecuted believers. This passage below is true in America but also in refugee camps, garbage dumps, orphanages, homeless shelters, and centers of poverty all around the world. To understand what Paul is writing to Romans we would see things better if we saw the people receiving this letter as hated, out of political favor, rejected by affluence, marginalized, and disrespected.

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; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

As we deal with suffering and hope we will face the giant of circumstances. We will face the plea for God to love us mainly through the changing of our circumstances. And we want to see circumstances change. We want those trapped in sex slavery, in human trafficking, in political deception, in anger, or those demonized to experience new circumstances.

And we want to teach people, that in your tribulation you can open the door of your heart to the love of God. That the Holy Spirit has been given to you so that in your inner man you may never be separated from the love of God. That the promise that Jesus would be with you might manifest in your, that nothing can separate you from Christ Jesus.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will 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 BE SLAUGHTERED." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 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, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39

It would be nice if "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED” was not a part of this passage. We love to overcome. But when we overcome through death we have a hard time “seeing it.” Even though Jesus clearly shows us the way and Revelation 12:11 declares it, we are still burdened with our circumstances determining our felt love of God.

  "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
Revelation 12:11

As a person of prayer, your hope often involves a solution, but it always involves a Savior. As you pray for people you can hope in their healing and you can hope that in the trials of life, God is with them through the indwelling Holy Spirit. As you love people, live in such a way that you reveal a fearlessness about life, that you have no need to love your life in a self-preservation way. And in doing this we hope to disciple and encourage a generation for God that is not controlled by circumstances. With our words and our deeds lets develop other people who are recipients of the love of God in every condition of life.

So, let me use Paul concluding words of Romans to end this.

Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.
Romans 16:25-27