1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Rom 5:1-11 ESV)
As we begin a new year, many of us are filled with hope and expectation. We set resolutions and goals in anticipation of making even more of the year ahead. However, we don’t really have control over the actual outcomes. Illness can beset us. We may experience the sudden loss of someone close to us. National or global events beyond our control can intrude upon our lives, affecting our businesses, jobs, or financial situations. On top of the uncertainty of life, we are constantly bombarded with stories of what could potentially go wrong. Will the stock market crash and take your retirement fund along with it? Will the economy enter a recession and cause my company or department to downsize? What if this country goes to war with that country? Now, the question that I want to address today is: how do we, as Christians, think about and address the uncertainty of this world and suffering when it happens to us and those close to us?
When contemplating this passage in Romans, I thought of a story and what it means to rejoice in suffering as a believer in the risen Messiah. This story is about a Chicago lawyer and businessman named Horatio Spafford. Now, Horatio had invested much of his wealth in real estate in the city.
Unfortunately, most of these properties, and thus much of his investment, were reduced to ash during the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. The fallout from this loss and the work that he and other property owners in Chicago had to undertake to rebuild and restore would take years. The scale of this tragedy cannot be overstated. Over 17,000 buildings were destroyed, and more than 100,000 people (1/3 of Chicago’s population) were homeless. If this were not enough, the Spafford’s young son died of scarlet fever at the age of four not long after the fire.
A couple of years after the fire, Horatio decided to take his family on a trip to Europe to escape the constant work and stress of rebuilding. Who wouldn’t want to get away after all that had happened? He and his family were also going to meet up with and help the famous evangelist D.L. Moody, who was working on the continent at the time. However, some urgent business came up that needed his attention as the trip neared, so Horatio sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him.
One week after the ship set sail, it was violently struck in an accident by another boat at two in the morning. Because of how the ships collided, the vessel the Spafford family was on sank within 12 minutes. Of the 313 people on board, 226 perished. All four of Horatio’s daughters perished that night. His wife, Anna, was found unconscious, held up by floating debris. Nine days after the accident, Anna landed in Europe and sent a telegram. It read, “Saved alone. What shall I do?”
Upon receiving the message, Horatio booked the first passage he could find. However, this was during the 1800s, so this was far from a rapid process. One night, the captain called Horatio aside and informed him that they were currently sailing over the location where the ship carrying his family had sunk. As I contemplate this situation, I can’t help but ask myself how I would have responded. Would I be overcome by anguish or anger? Would I have broken down and wept or shouted out words of rage at God for allowing such a thing to happen? Instead of either of these things, Horatio returned to his cabin to attempt to try to sleep and felt a sense of comfort and hope overcome him. He wrote down these words, “It is well; the will of God be done.” These words would soon become his timeless hymn that resounds with so many gospel truths. The name of that hymn is “It Is Well with My Soul.”
It is worth reflecting on that there is a similar story in the Bible. Job, the man God Himself called blameless and upright, lost everything he owned in a single day. Additionally, his sons and daughters all died that very same day. Job responded to these events with the statement, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Notice the similarities? These are not words of quiet resignation or defeat. The LORD may give, and He may take away. In the words of Horatio, the will of God will be done. However, regardless of what happened to these two men, their response is instructive and encouraging beyond belief. Despite what comes, the believer can say, “Blessed be the name of the LORD,” and “It is well with my soul.”
Now, these stories may be inspiring, but you’d be right in asking, “How do I develop that kind of abiding faith and trust in God?” It is so easy to marvel at the faith of others. But the reality is that knowing the stories is not enough. These same types of tragedies, and many more besides, can happen in our lives. Thankfully, as in all things, God does not leave us alone. And I know this because the verses we are looking at today have been my anchor through the most challenging times in my life. They acted as my north star, the way that God guided me through trials and kept me traveling on the path that leads to Him. So, let’s dive in.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The chapter opens with the word, therefore. This means that what Paul, the apostle who wrote this letter, is about to say directly follows what he has already said. It is essential to keep this at the forefront of our minds as we read scripture; what is the context? Uncountable numbers of irresponsible teachings have come through taking verses out of context and misapplying them. So, let’s take a high-level view of what was said in the letter before our passage today. Paul was writing to the believers in Rome in anticipation of him traveling there, something he had long wanted to do. He wanted to accomplish several things. The letter to the Romans primarily concerns the gospel; Paul wanted to unify the church in Rome around the good news of Christ. Romans is a great place to start if you want a comprehensive understanding of the gospel message. Additionally, Paul wanted to prepare for the missionary journey he was planning to Spain; he wanted the Roman believers to help him on his way after he was able to visit them. Finally, Paul wanted to get in front of a growing division in the church between Jewish and Gentile believers. The focus for our study today aligns with the primary purpose for which Paul was writing: the good news of what Jesus has done. Or, as we more commonly call it, the gospel.
Paul starts his letter by pointing to the grandeur of the universe as proof of God’s existence and that we can even learn some things about Him through creation. However, many, instead of worshiping the God who created everything, worshiped the things He made.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Rom 1:20-25)
Paul addressed this because pagan worship was the norm in the Roman Empire. It is important to note here that the people Paul is talking about were the ones who exchanged God for created things in nature. God allowed them to choose and gave them up to what they wanted. N.T. Wright perhaps sums up this concept best.
“You become like what you worship. When you gaze in awe, admiration, and wonder at something or someone, you begin to take on something of the character of the object of your worship.” N.T. Wright
This is a critical point that Paul made. It spoke directly to the heart of Roman culture and society. And it speaks directly to ours as well. The Romans, like the Greeks, worshipped a pantheon of gods who were very human in nature. They were spiteful, filled with lust, and sought their own pleasure above the good of others. Paul was saying that if you venerate that type of activity, you will act the same way. Now, consider our culture today; we may not wrap it up in religious language and ritual, but it is the same. Think about the lyrics of many of the most popular songs today. Consider the lives and actions of celebrities and others that our society lifts up and puts on a pedestal. Reflect on how often we are told in advertising by the rich, powerful, and famous how if we only buy this item or consume this service, we will be as happy and fulfilled as they are, or supposedly are. Think about how society as a whole treats marriage as trivial or that it is entirely ok to objectify other human beings, especially with what is deemed acceptable to view on the internet for our own pleasure.
Paul then addresses those who did know about the one true God, namely the Jewish nation. However, instead of commending them, Paul has a very different message. What he said was precisely what Jesus did. It doesn’t matter that you come from the line of Abraham or how well you know the Old Testament Law. God cares about and judges people based on what we actually do.
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. (Rom 2:12-13)
And if we stop for a minute and honestly look at our own lives, this is what we see. We know at our core that there is an absolute standard for good and evil. We know that saying one thing and then doing another is both hypocritical and wrong. We have all, myself included, done things that genuinely hurt other people, damaged relationships, and were contrary to what we know in the deepest parts of ouor being are good and right and holy. Paul quoted the Psalms to sum up this point.
10 “None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.” (Rom 3:10b-12)
Now, this is a pretty bleak letter so far. This is not something that you read at the beginning of a year to feel all warm and fuzzy inside. We’re left with all of these questions that seem pretty important and rather urgent. What if there is a creator of the universe? Spoiler alert: there is. And what if He genuinely cares about right and wrong and how we treat each other? Another spoiler alert: He does. If we’ve all fallen short, and there are consequences for that, is there something that can be done to restore ourselves to God? And here is the best spoiler alert: There is. Paul tells us how this happens.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood (Rom 3:21-25a, NIV)
And there it is, the gospel, the good news that Paul based his entire letter around. There is a God who created both us and the universe we live in. He is perfectly good and, therefore, has made a moral law that we all are to live by. However, all of us fall short and sin. This causes a separation between us and God. However, God did not see fit to leave us as we are. He sent Jesus to live the life we never could and die the death we deserved so that we could be reconciled to Him. This is the good news that Paul was proclaiming.
So, we return to the opening verses of our passage today.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We now see what the “therefore” is there for. We were separated from God, but we can now be justified before him by faith. And because of this good news, that we have been justified by faith, certain things happen in the believer's life. First, we have peace with God. You see, it wasn’t that we were just separated from God. We were, in fact, working against Him and were enemies.
In another letter, Paul said, “21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Col 1:21-22, NIV). We just wrapped up an extremely deep study of the book of Ephesians here at Meadowbrooke. Remember what we were told in that letter about the state we were in before being saved?
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Eph 2:1-3)
When Paul says that we now have peace with God, he doesn’t mean that we have a tranquil state of mind or something like that. Instead, when we become followers of Jesus, we go from being against God or an enemy of God to having peace with Him. Remember what Paul said earlier in the letter. Nobody is righteous; nobody does good.
But it doesn’t stop there. We aren’t just in some truce or ceasefire with God. What has happened is so much more glorious and incredible than that. We also, through Jesus, have obtained grace. Now, grace can be a mysterious-sounding religious word. All it means is that somebody has received unmerited or unearned favor. It means we don’t deserve the favor or good things God freely bestows on us. Remember, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God; we all were, by nature, children of wrath. The Greek word that is translated here as “access” literally means “to approach” or “to bring into.” We are brought into God’s grace and can actually have a personal relationship with Him. How much has changed because of what Jesus has done for us. We who were enemies not only have peace with God but also can draw near to Him and have a personal relationship with our Creator.
Finally, we can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And given what we have just read, there is so much to rejoice in. But again, there is something even more glorious behind these words. We rejoice not just in our newfound peace with God or our ability to be brought into His grace. We rejoice in the hope of something else. The word “hope” in our English language is quite weak. Typically, it means something like, “I hope this year is better than the last” or “I hope my team wins the Super Bowl this year.” It expresses the desire for something to be true, but with the realization that it may not turn out that way. However, the Greek word employed here means something more like “joyful and confident expectation.” Our hope is in something that we are confident and sure of. Tim Keller remarked on this passage that, “Christian hope is not a hopeful wish – it is a hope-filled certainty.”
But what is it that we are hopeful for? If we were to poll random people about what they most hoped for or were most looking forward to regarding the promises of God, we would likely get a broad range of answers. Many would almost certainly revolve around seeing loved ones again or being eternally happy and without pain or suffering. However, notice what Paul says here. His focus is on the glory of God. More than his own happiness or desires, the reason for Paul’s rejoicing is in the hope of being in the presence of God’s glory.
John Murray remarked on this passage, “[Believers] are interested in the manifestation of the glory of God for its own sake. The glory of God is their chief end and they long for and hasten unto that day when with undimmed vision they will behold the glory of God in its fullest exhibition and vindication.”
What this means is that the hope of the Christian is not in the hope of our wants, desires, and comfort. Instead, our hope is in being with and living within the glory of God. The focus is on God, not on us. John Piper put this better than anybody else I have heard.
He said, “The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?” Paul’s answer would be a resounding no. What makes the restored heaven and earth what they will be is that we will finally be with God in all His infinite glory. Everything else pales in comparison to that. And any heaven without that is no real heaven at all.
Now, Paul has covered a lot of ground in his letter so far. The people listening to this being read for the first time would have been on a real rollercoaster of a ride. First, they heard about this God who is powerful and mighty enough to create the entire universe in which we live. But then they heard that this God is also perfectly good and, therefore, has a moral law. They, just like all of us, broke that law. And they, just like us, broke it repeatedly. They heard about how this created a separation between humanity and God, a chasm we could not overcome ourselves. However, when everything seemed lost and without hope, they heard about how God, through Jesus, redeemed them, and they were now justified. This justification was not through anything they had done but what Jesus had done for them. They heard that they did not have to try to earn God’s merit, and in fact, they never could. They heard that what God really sought after was their hearts and faith in Him. Finally, because of that faith, the believer has peace with God, access to God’s grace, and the hope-filled certainty of witnessing God in His full glory one day. What an experience it must have been to be the first people to hear this letter being read. Can you imagine hearing this fantastic news?
Then, the church in Rome would have heard the words, “Not only that…” Wait! There is more!?! What more could there be after being told this fantastic news? I can only imagine sitting there and anticipating new promises and hopes the apostle was about to relay. Instead, the audience heard, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings.” Wait… what? We rejoice in our suffering? Weren’t we talking about drawing close to God and witnessing His glory?
But this is reality, isn’t it? When we decide to follow Jesus, all the hardships and suffering we’ve experienced don’t magically disappear. We still get sick. Our finances don’t magically improve; we all don’t suddenly receive private jets and mansions. We still lose loved ones, and we all certainly still experience getting older and all the wear and tear that comes from that.
As I reflect upon this past year, the single word that comes most to mind is “difficult.” This was a challenging year for our church family, and we had to go through things, including church discipline and the termination of a staff person in a pastoral role. Individuals and families in our church have also been going through extremely difficult things. There have been cancer diagnoses, losses of family members, struggles with chronic illnesses, sudden visits to the ER, heart issues, urgent and completely unexpected surgeries, and many, many more things besides. Personally, this last year, especially the past six months, has, if I’m being completely honest, been extremely difficult. Due to an autoimmune disease, my health spiraled to a place I have not experienced in over a decade. This resulted in a 10-day stay in a hospital after losing 15% of my body weight and a substantial amount of internal bleeding. But, more importantly, it put a lot of strain on my marriage and meant I was less present as a father than I should be. The stark reality is that suffering is still a part of our lives. It has real impacts on us and those around us. But, as we’ll see, faith in Jesus is not about the cessation of pain and suffering but instead giving that suffering over to God in faith that He will use it for good.
Paul lays out how this looks for us:
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Notice here that Paul says we rejoice in our sufferings, not because of our sufferings. Paul does not say that suffering suddenly becomes pleasurable for us or trivially easy to endure. He does not say that God is giving us a way to prove ourselves to Him or earn His favor by persevering through hardship. Instead, we rejoice in our sufferings because of something we know. We know that suffering can produce something within us. That something is endurance. For most of my life, and by that, I mean since I was eight, I have participated in endurance sports. This has included distance running, cycling over 100 miles in a day over multiple mountain passes, and summiting 20,000 ft peaks. I bring this up because I have learned a lot about myself and quite a bit about endurance through these activities.
The first is that endurance is not something magical you hope to have on the day of your event. It is something that you train for diligently. It may take months or even years in some cases to train your body and mind to accomplish the goal you have set before yourself. It is possible to train and not reach the goals you set. However, if you don’t train, the goals will forever remain out of reach. And the thing about training is that a substantial amount of suffering can be involved. Mile repeats hurt. Hill training on a bike can be painful. Interval sessions have left me draped over the handlebars of my indoor trainer like a rag doll. Watching cyclists or other endurance athletes achieve the incredible can be awe-inspiring, often making it look easy. However, it isn’t. What we witness when we watch world-class athletes is the outcome of a lifetime of training and preparation.
And I can tell you from experience, every day I’ve had where I’ve looked like this, cycling up mountain passes feeling in great shape and like I could tackle the biggest of obstacles, I’ve had many more days where I’ve looked a bit more like this.
The key here is that, like in athletics, in life, endurance is not something that happens automatically or magically. It is something that is produced. And often, the production of endurance happens through the crucible of suffering.
But, unlike endurance training for sports, the type of endurance Paul talks about is not the end goal. It serves a greater purpose. You see, our character is also changing when we develop spiritual endurance. Now, this word in Greek doesn’t just mean something like, “He is a really good person and has good character.” Instead, it is about something proven, or something tested and found to be approved. An example of this can be seen in Paul’s letter to the Philippians concerning his protégé, Timothy.
22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. (Phil 2:22)
The phrase “proven worth” is the same word that is translated as character. And to some extent, we’ve all experienced this. If we have endured something before, when we have to endure it again, there is a confidence we didn’t have before. Or, thought of in a different way, if you had to go into battle with somebody, would you rather go with a special forces soldier who had been on multiple deployments or somebody who has never been through military training but plays their fair share of Tom Clancy video games? The choice is easy, right? What Paul is saying here is that when we go through suffering, endurance is produced. And when we endure our trials and tribulations, we are tested successfully or, as Paul says, our worth is proven.
But Paul does not stop there. He says that this “testedness” produces something else: hope. And here we return to this idea of hope. Remember, this idea Paul is talking about can be best thought of as “a hope-filled certainty.” As we go through suffering, the endurance and character that result produces an ever-greater certainty that God is exactly who He has said He is and that His promises are sure. Paul then offers a proof of this. He states that hope will never put us to shame because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. In fact, the relationship between the believer and the Holy Spirit is so close that he has been poured into our hearts.
I had mentioned earlier that these verses have been my anchor verses through suffering. That is not an understatement in any way. I had grown up in the church. In fact, I heard hymns and the words of the Bible before I was born. As I grew up, I did all the church things, camps, and confirmation; I even started participating in lay-level leadership roles in my church. If any of those things sound a bit foreign, it is because I grew up in the Episcopal tradition. Ultimately, instead of letting God into my heart and being the Lord of my entire life, I was going through the motions. Especially in college, my life looked no different than anybody else’s. Remember those verses from Ephesians about living in the passions of our flesh and carrying out the desires of the body and the mind? That was me. Until that is, God got ahold of my heart. A group of us in ROTC decided that we wanted to start getting serious about our faith and started going to church together. We formed our own Bible study and as a small community of college-aged believers, we began trying to figure out what it meant to be Jesus followers.
To make a long story very short, one of the members of this group would ultimately become my wife. As we deepened in our faith together as a group, I was drawn to what God was doing in her life. However, two weeks after we started dating, I started noticing an immense amount of pain in my abdomen and, even more concerning, evidence of internal bleeding. I started losing weight at an alarming rate and was ultimately diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called ulcerative colitis. Effectively, my immune system goes into overdrive and starts attacking and causing ulcers and a crazy amount of inflammation in my large intestine. Unfortunately, I have a rather severe form of the disease that affects not just a part of the intestine, but the entire thing. As is common with autoimmune diseases, finding the therapy that worked for me took a long time. Because of the severity of my diagnosis, this ultimately led me to being hospitalized seven times in the first 18 months following the onset of my symptoms.
In addition to the pain, frustration, and confusion over what was happening, other things also started falling apart. A military career was now no longer an option for me. Because of the impact the disease was having on my body, I was sleeping 12-16 hours a day and was unable to continue pursuing my master's program. What is more, because of how the insurance I had purchased through the university was structured, it did not cover costs from chronic illnesses beyond $20,000. But through it all, God was working on my heart and my mind. He was showing me things about himself that I would likely never have learned had it not been for this. He was teaching me that my future job was not what defined me. Who I am in Jesus is what defines me. He was teaching me that the highest goal in life is not academic or professional achievement (I’m a bit of an A-type personality and struggle with making my life about accomplishments). Instead, He showed me that following Him is the highest purpose in life.
Now, perhaps the most incredible thing about this entire story is that Michaela stayed by my side throughout all of it. We had only recently started dating, but she was there for everything. I can still remember her voice as I was coming out of anesthesia after the scoping procedure that resulted in the diagnosis of the disease. I was insanely sick, my planned career was completely shattered, treatments weren’t working, and I had a sum of medical debt that was growing increasingly large. There were so many times when I felt absolutely lost and without hope. Yet, because of this community of people, especially Michaela, I was constantly reminded of God's goodness and how He works all things for the good of those who love Him, even if we don’t see it in the moment. The Bible was my source of refuge, reminding me of the eternal promises of God that transcend our momentary afflictions.
Things ultimately improved for me, and through a lot of help from my doctors and a lot of prayer, my condition was able to be controlled. There were still some rough points, and I experienced the occasional flare-up, but things returned to normal. Michaela and I got married, we found a way to pay off the medical debt, and life seemed to be going just fine. But what I didn’t know at the time was that as I was going through all my medical issues and seeing Michaela’s character displayed, God was showing me what it means to stand beside somebody as they are suffering.
About two years after we got married, Michaela started showing symptoms of something, but the doctors couldn’t figure out what it was. Finally, they had her stay on a heart monitor for an extended time, and the results were so concerning that the hospital in Laramie told us that we needed to come to the hospital here in Cheyenne because they were not prepared to deal with whatever the issue was. When Michaela arrived here, they took an Xray, and they found out that there was a mass about 12cm in diameter in her chest next to her heart. We were once again told that she needed to go to another hospital because the one here had no idea what was going on. However, this time, she had to travel via ambulance. We had come in the same vehicle, but as she was leaving in an ambulance, I followed in the car we brought over. It was such a good thing that it was the middle of the night because I was an absolute mess. If there had been any traffic whatsoever, I probably would have crashed. On that drive, I was confronted with an absolutely petrifying truth. There was nothing I could do for my wife but pray. I was helpless in the face of whatever it was that she had to face. I could not protect her, and I could not save her. And this was an earth-shattering realization for me. Of course, we all intellectually know that our time here is limited and that when it is time for us to leave this world, there is nothing we can do to stop it for ourselves or those we love. However, facing that reality directly is an entirely different notion. The radical realization that I had was that in this situation, she was entirely in the Lord’s hands. The even more radical realization I would only have reflecting later on, was that this is true every moment of every day. I just don’t live like it.
To capture this idea in his book The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” This has been precisely my experience. The eternal truths that God exists, that we desperately need Him, and that He alone is sufficient for all our needs are sometimes most clearly heard when we are in our most desperate times of need.
Upon arriving at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, we learned that the mass was a tumor, and it was an advanced stage of lymphoma. The doctors recommended that she start an aggressive form of chemotherapy immediately. We didn’t have time to go home and talk about it. We didn’t have time to prepare in case the therapy made it difficult or impossible to have kids. It was almost as if everything had been put onto tracks, and we were just along for the ride. Now, soon after all of this happened a good friend of mine who has been a mentor in many ways to me came by and prayed with us. Her prayers included pleas for healing, comfort, and everything else we typically lift up to God during these types of events. However, she prayed something else as well. She prayed that our hearts and minds would be open to what God had to teach us during this time of trial. It literally felt like a physical switch turned in my head. Despite all that I had been through, and all God had done in my own heart during my battles with illness, I had not stopped to consider that God may have something to teach us here as well. And teach He did. I learned how incredibly strong of a woman He made when He created my wife. I learned that I am not sufficient for her; only Jesus is. I learned that life can be extraordinarily fleeting and what we consider normal and act like will go on forever can end in an instant.
Michaela spent the following months going to Denver for a week of treatment every three weeks. I tagged along and slept on the pullout bed on the couch in her room. That was our lives for almost four months: two weeks at home and one in the hospital. When I had to travel for work, her mom took my place. Now, you may be wondering who the better caretaker in our relationship is when the other is undergoing adversity. The answer is Michaela. You may also be wondering who deals with suffering better. The answer is also Michaela.
Ultimately, Michaela completed the chemo regimen and has been in full remission for almost 10 years. Despite not being able to make alternative preparations, we have two incredible boys who are miracles in the fullest sense of the word. It can be easy to praise God and extol His greatness when things work out the way we hope and pray they will. However, there will come a day when I and everybody else whom I love will draw in their last breath. And in those moments, God still deserves all the glory and all the praise. I want to relay one more story before I wrap up about one of those times.
My stepmom’s father, my grandfather, or as we called him, Papou (that part of my family is Greek), had been extremely sick for a long time. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt. His wife, my Yaiyia, was a missionary in Kenya when he proposed to her in a letter. After starting their young family, they moved to Athens so he could pastor a church while they served as missionaries. When they moved back to the States, their home was always a place of love where all were welcome. Toward the end of his life, he was unable to care for or even feed himself and had to be placed in a home to receive the care he needed. As the end of his life was drawing ever closer, he came down with a severe infection that left him almost entirely incapacitated. One day, some of our dearest family friends were visiting him. As they prepared to leave, everybody gathered to pray, potentially for the last time, over this man who had lived his life faithfully for God. However, before anybody else had a chance to speak, this saint (by the way, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are a saint as well) who could not feed himself or even sit up started to pray. I was not there to hear these words, but they still reverberate in the deepest part of my being more than a decade later. “Our precious heavenly father,” he said, “we just can’t thank you enough. You have been so good to us.”
That is the strength that a life lived in the service and love of God bestows upon a person. The Christian lives not in quiet resignation in the face of a world that can be so cruel and cause so much suffering. Instead, the Christian can raise a triumphant cry that in our weakness, the strength of the Lord will be made perfect, and that is enough. We can, as Job did, bless the name of the Lord, come whatever may. We see this in the letter to the Corinthians:
9 But he [God] said to me [Paul], “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:9-11)
This is why Paul ends this passage with a reiteration of the gospel message. Even though each of us who follow Jesus has the real experience of having the Holy Spirit residing within us, there also is an objective truth for all to see. Christ came and died for us while we were still sinners. And this point is even more important than the point that we are physically broken and endure sufferings in this world. That point is that we are spiritually broken and separated from God, desperately in need of a Savior. Reflect with me on these closing verses.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Jesus did not wait until we were perfect and had everything figured out before he came to die in our place. Instead, he came when we were still in sin, weak, and enemies of God. Unlike us, who so often act out of self-regard or do something because we view somebody as good and deserving, Jesus came to save us while we were still standing in complete opposition to God. This is the incredible news of the gospel. As much pain and suffering, as much physical brokenness that we may experience in this world, it is nothing compared to the spiritual sickness we suffer because of our separation from God. We all were far from God before coming to Christ, but he died in our place regardless and rose again, conquering death. We are justified, reconciled, and saved by what he did. And if you don’t know Jesus yet, all you must do is accept him as your Lord and Savior and begin walking with him.
Before we leave, I wanted to review some of the things I have learned from other believers and scripture about how to endure times of suffering. None of this is groundbreaking, but it works.
- Don’t wait until you are in suffering to prepare – If you wait until the morning of a marathon to train, it won’t go well for you. The same is true here. If you wait until the moment of your trial to prepare, you are too late.
- Be in your Bible daily – The stories of those who suffer in scripture are incredibly instructive and helpful. The principles you will learn from this book will help you in your time of need. But I never would have had these verses constantly in my mind and nourishing my soul if I had not read them. God uses scripture to help His followers in their time of need.
- Build relationships with fellow believers—When Michaela and I have experienced times of suffering, it is the people of God, the Church, who have helped us more than anybody else. I have experienced the benefit of having somebody just come sit with you. Recently, while I was in the hospital, several friends visited throughout my stay. Mostly, we talked about the goodness of God. It helped me raise my eyes above my situation and stay focused on my Lord and Savior.
- Pray without ceasing – Pray for those who are going through trials. Ask others to pray for you as you endure suffering. The Church was designed so that each member could help one another. And as you pray, follow God’s Spirit in how you can help. If you feel drawn to visit somebody who is ailing, go. If you feel called to cook them a meal, do it.
- Look for what God is trying to teach you – Until our dying breath, we are running our race. As believers, we are walking down that narrow path that leads to Jesus. That path can be difficult and filled with obstacles sometimes. But even in our worst suffering, God is faithful, and He works all things for the good of those who love Him. If you let Him, He will develop in you: endurance, character, and a hope which will never be put to shame. Even in our greatest trials, He is still so incredibly good.
