Hope when life hurts - follow up

For those of you in Hrlow Group you'll know during our crazy summer we've spent the last two weeks listening to Louie Giglio talk from John 16 about how to cope when life hurts.

Yesterday whilst reading several Blogs I read PJ's Blog and was interested and inspired that he also quotes John 16. Please see a copy from his blog below which i'd recommend reading

When it comes to dark days, it is vital to put on the Kevlar before the first shot is fired…

All this I have told you so that you will not go astray…I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (The first and final verses of John 16)

Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… (Eph 6:13-14)

After 25 years of giving regular sermons and Bible studies, I have a huge folder on my laptop containing 50 sub-folders of different themes, containing every presentation that I have ever done. One of these sub-folders is simply entitled, “Tough Times”, and before my diagnosis with cancer it contained 40 messages or articles on this theme by me. And, because I have preached some of them in different contexts, we can safely say that I have averaged preaching on the theme of suffering twice a year for 25 years.

I am so glad that God graciously allowed me to get anchored in truth before the storm, rather than having to flounder around for anchors after it hit. Although initially shocked, I was not for a moment surprised (1 Pet 4:12) that a storm had hit because Jesus promised us that we would have trouble in this world (Jn 16:33), and I have been able to stand firm in certain knowledge of what the bible teaches about dark times.

D.A. Carson writes:

One of the major causes of devastating grief and confusion among Christians is that our expectations are false. We do not give the subject of evil and suffering the thought it deserves until we ourselves are confronted with tragedy. If by that point our beliefs - not well thought out but deeply ingrained - are largely out of step with God, then the pain from the personal tragedy may be multiplied many times over as we begin to question the very foundations of our faith. (DA Carson; How Long, O Lord?)

How Long Oh Lord

The foundation of our faith is the integrity of God. Interestingly, when suffering hits biblical characters, they often seem more concerned about the integrity of God than the issue itself. For example, Martha’s first words to Jesus after the death of Lazarus were “Where were you…?” (Jn 11:21) not “I thought everyone was supposed to get healed!”. When caught in a storm on the lake, the disciples woke Jesus and instead of crying “Save us!” they asked “don’t you care if we drown?” (Mk 4:38).

“Where were you, God? Don’t you care?” These are cries of anguish from those surprised by storms, who are yet to develop their own trust of the character of God in seasons of suffering. Without a clear theology of storms, you may find yourself subjected to a double burden – the burden that makes you suffer, as well as the burden of disillusionment with the integrity of God. A double load like that can be brutal.

I want to recommend to you the benefits of putting on your Kevlar body armour before the bullets start to fly, and I hope my blogs in the coming weeks will help you to do just that…