Week Three - Observation 1

Starting our third week of studying the material in "Living Victoriously in Difficult Times" by Kay Arthur and Bob & Diane Vereen.  I hope you're finding this study applicable to the difficult times we're going through and also for preparing our lives to endure even more difficult times, should they come.  Trusting all our days to our heavenly Father - He alone knows what our futures bring.

This week is going to pose a question that has been asked by people for countless years:  Why does God allow people, especially believers in Him, to suffer and why does He permit pain in our lives?

Have you ever wondered that?  Why do such good people go through such hard times and why are people around the world being slaughtered because they believe in Him?  Where is God and why does He allow this to happen?  The problem of ongoing suffering and pain in the world is one of the main arguments that atheists will throw at you - "why does your God allow all of this?"  That's what we're going to try to answer this week.

The verse we're going to memorize this week is:  

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."  Romans 8:18

OBSERVATION:

John 15:18-21  "If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world the world would love you as its own.  However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.  Remember the word I spoke 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 also keep yours.  But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, because they don't know the One who sent Me."

1 Peter 2:18-21  "Household slaves, submit your selves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the cruel.  For it brings favor if, because of conscience toward God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.  For what credit is there if you endure when you sin and are beaten?  But when you do good and suffer, if you endure, it brings favor with God.  For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps.

Just by reading through these passages of Scripture, can you tell this is going to be a hard lesson  These words are so counter-culture, especially right now in our current class divisions and racial strife.  Some of the ideas presented really go against us --- what do we do with that when we feel differently than what the Bible says?  We dig.  We look at it again and see true meanings and we do our very best to not change that true meaning to fit what we want Scripture to say to us.

First Jesus tells us that it is going to be quite natural for Christians to be hated and to be persecuted.  Why?  Because we should be opposed to the natural world, just as Jesus was.  The world has a different agenda than we should have as Christians, and people of the world are going to fight against us because of that.  If Jesus, our Master and the One completely perfect man who ever lived, was hated and reviled because of His nature, and if we are supposed to be conforming to His nature, how is the world going to react to us?  Why should opposers of Christ treat us any better than they treated Him.  If we have truly established Christ as the Master of our lives, than we can expect nothing good from the people of the world who crucified Him.  They have never known our Father God, and they do not know His Son.  We do - and they don't like what we have to say or how we choose to live.

Peter admonishes slaves, or sometimes translated servants.  And this is the passage that is hardest for us to understand and apply.  It really seems as if Peter is saying that God will give favor to those who are treated cruelly by their masters without striking back or being upset about it.  Look at the caveat in this passage though, "if, because of conscience toward God."  Just being meek and taking a beating  (particularly one that may be well deserved for misbehavior) doesn't bring God's favor, but "if, because of conscience toward God" a servant has behaved in a manner that is in line with his Christian beliefs and his obligation to Jesus, and that behavior is met with cruel treatment from the master, than that suffering brings the servant into God's favor and the support of the Holy Spirit in the suffering.  That's the way I am reading through this passage - I am very interested in what your thoughts are!

If we are doing good, if we are living Christ-honoring lives, being a light in this dark world, and we endure through it, God takes note.  Don't ever think He doesn't.  

In all things, Christ is our example.  He is our example in suffering as well.  Don't ever think that we are guaranteed an earthly life without suffering.  Christ suffered for us - we may well suffer for His name.  And should it be so, we are honored to do so.  Quite different from religions who promise eternal reward for acts of violence, murder and hatred - we Christians are asked to suffer for our Master by following Him in suffering, and some, even through martyrdom.  

These are hard truths to accept - that God not only allows us to suffer for Christ, but tells us to expect it.  Why?  Is He the cause?  Never - it is because the world does not know Him, the world opposes everything about God and His love for mankind.  And we are part of this great force that the world holds in such disregard and hatred.  "In this world, we will have trouble" because this world is not our home.  

                                                      

Keep our eyes on the prize!  We will go home to where all will live in perfect alignment because all will be serving the same Master!  

Let me know your thoughts!  Just to keep things simpler, please just e-mail comments to me at janicehodges1356@gmail.com.  I'll bring them over to the blog - it seems some people are having problems commenting directly to the blog.  I really want to hear from you! 

In His Amazing Love,

Janice