New Suffering

30th of July, 1967, when she was 17 years old,

Johnny Erickson broke her neck diving into shallow water.

During the two years of her rehabilitation in hospital,

she said that she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts

and serious doubts about her faith in Jesus Christ.

She's written over 40 books since those days

and a regular conference speaker, advisor to US presidents,

so on and so forth, but she wrote this in a foreword

for another book around about five years ago.

When a broken neck ambushed my life and left me a quadriplegic,

I felt as though God had smashed me underfoot like a cigarette.

At night, I would thrash my head on the pillow,

hoping to break my neck at a higher level

and thereby ending my misery.

After I left hospital, I refused to get out of bed.

My paralysis was permanent and inside I died.

You don't have to be in a wheelchair to identify.

You already know that sad situations sometimes don't get better.

Problems don't always get solved.

Conflicts don't get fixed.

Children die.

Couples divorce and ultimate untimely deaths

rock our world and shake our faith.

When we feel utterly overwhelmed,

we try soaking in the tub,

sweating on the treadmill,

splurging on a new dress

or heading to the mountains for the weekend.

We smile and we say we are trusting God,

but deep down we know it's a lie.

We're only trusting that he won't load us up with more.

A remarkable woman

who has helped countless people

through the process of suffering

and navigating suffering.

She is the woman who once said,

I would rather be in a wheelchair for life with God

than on my two legs without him.

If you've just tuned in for us for the first time,

we're in our vision series,

annual vision series on new life.

The new life that we have in Jesus.

What we're doing is we're building up to Easter

where we are looking at resurrection life,

what it looks like for us right now

and how this new birth, new life in Jesus,

how it changes and transforms every aspect of our lives.

And today we're looking at a new way of viewing suffering,

managing suffering, experiencing suffering,

processing suffering.

So I've got four points on the St. Paul's app

if you want to go there.

The first one is the certainty of suffering.

I get that from verse six.

If in all this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief

in all kinds of trials.

Notice how that reads.

You may have had to suffer grief.

That statement is communicating a term

from the original language,

which means it is necessary to suffer grief.

It is necessary.

It's a certainty that you will suffer grief.

Peter is saying that suffering is a certainty

rather than a possibility.

That is, we live in a broken world

and so we should expect it

rather than be shocked when it happens.

Chapter four, verse 12, Peter says,

do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal

that has come upon you to test you

as though something strange were happening to you.

We should be prepared for suffering

because if we are not prepared for suffering,

then we're in fact not prepared for life.

We're not ready for life itself.

There is no way possible in this world

to create some kind of designer life

that is free from bereavement, illness,

financial challenges, personal betrayals,

and whole range of other trials.

Even Jesus, the perfect man,

suffered terribly to bring about God's redemptive purposes.

So why would we expect anything different for ourselves?

Sometimes I reckon that half of the pain

that I personally experience

when I suffer from a trial

is from the shock of actually going through it

in the first place.

It's because they're not expecting it.

And yet this world is deeply broken,

deeply, deeply broken.

So that raises the second point,

which is the problem of suffering.

Every single culture,

every single worldview

has to have some kind of response

to the reality of suffering,

the reality of trials

and the brokenness of this world.

If a worldview does not have a response to it,

it's a defective worldview there and then.

It's the issue

that every single human being faces,

rich or poor,

no matter what culture you are from.

So how does it deal

with the big question of suffering?

Human suffering poses questions like,

for instance, the Christian,

how could a loving God allow so much suffering?

How can the hypothesis of a loving, powerful God

stand against the crushing weight

of human suffering?

What's your worldview?

What's your answer to that question?

Well, the famous atheist Richard Dawkins

looks at all the weight of human suffering

and declares that our universe

has precisely the properties

we would expect,

we should expect,

if there is at bottom

no design,

no purpose,

no evil,

no good,

nothing but blind,

pitiless indifference.

That is the secular human response.

The atheistic response to human suffering

is that there is no meaning at all.

At all.

So what Dawkins does,

and Sam Harris and other,

you know,

more prominent atheists do,

and the atheistic worldview,

is that if you remove God

from the equation,

then what you have is relief.

The problem with human suffering

is God.

So take God out of the equation

and somehow you will have relief.

In other words,

there is no meaning,

there is no reason,

there is no hope,

so stop worrying about

trying to find some greater purpose in life

when you're in the midst of trauma and trial

and you'll feel better about yourself.

Already feeling relieved.

But it is an incredibly bleak view

of the universe.

It in fact erodes the very foundations

of which we balance life

and our humanness itself.

If there is no good

and there is no evil

and there is no purpose to it at all,

why is there in the human heart

an instinct to lament

in the face of suffering?

Why has evolution not removed that?

If that's all we are,

byproducts of evolution.

If human sympathy for others

is just simply a byproduct

of evolutionary kinship,

which is evolutionary biologists claim,

then why do we empathise

with the suffering

of those outside of our tribe?

Why do we even empathise

with suffering

even in the natural world?

Especially weaker beings

than human beings.

Why do we care about that?

You see, the irony is

that today

at the core of secular humanism

is that they don't actually believe

in human beings

any more than they believe

in a creator God.

That's the problem

with secular humanism.

The secular humanists,

for them,

both God

and humanity

is a delusion.

When you remove meaning

from suffering,

it doesn't

solve the problem.

It unravels

our humanity.

It unravels

our very sense of self.

secular humanism's

answer to suffering

leaves you

with no hope

whatsoever.

Human beings

are nothing more

than little kids

trying to build

sandcastles

in the face

of a relentless

rising tide.

Your life

is purposeless.

And so let me just say,

and I say this

with all gentleness,

but with intention,

if that is your worldview,

if that is your worldview,

and especially right now,

and I say this pastorally to you,

if that is your worldview,

and right now

you are in the face

of suffering,

can I please

encourage you

in this moment

not to reach

for the placebos

of false hope?

Too many

who hold to

the secular human worldview

will still say

things like

the universe

has got some kind

of plan in this.

It's not

God's got some kind

of plan,

but the universe

has got some kind

of plan

in my suffering.

It's a placebo

and nothing more

for you

in the face

of suffering.

If there is

no God

and we still

suffer,

there is

no universe

to care.

There is

no purpose

in the universe

for your suffering.

There is

nothing but

blind,

pitiless

indifference

for you

in the face

of your suffering.

And I'm saying

this gently.

You are doing

yourself

an enormous

favour

in the midst

of your suffering

as a secular

humanist

to stare

in the abyss

of your worldview.

Do not reach

for placebos.

Stare

into the abyss

of your worldview

and all

of its

implications

rather than

reaching for

platitudes

that are

inconsistent

with your

worldview.

Well,

that's

one side.

One other

alternative,

one of the

favourite

options

in the

Western world

these days,

those who

are dissatisfied

with Christianity

on the one

end,

but not wanting

to jump

entirely

into the

bleakness

of a secular

humanist worldview

on the other

end,

is to go

middle way

and go for

Buddhism

and its

response

of suffering.

Buddhism's

response

to the

inevitability

of suffering

is to

break the

ties of

attachment

that bind

us to

life.

In other

words,

in Buddhism,

to love

is to be

vulnerable

and to be

vulnerable

is to

hurt.

To desire

and to

strive for

things is

to risk

disappointment.

I won't

go into

unpacking

it all,

but again,

you end up

with the

same problem.

to detach

yourself

from love,

from striving,

from desire,

is in fact

to detach

yourself

from everything

that's joyous

in life,

purposeful

in life,

and therefore

detach yourself

once again

from your

humanness.

So let me

just jump

to my

third point.

What's the

Christian

response?

I want to

say the

Christian

response

is very

broadly

a good

potential

for

suffering.

Despite

the

inevitability

of

suffering,

Christianity

declares

there is

a good

potential.

The

Christian

worldview

says

that we

can

pursue

desire

against

Buddhism,

we can

pursue

desire,

we can

cling

to

attachment,

we can

strive

for good

things,

while also

finding meaning

in the

suffering

that comes

to us,

as well

as hope

for the

future

in the

midst

of that

suffering.

Peter

gives us

a really

helpful

image of

suffering

here,

and it

would do

well for

us to

reflect on

it for

a moment.

Verse 7

of chapter

1.

Gold,

I don't

know really

anything about

mining,

so this

is Google

for you,

right?

Gold

goes through

a furnace

and is

purified.

What Paul

is saying

here is the

same thing

happens to

our faith

and to

our lives,

to our

character,

when we

go through

suffering.

It's good

because our

faith is

far more

valuable than

gold,

so we

should want

to go

through it

because it's

more precious

than gold.

Gold,

in the end,

will disappear

like everything

else on the

face of this

earth.

earth,

but faith

in Jesus

Christ will

not disappear.

It will be

on for

eternity,

so this is

a good

process for

us,

preparing us

for that

day in

his presence.

The

furnace,

the gold

furnace,

does not

destroy the

gold,

but it

deals with

the impurities.

The

furnace

separates

the valuable

gold from

the worthless

impurities.

It

separates the

impurities in

such a way

that what it

does is it

brings the

impurities to

the surface

so they

can be

seen and

removed.

What Peter's

saying here

is that our

faith and

our lives

have lots of

impurities in

them.

In so many

cases, we

have this

mixture of

faith in

Jesus Christ

and yet at

the same

time, faith

in other

things as

well.

Faith in

relationships

and in

status and

in children

and our

financial

security and

the list

goes on

and on

and on.

The New

Testament, the

Old Testament

refers to it

as idolatry.

We worship

God, but we

also worship

these other

things as

well.

We look to

these particular

things to

give us

meaning, our

self-worth, our

self-esteem, our

self-image in

life.

Whatever it

is, that's

what we trust.

That's where

our faith is.

They can even

be great

things.

But we

overinvest

our hearts

in them

and they

become things

that we

hope in.

And whenever

any of those

things, whatever

it might be

for us,

whenever any

of those

things are

rocked, we

feel so

fragile in

life.

We feel

fragile because

the things

that we have

our trust in

are so

fragile.

Their

impurities

rising to

the surface.

They're

fragile because

everything in

this world is

fragile.

And the

furnace of

life, suffering,

rises to the

surface, the

fragility of

what we have

put our hope

in.

The furnace of

life shows us

just how little

we actually

trust in

Jesus Christ.

suffering shows

us that

his love

and his

power is

often not

real to us.

And when

this happens,

there's really

only two ways

to respond.

Either it's

the case of

God, you

are not

enough for

me right

now, and

I've got to

also have

my wealth,

I've also

got to have

my reputation,

I've got to

have my

beauty, I've

got to have

the accolades,

I've got to

have the

status.

Or it's a

case of

holding on

to God and

asking him

to purify

you so

that he is

your greatest

wealth, he

is your

greatest

stability, he

is your

acceptance, he

is your

love, he

is your

status.

And in the

midst of

suffering, you

hold on to

him, I

want to know

you, God,

in a way that

I've never

known you

before.

And that

is why

suffering has

the potential

to turn us

into pure

gold.

For

instance,

suffering

humbles you

and gives

you a far

more self-knowledge

than you've

ever had

before.

Suffering

teaches you

not to

over-invest

your heart

into good

things in

such a way

that they

become ultimate

things.

Suffering

significantly

enhances your

experience of

God's love

in his

presence.

Suffering

makes you

more wise

and compassionate,

loving and

generally,

and might I

say this as

well,

generally more

useful to

other people,

especially

those who are

suffering

themselves.

A couple

of weeks

ago I

used the

illustration

of the

forester

going in

to cut

trees

and there's

a bird

building a

nest and

he's

whacking

on the

tree.

Get off

there.

This

tree's

about to

fall.

I'm

going to

cut it

down and

the bird

flies to

the next

one.

So he

whacks on

that tree

and whacks

on the

other one

and then

whacks

on the

other one

and sometimes

we have

the experience

of that

with God.

God,

what are

you doing?

Like this

little bird,

what's your

problem,

lumberjack?

What are you

doing here?

And what

he's doing

each time

is he's

moving us

from every

tree that's

going to

fall until

we eventually

land.

And the

bird notices

when the

bird sits

on the

rock and

builds its

nest on

the rock.

Lumberjack

leaves him

alone.

That's what

God does

for us in

life.

That's what

suffering

moves us

to a

deeper,

deeper

security.

The only

hope is

Jesus

Christ.

Malcolm

Muggeridge

was an

English

journalist

in the

last

century.

He was

an

agnostic

most of

his life,

but he

became a

Christian

late in

life in

his 60s.

When he

was 75

and reflecting

on the

numerous

challenges

that he

faced in

life,

some,

in fact,

I would

probably say

many were

self-inflicted

challenges he

faced in

life.

He wrote

this,

I can

say with

complete

truthfulness

that everything

I've learned

in my 75

years in

this world,

everything that

has truly

enhanced and

enlightened my

existence has

been through

affliction and

not through

happiness,

whether pursued

or attained.

In other

words, if it

ever were to

be possible to

eliminate affliction

from our

earthly existence

by means of

some drug or

other medical

mumbo-jumbo,

the result

would not be

to make life

delectable,

but to make

it so banal

and trivial

to be

endurable.

This, of

course, is

what the cross

signifies,

and it is the

cross more

than anything

else that has

called me

inexorably to

Christ.

So my last

point is how

do we pursue

this good

potential in

life?

Notice

there's three

things in

some verses

here that I

want to pull

out, and

there's multiple

things, I

just want to

mention three.

These are, if

you like, three

disciplines to

pursue in

order to

experience the

positive outcome

of suffering in

our life.

The first

thing, really

simply, is

cry.

Is cry.

Verse six,

in all this

you greatly

rejoice, even

though now for

a little while

you may have

to suffer

grief in

all kinds

of trials.

When Peter

writes, in

all this you

greatly rejoice,

he's referring

to what he

said previously

here, all the

great things

that are gifted

to the

Christian,

gifts of

new birth, a

living hope in

Jesus, resurrection,

all the stuff

he's referred to.

And then he

writes about all

the kinds of

trials in the

present, the

bad things that

are happening,

loss, bereavement,

relational

breakdowns,

betrayals.

In all these

bad things, he

says we

suffer grief.

And the

word that he

uses there for

grief is a

word that

means agonising

pain.

Agonising

pain.

He says we

hurt.

We hurt

deeply.

And yet at

the same

time we

hurt deeply,

he's saying

that the

Christian is

rejoicing.

They're in

searing pain

and rejoicing.

And both

words are

present tenses

in the original

language.

They are

happening at

exactly the

same time.

Rejoicing and

searing pain at

exactly the

same time.

time.

I think

too many

Christians think

that rejoicing

in the midst

of suffering

is what

some Greek

philosophers would

be called

stoicism.

The

stoics in

Greek culture,

and in fact I

would say many

shame and

honour cultures

that exist

today,

work with

the view

that when

trials come

you just

simply don't

let it get

to you.

Don't let

it get to

you.

I can't

tell you how

many people

I've heard as

a pastor when

in the midst

of trial and

suffering I've

asked them

how are you

managing,

I'm not

letting it

get to

me.

The point

of 1 Peter

is let

it get to

you.

Let it

get to you.

It's not

Christianity,

stoicism is

not Christianity

and secondly

it's not

even healthy.

Read the

book of

Job.

It's a

great bit

of advice

in the midst

of suffering.

He

wrenches

his robes

and covers

himself with

ash.

Seven days

he sits on

an ash heap

mourning

in such a

way,

in such

mourning

that his

friends see

him and

don't even

recognise

him.

They

don't even

go near

him.

He

wrestles

with God

throughout

the book.

He

complains

to God

throughout

the book.

He

didn't run

from God,

he directed

it all

to God.

He was

pouring his

life out

to him and

at the end

of the book

God vindicates

him.

It's a

remarkable

thing.

At the end

of Job,

God slams

his mates

and says

that my

servant Job

was faithful

to me.

The first

principle is

when you

hurt,

hurt.

Cry.

Cry out

to God.

Stoicism

is not

Christianity.

The second

principle,

is keeping

a clear

conscience.

I get

that from

chapter 3

verse 16

that Merle

read out

for us.

Do this

with gentleness

and respect,

keeping a

clear conscience

so that

those who

speak

maliciously

against your

good behaviour

in Christ

may be ashamed

of their

slander.

What's the

connection

here?

Chapter 3

is talking

about suffering.

The suffering

of being

persecuted.

It's a particular

kind of suffering.

The suffering

of being persecuted

because of

your faith

in Jesus

Christ.

It was

very real

in Peter's

day and

for those

who are

reading this

letter for

the first

time.

So the

instruction

here

basically

is do

not return

like for

like.

Don't lie,

don't attack,

don't destroy

reputations.

Keep a

clear conscience.

Continue to

live the

Christian life,

obey God.

Now one of

the things that

happens,

the reason I'm

raising this

as a

principle,

one of the

things that

happens,

and Johnny

Erickson has

already raised

this in the

quote that I

just read out

to you earlier,

is that when

something happens

to you,

self-pity

kicks in.

And self-pity

justifies

everything.

Self-pity,

the sweating

it out on

the treadmill,

the escapes

to the

mountains,

whatever

Johnny Erickson

said,

all those

things,

the purchasing

of new

items,

because of

this,

what I've

been through,

I deserve

a new

couch.

I deserve

this.

And as a

pastor,

let me tell

you that I've

heard people

over the

years justify

even

adultery.

because of

their suffering

in life.

Keep a clear

conscience.

Run to God.

When you're

going through

trial, be very

careful about the

voice in your

head that says,

I deserve this.

All that I've

been through,

my, you know,

all of my bad

choices right now,

my bad behaviour,

it's all warranted.

I deserve

this.

So cry,

but keep a

clear conscience.

Trust and obey.

Keep doing

things that God

requires you.

Keep taking

your next steps

of faith.

Again,

as a pastor,

over three

decades,

the number of

people in the

midst of suffering,

how much they

pull back.

how they pull

back out of a

community group,

pull back out

from church,

pull back from

I'm just going

through a hard

season right now.

And so they

pull back and

pull back and

pull back and

pull back and

pull back.

Be careful of

those voices in

your head that

say, right now,

because of what

I'm suffering,

I deserve

this.

The third

principle to

pursue suffering

is to look to

the suffering of

Jesus Christ.

Take a look at

chapter 3,

verse 18.

For Christ

also suffered

once for sins,

the righteous for

the unrighteous to

bring you to

God.

Now,

we've been

talking here,

Peter's been

talking about

gold being

refined in

fire,

in a fiery

furnace.

The Bible

tells the story

of the fiery

furnace in

Daniel chapter

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

3 in the

Old Testament.

It's the

story of

three young

Jewish men,

Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego.

A decree

had been

put out

through the

entire Babylonian

empire,

where they were

captives at this

particular point,

to bow down and

worship an

image,

an idol made

of Nebuchadnezzar.

And so,

Rakshak and

Benny refused

to do it.

They refused to

bow down to

this image,

and Nebuchadnezzar,

the king,

was absolutely

livid.

He gave

instructions for

these three

guys to be

bound up,

tied up,

for the fiery

furnace to be

heated beyond

it had ever

been heated

before,

and for the

three of them

to be thrown

in and burnt

to a crisp.

The fire was

heated so hot

that the

soldiers who

grabbed them

to throw them

in were

instantaneously

killed.

And so

Nebuchadnezzar

gets to a

point,

he expects

to see

these three

guys sizzling

in the

barbecue,

but instead,

instead we

read this,

Nebuchadnezzar

leapt to his

feet in

amazement and

asked his

advisors,

weren't there

three men

that we tied

up and threw

into the

fire?

They replied,

certainly,

your majesty.

Look,

I see four

men walking

around in the

fire.

They're unbounded,

unharmed,

and the

fourth looks

like the

son of the

gods.

Notice,

didn't we tie

up three?

Well,

I'm now

noticing four

untied and

unharmed.

In the Old

Testament,

there's a

figure called

the angel of

the Lord,

not a

angel of the

Lord,

but the

angel of

the Lord.

And when

that figure

turns up,

he speaks

as God

and embodies

God.

Now,

most commentators

agree that

it is a

manifestation

of Jesus

Christ,

the Son of

God in

the Old

Testament.

And the

point is

simply this,

very simply,

when Jesus

walks with

you through

the furnace,

when he is

with you in

the furnace,

the only

thing that

comes off,

the only

thing that

comes off

is the

shackles that

bind you and

imprison you.

that's the

only thing

that comes

off.

The

impurities

rise to

the surface,

the things

that controlled

you,

the things

that addicted

you,

the things

that are

too important

to you.

If Jesus

is with

you,

you will

only come

out of

the furnace

free,

unharmed,

pure gold.

That is the

only thing

that will

happen to

you.

And how

do we

cling to

him in

the midst

of the

furnace?

Verse 18,

for Christ

also

suffered.

Christianity

is the

only religion

in the

world that

says that

God knows

personally and

firsthand the

fiery furnace

of suffering.

The only

one.

The Greek

philosopher

Aristotle once

said that it

would be

impossible for

there to be

any friendship

between a

God and

a human

being because

they don't

have anything

in common

at all.

Christianity

says the

exact opposite.

The God

who made

all things,

who took

on human

likeness in

the person

of Jesus

Christ,

suffered.

He knows

betrayal.

He knows

abuse.

He knows

rejection.

He knows

death.

He knows

physical

suffering.

He knows

it all.

He knew

what it

was to be

abandoned on

the cross.

Jesus

Christ and

him alone

can be our

consoling

friend and

our sure

hope in

the furnace

of suffering

in life

because he

himself went

into the

ultimate

furnace.

for Christ

also

suffered

once for

all for

the sins

of people,

the righteous

for the

unrighteous

to bring

you to

God.

That's the

ultimate

furnace.

The

white hot

anger of

God for

our rejection

of God.

The only

sinless one

suffered for

our sin.

He got

everything we

deserve.

if we

see him

going into

the ultimate

furnace for

you, if

you can

see that,

then you

can know

that he

is your

safety in

the furnace

of life.

If he

suffered

infinitely for

me,

then the

reality is I

can suffer

infinitely for

him, or

sorry,

finitely for

him right

now.

He is

reliable,

he is

trustworthy,

his word

is true,

and as we

journey through

the Christian

life with

a sure

expectation of

trials and

suffering,

our posture

is to be

one looking

to him

and him

alone.

A posture

that might

pray something

like this,

Jesus, you

came into

this world,

you identified

with me,

you went

into the

ultimate

furnace for

me,

you suffered

and you

died for

me,

glory,

but you

also rose

triumphantly

in spectacular

glory,

you triumphed

over sin

and evil

and death

and because

of your

triumph,

you promise

a time

is coming

just around

the corner

where in

your presence

there will

be no longer

any fiery

furnaces,

just the

cool,

sweet,

delight of

your presence

and your

purity.

And so in

the midst

of this

suffering right

now,

Jesus,

hold me,

hold me,

teach me,

strengthen me

to obey you

and walk

with you

until the

great day

of blessing

comes.

Amen.

Maybe pray

a prayer like

that.

Every day.

Every day.