Present Suffering, Future Glory

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Today's reading is from the letter of Paul to the Romans, chapter 8, verses 16 through 28, as printed in the liturgy or on page 916 of the Blue Church Bibles.

Romans 8:16–28

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Now, if we are children, then we are heirs.

Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

If, indeed, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,

in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay

and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning, as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly

as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope, we were saved.

But hope that is seen is no hope at all.

Who hopes for what they already have?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Well, thank you for that scripture reading, Michael.

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Andrew, and I'm one of the pastors here.

And I'm looking forward to opening up this word from God with you this morning.

Will you join me in prayer?

Lord God, I want to give you praise.

Because you know that this week when I was working on this sermon, it just felt like duty.

But by your Spirit and through the prayers of your people, you turned it into a delight.

And I pray that those who hear your word this morning would taste how delightful your word is.

How good the good news of the gospel is in Christ.

So would you do that amongst us, amongst your people.

For your glory we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right, so we've been taking our time.

We've been going through chapter 8 of Paul's letter to the church in Rome.

And last week we left off in verses 17 and 18 with some really good news.

Michael just read it.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs.

Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

It's great news.

It's great news.

It's great news.

It's great news.

It's great news.

But then just as soon as we read this good news, that we are God's children, co-heirs with Christ,

Paul continues, if indeed we share in his sufferings.

in order that we may also share in his glory.

And all of a sudden, it's like, wait, what?

God's children will still suffer?

What kind of an all-powerful and loving father

would allow his children to suffer?

What kind of a good parent would write suffering

into the stories of his children?

As a pastor of care here,

I know many of the sufferings that are in this room,

in our church family,

and I know that this is not just an abstract,

theoretical question for many of us,

but a deeply personal one.

And why would God let anyone,

and especially his children, suffer?

And maybe this is why some of you don't believe in God,

or some of you have trouble believing in God.

It's why my own best friend has walked away from God,

because he can't believe in the coexistence

of God and suffering.

Now, I don't want to mislead you.

Today's sermon is not going to directly engage

with the problem of God and suffering.

You're going to have to wait a month or so

for Jonathan to tackle that one.

I just raised the questions here.

He's going to tackle that one in our Explore God series

in just a few weeks.

I think it's sermon number three,

so you can mark your calendars for that.

December 8th, I mean, October 8th,

why does God allow pain and suffering?

But for today, I'm simply going to assume

that God and suffering somehow coexist.

And the question I believe Paul addresses

in our text today is,

in the face of suffering,

what good is being a child of God?

In the face of suffering,

what good is being a child of God?

Like, how does being a child of God

make a difference for those of us who suffer?

And what resources are uniquely available

to God's children in the midst of their suffering?

Now, according to Paul,

being a child of God makes all the difference

in the world.

But in case you beg to differ,

I want to ask you to consider

what better resources do you have

to face pain and suffering in your life?

Because, you know, we can bash Christianity

for not giving us satisfying answers

to the problem of pain and suffering,

but no matter who we are

and no matter how many religious traditions

we might reject or critique,

at the end of the day,

we're still all left with the same problem

and the same absence of answers.

I mean, sure, maybe some take the mindfulness route, right,

and try to trick themselves into believing

that their suffering is not that bad

or just an illusion.

Or others take the materialist, atheist route

like Richard Dawkins,

who claims that suffering is neither good

nor evil nor meaningful,

but just a bare, neutral fact of reality.

But for the rest of us, right,

the majority of us who are probably unconvinced

that suffering is a mere illusion

or a meaningless fact of reality,

we know that we need the resources

to live meaningfully through our pain

and through our suffering.

And the problem for most of us, though,

is that this modern Western culture

that we swim in offers us little to no resources

or explanations for our suffering.

Like everywhere around us,

we're told that the meaning of life

is to pursue pleasure through consumption

or to pursue personal freedom

so that we can consume whatever we want.

But this has left us incredibly soft

and ill-equipped and vulnerable

in our attempts to handle the harshness

of this broken world.

You know, there's this renowned surgeon.

His name is Paul Brand.

He worked with lepers,

people who suffered from leprosy in India

for many years.

But then he moved and he started to practice

in the United States.

And what he writes is this.

He writes,

And the reason he suggests

is that if consumerism,

the pursuit of pleasure and freedom

through consumption

is the very meaning,

the ultimate meaning of our lives,

that then suffering can ever only be

an interruption in our lives,

an unfortunate, meaningless, useless chapter

in our poorly self-written stories, right?

A wasted page in our storybooks,

just purposeless chance misfortune.

But you know what?

The good news of God's word to us today

is that God is a better story writer

and God has a better plot for his children,

one that can even make meaning out of suffering,

subvert suffering,

redeem suffering for our good

and for the glory of God.

Notice in verse 17,

the narrative arc there,

Now if we are children,

then we are heirs,

heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,

if indeed we share in his sufferings

in order that we may also share in his glory.

See, if we are children of God,

if the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead

has united us with God's crucified and risen Son,

we have an incredible resource

with which we can face suffering.

And so God's word to us today is this,

that though God's children

will never avoid suffering,

we always groan with hope

and we never groan alone.

Though God's children will never avoid suffering,

we always groan with hope

and we never groan alone.

And those are our three points,

that no, sorry,

God's children never avoid suffering,

but they always groan with hope

and never alone.

So point number one,

even God's children never avoid suffering.

Even God's children groan.

Here in verses 17 and 18,

you can look at it with me.

Paul strips his readers of any notion

that God's children enjoy

the special privilege of a life without suffering.

And Paul would even say

that the greatest possible privilege

isn't the absence of suffering,

but the presence of God.

Fellowship with the Father and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

And maybe to some of us,

this is incredibly disappointing, right?

Especially for those of us

who are on the fence

about whether or not we want to follow Jesus

and have him in our lives.

But if we pay attention

to what Paul's saying here

in verses 17 and 18,

he has something incredibly profound to say

about our present sufferings.

And listen, when he says in verse 18,

excuse me,

that these present sufferings

are not worth comparing

with the glory that will be revealed,

he's not trying to be all saccharine

or like some kind of, you know,

pie-in-the-sky, optimistic preacher

just telling us that there's a silver lining

in all our sufferings.

No, Paul doesn't downplay our groaning.

He doesn't downplay our suffering.

But he does want to put it

in proper perspective,

in proper context.

See, when Paul not only admits,

but he foretells

that even God's children suffer,

he's making a provocative suggestion.

And that suggestion is that

the chief and the man

is not to not suffer.

And maybe that's a word for us this morning, right?

Us Americans, us Westerners,

are we living our lives guided

by the ultimate principle

of avoiding suffering?

Or are we living our lives guided

by the ultimate person

who may very well call us to suffer

just like he did

for the good of others

and for the glory of God?

Are we working our jobs

guided by the principle

of doing as little work as we can

for as much money as we can,

just trying to minimize our inputs,

maximize our outputs?

Or are we selflessly

and sacrificially going to our jobs

with the goal of bearing fruitful witness

to the kingdom of God

and the lordship of Jesus Christ?

Are we raising our kids

guided by the principle

of seeing them suffer

as little as possible?

Or by the principle

of seeing them grow

into the fullness

and maturity

of Jesus Christ

as his disciples?

Paul is making

a counter-cultural statement here

that the chief end

of our existence

is not to not suffer,

but actually

it may very well

involve suffering.

And this is even more

counter-cultural, right?

Contrary to modern

Western secular thought,

which only understands suffering

as an interruption

and an obstacle

to us living our best

and fullest lives.

Paul is saying

that there is such a thing

as a full and meaningful,

satisfying,

and significant life

that the worst suffering

cannot take away from us.

He's saying

that suffering

is not the ultimate enemy

or it's not the ultimate enemy

of the fullest,

most meaningful lives

we could possibly live,

but perhaps

even a necessary part

of the glory stories

God's writing for us.

And maybe you're thinking like,

man, that's a lofty claim.

And you doubt the basis

of such a claim

and to that,

Paul would point you

to the Son of God,

Jesus Christ,

innocent and blameless

in the entirety

of his life,

the most beloved

of God's children,

and yet the one

who faced the most

literally excruciating

suffering of all time.

Just read the prophet Isaiah,

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

chapter 53,

he bore the curse

of our sin,

he bore our griefs,

he carried our sorrows,

he was stricken,

smitten,

and afflicted by God,

his own father,

as he bore our sins

in his body,

pierced for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities,

wounded,

chastised,

and oppressed,

cut off from the land

of the living.

No one suffered more

than the Son of God,

and yet,

no one lived

a more meaningful,

significant,

and satisfying life

than the suffering servant

Son of God.

Listen again

to the words

of the prophet Isaiah

at the end of chapter 53.

It was the Lord's will

to crush him

and cause him to suffer,

but though the Lord

makes his life

an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring

and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord

will prosper in his hand

after he has suffered.

He will see the light

of life

and be satisfied.

By his knowledge,

my righteous servant

will justify many,

and he will bear

their iniquities.

Therefore,

I will give him

a portion

among the great,

and he will divide

the spoils

with the strong

because he poured out

his life unto death

and was numbered

with the sufferers,

numbered with the transgressors.

You see,

in Christ,

we find that the most

painful life in history

was at the same time

the most profound

life in history.

At the cross,

we find that suffering

doesn't get in the way

of a full life.

Rather,

it is the way

to a full and meaningful life

that honors God

and serves others in need

and satisfies our own souls.

So I'm not saying

that we should therefore

go and try to suffer

just for the heck of it,

okay?

But what I am saying

is that when God's children

look to their ultimate

older brother,

the Son of God

who became flesh

and dwelt among us

in this broken world,

what we find

is that while suffering

is never an end

in itself,

it can very well be

the beginning

of something glorious.

And all God's children

are invited

into this fellowship,

into the fellowship

of this glorious story,

invited to share

and unite themselves

with the story

of the risen Christ,

co-heirs with Christ.

Notice in verse 17

how Paul doesn't just say

that God's children

will suffer,

but it says that

co-heirs with Christ

will share,

will share in His sufferings

in order that we may

also share in His glory.

This is what it means

to be united with Christ.

It means to experience

what He experienced.

It means to walk

in His way

after the pattern

of His life

in this broken world.

And that means

that we will indeed

share in His sufferings

in order that one day

we will also share

in His glory.

A glory, as it says

in verse 18,

that will far outshine

any of our sufferings.

If the eternal Son of God,

Christ Church,

if the eternal Son of God

did not consider Himself

too great to suffer,

neither should any

other child of God.

And this is the pattern

of all God's children

living in this broken,

sin-stained world.

The pattern of Jesus' life.

The Son of God,

a journey from suffering

to glory.

And there is no greater story

ever told

than the story

of the glory

of Jesus.

And the good news today

is that we're all invited

into this story.

So if you're here today

and you're frustrated

in your suffering

and you're frustrated

with God

because you feel like

He should give you,

His child,

a life that is free

from such suffering,

the Spirit of God

crying,

Abba, Father,

within your hearts

this morning

wants to point you

to Jesus

and to the reality

that even God's

most beloved child

did not avoid suffering.

Unless we be tempted

to fume at God

for placing this

seemingly unnecessary,

pointless page of pain

into the storybooks

of our lives,

God invites us

to see our pain

not as an interruption,

but as an invitation,

a generous invitation

to fellowship with Him

and to know Him,

to know His beloved Son.

Yes, in suffering,

but also and more importantly,

in His glory.

So while our modern,

Western, secular culture

may claim that suffering

is the enemy

of the self-made,

meaning we're all striving

to manufacture

for our lives,

God offers us

a transcendent meaning

through union with Christ

that no suffering

could ever take away.

And that's point number one,

that God's children

do still suffer,

but that's neither

the worst possible news

nor an obstacle

to God's good news

for us in Christ.

Now, for all God's children,

suffering is an opportunity

to experience deep union,

communion,

and fellowship

with the living God,

the Son of God,

and the full and meaningful life

that He very much wants for us.

That's beyond all comparison,

glorious.

Now, point number two,

God's children

always groan with hope.

All right, now in verse 23,

Paul talks about

how God's children,

they suffer,

and they groan

in their present sufferings.

But Paul also wants us

to remember Christ's

whole trajectory

from suffering

to glory

that we never groan

without hope.

And he even sees creation

testifying to this hope

in eager expectation.

Verse 19,

For the creation

waits in eager expectation

for the children of God

to be revealed.

Meaning all of creation

is waiting for God's people

to be the way

that they were always

meant to be.

Free from sin,

free from suffering,

restored as image bearers

of God,

and ready to rightly rule

over His creation.

Like quite the opposite

of what happened

at the fall.

Look at verse 20.

For the creation

was subjected to frustration

not by its own choice

but by the will

of the one

who subjected it.

And see,

this is Paul bringing us back

to Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

and the fall of humanity

and all creation.

He's saying that the world

was subjected to pain

and suffering

and futility

because the people of God,

the people God made

to rule over creation,

we went our own

destructive ways

apart from God

and thus creation,

this creation

that we were all called

to manage,

it went south too.

So broken by sin

is creation

that even inanimate,

like subhuman creation,

everything is just

out of whack now.

Natural disasters,

painful, deadly illnesses,

scarcity,

thistles and thorns,

meager and uncertain harvests,

that's all because

of our sin.

That's all because

sin has crept in

and broken this world.

But,

notice the last two words

of verse 20.

For creation was subjected

to frustration,

it says,

the last two words,

in hope.

See,

God still had a plan,

God still had an intention

and a goal for his creation

even while subjecting it

to thorns and thistles

and scarcity

and sweat and toil.

He subjected it

to frustration

in hope.

In hope,

verse 21,

that the creation itself

will be liberated

from its bondage

to decay

and brought into the freedom

and glory

of the children of God.

See,

that was always the goal.

Liberation from decay,

freedom and glory.

This is what all of creation

has been groaning for

ever since our falling out

with God.

Verse 22,

we know that the whole creation

has been groaning

as in the pains of childbirth

right up to this present time.

And this is an important metaphor

to describe creation's groaning,

this idea of the pains

of childbirth.

I have no experience in that,

but I'm told

it's very awful.

And I believe,

I believe those who tell me.

All right?

And by the way,

shout out to Chengin and An.

Maybe you're tuning in

on their baby.

I don't know if you remember

Chengin a couple weeks ago.

She shared her story of faith.

She just had a baby this week.

So praise God for that.

But I imagine

it was not easy, right?

I wasn't there,

but I imagine

it wasn't easy.

And here we have Chengin

experiencing firsthand, right?

The pains of childbirth, right?

And the mothers here,

you know this pain, right?

And that's a massive understatement,

but I'm just going to stop there.

But what's key also

to this metaphor

is that pain

is not for nothing, right?

Pain is not for nothing.

And the groaning

is a yearning,

not just a yearning

for the pain to be over,

but for the pain

to accomplish

its better purpose.

And what is the purpose?

New life.

Fruitfulness.

Something,

someone who will make

every good mother say,

I was glad to suffer for this.

This was totally worth it.

And my life is better

for having suffered

through this experience

than if I had not.

You know,

my wife Chelsea,

she's not here today.

My nephew's actually

getting baptized

out in Castro Valley.

That's why my family's

not here today.

But that's why

I can talk about her.

You know,

she had two,

we have two daughters,

and both those pregnancies

were super hard.

People ask us,

are you going to go

for a third?

We say,

if we could be guaranteed

that it won't be as hard,

we would,

but we don't have that guarantee,

so we're done.

We're done.

And again,

her pregnancy

was just super hard.

She was barfing

like buckets upon buckets,

multiple hospital visits,

ER visits,

and honestly,

she wanted to die.

She would say that

every day,

and we would cry together

every day.

She wanted to die.

And it came to a point,

right,

where her pregnancy

was so hard

that both times,

for Kami and for Leah,

our medical provider

and even some close family

suggested

that we terminate

our daughters,

that we just have

an abortion

to just end

my wife's suffering.

So I'm incredibly

sympathetic

to those who

contemplate that option

because it truly was

the worst suffering

that my wife

has ever experienced

and myself, too.

But you know what?

On this side

of the suffering,

as we watch our girls

laugh

and play

and sing

and show kindness,

right,

and recite

the Bible verses

that Miss Catherine

gives us every week,

as we teach them

to pray

the Lord's Prayer,

Chelsea will tell you

that she is glad.

She's glad

she didn't end

her suffering

prematurely

when she could have.

Chelsea waited

eagerly

for her future hope.

And this is what

children of God

are called

to do.

Especially

as those who've

witnessed

the first fruits,

right,

of the ultimate hope

to come,

Jesus is risen.

Jesus' resurrection

points to our future

resurrection,

new creation,

life.

Verse 23,

not only so,

but we ourselves,

who have the first fruits

of the Spirit,

a risen Christ,

grown inwardly

as we wait eagerly

for our adoption

to sonship,

the redemption

of our bodies,

the full and final

reception of our

inheritance in Christ,

imperishable,

incorruptible,

eternal life,

with no suffering,

with God,

in His new creation,

forever.

Verse 24,

for in this hope,

this new creation,

resurrection hope,

that isn't simply

like wishful optimism,

but a sure hope

that's only yet

to be revealed.

In this kind of real

and future hope,

Paul says,

we were saved,

but hope that is seen

is no hope at all.

Who hopes for what

they already have?

Verse 25,

but if we hope

for what we do not

yet have,

we wait for it

patiently,

and I might add,

expectantly,

even in our groaning.

And I wonder if that's

a word for you today,

that yes,

your life may be

full of groaning,

but in Christ,

it can be even fuller

with hope,

because the suffering

servant is risen,

and his suffering

was only a chapter

on the way

to the final page

of forever glory.

And now point number three,

God's children

never groan alone.

So in verse 23,

Paul talked about

the groaning

of God's children, right?

But there are two

other subjects

in this passage

who groan along with us,

right?

Verse 22,

we know that the whole

creation has been groaning

as in the pains

of childbirth

right up to this present time.

Here we see Paul

personifying creation,

the universe,

as something that groans

and suffers just like us

and alongside us.

So like when you have

an oil spill

that destroys tons

of marine life,

creation groans.

When COVID,

when the death count

rapidly rose and rose,

creation groaned.

Creation groaned

over the smoke

rising in Lahaina,

over the 25,000 people,

10,000 of whom

are children

who die every day

due to hunger-related

causes.

Creation groans,

and I think we all

can hear it

if we're paying attention.

Now maybe you're wondering,

though, like,

so what?

Why does it matter

that creation groans

with us?

Well, maybe I can provide

an alternative scenario.

Okay, you know,

the famous atheist,

Richard Dawkins,

he wrote this,

in a universe

of blind physical forces

and genetic replication,

some people are going

to get hurt

and other people

are going to get lucky.

And you won't find

any rhyme or reason

in it,

nor any justice.

The universe that we observe

has precisely the properties

we should expect

if there is,

at bottom,

no design,

no purpose,

no evil,

no good,

nothing but pitiless indifference.

So see,

in Dawkins' mind,

the universe

isn't created

by a personal God

and therefore

it doesn't groan

over suffering.

The harsh world

just is.

Suffering just is.

It's all impersonal

and indifferent

as the universe

just hums along

its natural path.

But for Paul,

and I think for all of us,

if we really think about it,

when Paul personifies creation

as something that groans,

he's indicating

that contrary

to a strictly

materialistic view

of the world,

things are not the way

they were meant to be.

And suffering

is neither normal

nor natural

nor neutral

but something wrong

and worth groaning about.

Paul doesn't say

creation hums along

or that the cogs

of creation

just continue to turn

with natural seasons

and rhythms of suffering

just because

that's the way it is.

No.

He says creation groans

because creation

gets it.

It gets it.

And creation knows

and testifies

that this isn't it,

that we were all meant,

every square inch

of reality

was meant to experience

something far,

far better

than what we currently

experience

in this broken world.

See, Christians

aren't wishful,

thinking,

self-deluded optimists.

We simultaneously

have the greatest

reason to groan

even as we have

the greatest reason

to hope.

And we can hold

both of these things,

groaning and hoping,

together

because of

the other person here

who groans

alongside of us

in verse 26.

In the same way,

the Spirit

helps us

in our weaknesses.

See, we are weak,

Paul says,

and we're miserable

and we are so unaware

of what we even need

that Paul says

in verse 26,

we do not know

what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit himself

intercedes for us

through wordless groans.

And he who searches

our hearts

knows the mind

of the Spirit

because the Spirit

intercedes for God's people

in accordance

with the will of God.

And what this is saying

is that for every

child of God,

the Spirit of God

intercedes for us.

Praise to the Father

on our behalf.

Like fragrance

rising up

into the heavens,

the Spirit expresses

our deepest groanings

to the Father

and the Father

hears our groanings

and he is faithful

to listen

and to answer.

So like,

even when we pray

totally inappropriate,

off-base prayers

that are not at all

in accordance

with the will of God,

like,

God,

help me lose my virginity.

Or,

God,

let me win the lottery.

Or,

God,

make me powerful

and influential

in my workplace,

in my industry.

The Spirit of God

discerns the thing

beneath the thing.

The deeper groanings

beneath these prayers

for his children

are primal groanings

for intimacy,

are primal groanings

for basic necessities

and security,

are primal groanings

to be fruitful

in our vocations.

These pure groans

that actually are

in accordance

with God's will,

these are lifted up

to the Father

by the Holy Spirit

and the Father

delights to receive

and grant

these requests

from these

Spirit-descerned

groans.

You know,

Tim Keller,

he used to often

say this about prayer

that even though

God often

doesn't answer

our prayers

in exactly the way

we want,

for all God's children,

he does give us

everything

we would have asked for

if we knew

everything

that he did.

And see,

when the Spirit

groans with

and for us,

the Spirit

intercedes

and asks the Father

for the things

we really should

have asked for.

That's the work

of the Holy Spirit.

And when this happens,

that's how we get

this wonderful promise

in verse 28.

And we know

that in all things,

God works

for the good

of those

who love him,

who have been called

according

to his purpose.

And this is the gospel.

Not that we must

work all things

for our own good

through self-love,

but that we have

a God

who both groans

with us

and who is working

for our good.

And it doesn't say

he's working for the good

of those who avoid

suffering at all costs.

No, it says that

in all things,

he works for the good

of those who love him

and who have been called

according to his purpose.

So again,

how are we living

our lives?

How are we going

to live our lives?

Are we living primarily

to avoid suffering

or are we living

to love God

by walking

in his calling

and his purposes

even when suffering

might be involved?

Do we love the one

who first loved us?

Has it sunk in

how deep

and how far

and how wide

and how long

is his love

for his children?

You know,

at the beginning

of the sermon,

we approached

the problem of God

and suffering

and I told you

I wasn't going

to try to provide

an answer

to why God

has allowed

such suffering.

But what I do

want to share,

what I am absolutely

convinced of

is what the answer

cannot be.

And the answer

cannot be

that God

doesn't love us

or that he's

unwilling to come

near to us

and experience

our groaning

and our suffering

himself.

You see,

it's not only

the creation

that groans

with us,

it's not only

the comforter

who groans

with us,

the Holy Spirit,

but the wonderful

mystery of our faith

is that Christ

groans with us,

that Christ

groans for us.

the one who

took Psalm 22

upon his lips

while hanging

on a cross

in our place.

He cried,

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

And do you know

how the rest of that

verse 1 of chapter 22

in the Psalms goes?

Why are you so far

from saving me

from the words

of my groaning?

we have a groaning

Savior.

And see,

on the cross,

Jesus was dying

and he was groaning

and he was crying out,

but no one came near

to his groans.

Even his Father

in heaven

did not save him

from that cross.

And the good news

of the gospel

is that because Jesus

came near to our groaning

and had his own

groanings ignored

upon a cross,

none of our groanings

will therefore

ever go unheard

or unanswered.

Christ groaned

and died upon a cross

so that God

could end

our groaning

and our suffering

without ending us.

And this is the gospel.

For although

the children of God

will never

avoid suffering,

they will always

have hope

and they never

groan alone

apart from

the Spirit of God

and the Son of God.

His name is Jesus.

Will you pray with me?

Lord God,

we can't say

that we like suffering.

We thank you

that you're bigger

than that.

You're a better

storyteller,

you're a better

story writer

and you offer us

a better hope.

God,

help us to be a church

that embodies

authenticity,

that truly groans

together,

but that also

hopes together

and therefore

rejoices

in the good news

of Jesus,

our suffering servant

who groaned

in our place

so we can be

guaranteed

that you hear us,

you hear our groans,

you are listening

as we await

the final chapter

in our stories,

the story of glory

because of the work

of Christ

and the work

of your Spirit.

Thank you, God.

Thank you.

Give us faith

to believe

this wonderful news

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.