"Joy in Suffering" Romans 5:1–11

Today's New Testament reading is Romans chapter 5 verses 1 to 11.

Romans 5:1–11

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For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

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.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Friends, as a minister, I have, and I mean this when I say it, I have the supreme honor of assisting the Lord in his ministry of shepherding his flock.

On occasion, during my short time in ministry, I haven't been ordained for very long, since 2019.

People have invited me into their lives and shared some very difficult situations.

Situations that are deeply personal and touch on some of the most vulnerable parts of their experience.

Most of the times, I try to listen.

I try to do my best listening.

I'm still growing in learning how to listen well.

I'm trying to ask thoughtful questions and offer comfort from scripture and to pray.

I've come to realize that some of you are hurting.

Some of you are suffering.

And it's a good thing that you reach out for support and counsel.

However, and again, a very small sample size.

I haven't been ordained for very long.

But not many people have taken me up on the offer for pastoral counsel or support.

And I say this not to lay a guilt trip on anybody.

But I wonder whether this is because such suffering is seen as a deficiency of character.

Or an admission of great weakness.

Or that there is some deep traumatic experiences that are just easier to keep buried.

Or maybe all of the above.

We are not very good as a society in processing suffering.

We live in an interesting time when social media values both the super put together life.

And also the incredibly vulnerable introspective life.

But whether suffering is ignored or whether it's monetized.

Our current cultural moment doesn't seem to know how to navigate this very common experience.

And friends, I think it's more common than we realize.

It's interesting.

This is in my notes.

But I'm preparing the text this week.

Studying and trying to wrestle through it.

And this week, for a number of different reasons, has been a week where grief from way back when all of a sudden just starts popping up.

And I am not wanting to deal with any of it.

I just want to get on with my life and study the scriptures and present it to you this morning.

But it's interesting how the Lord works.

And it's interesting that on this Sunday, he saw fit for me to experience a little bit of suffering as we open the text and wrestle with the topic of suffering this morning.

Our text, Romans chapter 5, verses 1 to 11.

Romans 5:1–11

It's going to offer a very different take on suffering.

One that's very different from our current cultural moment.

And it's this.

That the only healthy way to process suffering is to rejoice in it.

Let me say that again.

The only healthy way to truly process suffering is to rejoice in it.

If some sirens are going off, if some, I don't know, is it okay if I say that I'm going to call, I'm going to say, if your BS meter is going off, stick with me.

That's not exactly a theological term, by the way.

Stick with me.

We're going to take a look.

We're going to take a look into the text.

Ask some honest questions.

I think this text is going to help us tremendously.

We're going to see that in this text, we have the basis for rejoicing, especially in suffering.

We're going to see that there is a love that allows for this rejoicing.

And then ultimately, we're going to see that we have in Christ a future that allows us to rejoice in the present.

Open up verse 1 of Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

We're going to jump right into it.

This is what it says.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, we are on a journey in Romans.

Paul has led us through chapters 1 to 3, making a fantastic and airtight case that mankind is sinful.

We can't justify ourselves.

We can't deal with our guilt.

We can't deal with our sin.

We can't deal with our sin.

He ends up talking about our need for justification.

And now he's going to tell us that there are fruits of being justified, being made right in God's sight.

And the primary one, the primary fruit of justification is peace with God.

And it's through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

You know, some of our sufferings, not all, but some of them stem from a lack of peace in our relationships, don't they?

Misunderstandings that remain unclarified.

Past hurts that are not properly navigated.

Fear of confrontation and constant deflection, broken trust.

The needed change that we so desperately want does not come because such a change requires peace.

And that peace demands humility and bravery and agreed upon terms for what peace ought to be.

And remember, Paul has already made it extremely clear in chapters 1 through 3 that we are a prideful people.

We are unable to solve our own ills, nor are we able to compel others to fix theirs.

So what happens? Peace remains elusive.

It's important to remember that the whole message of Romans so far is that a lack of peace, especially relational peace,

it stems from a lack of peace with our Creator and flows down into every other relationship we have.

Therefore, it makes sense that we see peace as flowing downstream from justification.

Through Christ Jesus, we have been justified, right?

We have been made right with God.

Because Christ has taken our sin, He has given us His righteousness.

We have imputed righteousness.

God counts Christ's righteousness upon us.

And the result says that we have peace.

A peace on God's terms, not just ours, which means it is a lasting peace.

And this peace doesn't guarantee that we will automatically be at peace with others.

However, it does give us a model and a hope that peace can come in our relationships.

Or that we'll have the strength to endure the pain of relational loss or fragmentation.

We can be sure of this because of what Christ has done.

And this, Paul will articulate to us this morning, that this is an objective reality that happened in a very specific place,

at a very specific time, with a very specific person.

That is Jesus.

That justification is an objective reality we have rooted in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

But justification is not just a past objective access, sorry, not just a past objective reality,

but a very present reality, a felt reality that informs and is rooted also in our future hope.

Now, we're going to dig into the future hope on our third point.

But Paul here is going to allude to it at the second part of verse 2.

And this is what he says in verse 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.

What does this mean?

To put it simply, we have a dynamic relationship with God that doesn't merely result in the forgiveness

that he won on the cross through his son in the past, and then kind of leaves us.

But rather, this dynamic relationship is an ongoing relationship marked by love and deep care for the life we now live.

And that life is lived in Christ.

How do we know this?

Because we now have a continuous access to the presence of God here on earth.

Though it is in part, and because we have this access to the Lord now,

we are promised then that we will have full access of his presence in the age to come.

So what we have here is a justification that touches on every aspect of our life.

The past, the present, and the future.

I really love how John Stott sums this up in his commentary on Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

He was an English evangelical minister.

And he says this, quote,

Our relationship with God into which justification has brought us is not sporadic, but continuous.

Not precarious, but secure.

I love that.

But then I ask the question, and maybe this is a question you'll ask as well.

But what happens when our relationship with God feels at best sporadic?

More like precarious, or even worse, non-existent.

What happens when the truth of God's word,

namely that we are justified in the past,

that God continually gives us grace in the present,

and that there's hope for the future glory that is to come,

that is not felt at all.

And it hasn't been felt for some time.

And it's especially not felt when tribulations or difficulties or sufferings come.

And especially when those sufferings come because,

and precisely because, we are Christians.

I mean, verse 1, what does it say?

That we have been justified by God,

and he gives us peace because of that justification.

And if that's the case, why can't God then give us a peaceful life,

free of issues?

Why can't he throw us a bone?

Or at least, now that we're on his side,

we'll see later on that we're called enemies of his,

but now we're on his side.

Why can't he, I don't know, help us out a bit?

Why do we have to go through sufferings as Christians?

If you have been a Christian for a while,

this may be something you've wrestled with.

I think it's a very good question to wrestle with

because ultimately it will expose a very real and deep

and prolific misconception about the Christian life.

that suffering and joy are antithetical to what it means to be a Christian.

Or they're antithetical, rather, to each other.

That suffering is antithetical to what it means to be a Christian.

But look what Paul says in verse 3 here,

the first part of verse 3.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings.

It's not just that sufferings will come, Paul says,

but that we are to rejoice in them.

Rejoice in our sufferings?

How is it possible to rejoice in our sufferings?

Especially if our sufferings are something very, very deep and ongoing

that we wear around from the moment we wake up

until the moment we go to bed.

Seven days a week.

Okay, 12 months a year.

I think it's very important that we read carefully what Paul wrote here.

Especially considering what he didn't write.

So, what does Paul say?

He says, not only that, but we rejoice in our suffering.

What he doesn't write is that we rejoice for our sufferings.

The scriptures are repeatedly clear that suffering is not to be celebrated

or sought out.

It's not to be endured with a stoic demeanor.

Mourning and loss and fasting, sorry,

mourning, loss and fasting for an end to calamity

are repeatedly seen as commendable in scripture.

It is a good thing and a right thing to pray to God

to end our suffering, whatever it may be.

To bring a swift end to it.

It's a good thing.

Paul is not saying, listen, suffering is going to come

and you need to hug it with all of you.

You need to embrace every aspect of it.

No, he is not saying that.

He is saying that we are to rejoice in our suffering.

Suffering will come in this life.

And it comes in this life because we live in a very fallen world

full of selfishness and pride and lying and disease and tragedy

and lots of greed.

We will also suffer for Christ for this fallen world is currently against him.

The gospel reading, if you go back into it, John 16,

it says that Jesus says to his disciples,

you're going to mourn but the world will rejoice.

The world is currently at odds against Christ.

And it is because we are in Christ,

made right by him, by grace, through faith,

that we can trust that God is allowing these sufferings,

but for a very specific purpose,

as a means for our growth and for his glory.

In fact, it is often the primary means he uses for our maturity.

But why?

Why not mature us with ecstatic experiences, right?

These fantastic experiences.

If you have gone to a youth conference or a charismatic conference,

you have these ecstatic experiences,

and you will capture the mountain for Jesus, okay?

You will proclaim his goodness.

You are mature in the faith.

Why not just give us these ecstatic experiences in Christ?

Why not mature us with blessings and bounty, okay?

Why not use logic or reason?

Why not a good study of history?

Remember the adage,

those who don't know history are bound to repeat it.

Why not mature us through a good study of history

to make us wise and mature in the Christian faith?

Such questions, as honest as they may be,

start, I would humbly put forward to you,

with a false premise.

And the false premise is this,

that tragedy and pain are the exception to life,

but rather what we are really about

and what we deserve

is bounty and wealth and health.

But I think we have collectively,

in the West,

in this modern era we live in,

we have forgotten that this world is jagged

and rough and dark and dangerous.

It is.

That this world is full of sin and evil.

Life is tragically taken every day,

but we seldom see it here in Ottawa.

We live in a very insulated existence

where we are not regularly exposed to death,

but this is not the case globally or historically.

And I just want to say,

thank God, okay?

I'm not trying to somehow make us feel guilty

for being a bit insulated from death,

but when we forget how tragic this world can be,

beautiful, yes,

I mean, nature in its splendor,

creation in its splendor, fantastic,

we can see so many wonderful things,

but by and large,

this world is marked by pain.

Here's a bit of an example

that helps to put it in perspective.

2025, okay?

Cape Town, South Africa,

in terms of large cities,

had the most homicides in 2025.

A city of about 4 to 5 million people

in urban and suburban.

There's about 3,000 homicides, just under.

Ottawa, last year,

19.

Okay, 19.

19 tragic losses of life,

but it kind of goes to show

how insulated we are in this city

from how tragic and difficult this world is.

I mean, we had one just this past week,

I think it was the 5th of the year,

we're in April.

This is horrendous that five people have died this way.

Five people?

For a city of a million?

We often forget about how difficult things are globally.

But historically,

we talked about this in Catechism 100 years ago,

and then for every generation earlier,

it was almost for sure that you would outlive

at least one of your children.

Right?

That's not something we worry about by and large now.

And when children are sick,

like it was back then, a tragedy,

but it is something somewhat foreign to us.

I think we start with the wrong premise.

And the thing with suffering is that

it has a way of bringing this reality

back to the forefront.

In a way that an ecstatic experience

at a youth worship service,

as good as those are,

can't do.

And a study of history can't do.

And wealth and bounty can't do.

And logic and reason just can't do.

C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain,

man, I'm quoting a lot of Lewis lately,

sue me, okay?

I'm reading this.

And The Problem of Pain really articulates this wonderfully.

And this is what he says.

We can rest contentedly in our sins

and in our stupidities.

And anyone who has watched gluttons

shoveling down the most exquisite foods

as if they did not know what they were eating

will admit that we can ignore even pleasure.

But pain insists on being attended to.

God whispers to us in our pleasures.

He speaks in our conscience.

But he shouts in our pains.

It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

Suffering gives us the opportunity

to understand that this world is very difficult,

but also to understand that there's a sovereign God

and that sovereign God gives grace

and that grace is like nothing else

that is offered in this world.

And it's far better than any self-help plan

or any kind of personal inventory

and therapy.

You can take good things,

but it is far greater.

And suffering has this ability

to help us with that.

Why?

Because when we suffer with an eye to the Lord

and our world is shaken,

we realize that the things

that we've truly hoped in

turn out to be very false things.

And that these false things,

those things that promise to carry us

through any storm

but shrink back

when the smallest gray cloud appears,

are exposed for what they are.

And the only thing that can help us to endure

is what?

The grace and love of God.

And we only come to that realization

when pain comes.

Those painful experiences

become then opportunities

for us to look to Christ

and find our hope

in the unchanging God.

Look with me at verses 3, 4,

and then the first part of verse 5.

For what does the scripture say?

Oh, sorry, that's wrong.

John Page.

Verse 3.

Not only that,

but we rejoice in our sufferings,

knowing that suffering produces endurance.

Endurance produces character.

Character produces hope.

And hope does not put us to shame.

Endurance,

or better translated,

single-mindedness,

it's an idea

that helps us to focus on the stuff

of true value.

The stuff that will truly last.

The stuff of the Lord.

And as we grow in this single-mindedness,

we also grow in character.

An idea of the testedness

and confidence

that comes when we put our hope in God

that Christ is truly enough

to give us the strength

in our time of need.

And what does this ultimately lead us to?

A hope

that will not disappoint.

A hope

in the most sure and secure reality

that we are at peace with God

in Christ Jesus.

A hope rooted in the objective reality

of what Christ has done in the past

that spills into the present.

That gives us hope

for the future.

And because it won't let us down,

it means that

by His strength,

by His grace,

we can

face our sufferings

not with a stoic grit

or a kind of pleasure in pain,

but rather in the unchanging God

who sent His glorious Son

to die

and rise again

and to conquer the very power

that animates all the suffering

that we will ever experience.

You see, in Christ,

suffering

is transformed

from an utter,

unredeemable horror

into a furnace

that becomes the means

by which our lives are refined,

where we grow

in our love

and our affection

of Christ.

You see,

what does a furnace do?

It heats

a chunk

or a hunk

of rock,

right,

that is all

a bunch of elements

mashed together

and it's only with heat

that you can separate

those elements,

right?

The gold

or the silver

remains

and the other things

are burnt off.

The dross,

the impurities

are burnt away,

but what is,

how does that come about?

Only through a furnace.

Only through heat.

only through suffering.

It's really interesting

throughout the Bible

and we see it connected here

in verses 2 and 3

that glory

and suffering

are often

connected

throughout Scripture.

So why must we suffer

to grow?

Why must we suffer

if we want

to partake

in the glory

of God,

of this glorious God?

because there isn't

really another way.

So we need to be sure

that it's true.

But it's hard to believe

that it's true

because some of us

have gone through stuff

and some of us

don't just have scars

from the past

but have open wounds

in the present.

Not little pricks,

not little scrapes,

pussy,

nasty,

painful,

difficult wounds.

The very idea

that God

has ordained

that

or at least

at the very least

allowed it

even as a means

of refinement

may cause doubt

rather than joy

in Christ.

And more than that,

there are people,

maybe people here

this morning

who are faith curious.

Okay?

They want to put

their trust

in a higher power

whoever he,

she,

it may be

for ultimate meaning

but also

that higher power,

it ought to work

in this life.

It has to work for me.

It has to help me

deal with the pain

and the difficulty

and it seems

that the Apostle Paul

is saying

actually

the pain persists

and it's actually

a feature

of this faith.

And this brings us

to our second point,

verses 5 to 8.

Let's read

verses 5.

We'll read

the full verse

but we're going

to focus

on the second

half of verse 5.

And hope

does not put us

to shame

because God's

love has been

poured out

into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit

who has been

given to us.

Suffering

in the context,

in this context

assures us

of God's love

which is

kind of an

ironic thing

because suffering

oftentimes

can be the cause

of great doubt

about the love

of God.

I know people

personally

and maybe

you have as well.

Maybe you are

wrestling with this

now where

the suffering

that you've

experienced

is the beginning

or at least

the very thing

that is pushing

you away

from the Christian

faith.

Causing you

to doubt it

or to deconstruct

it altogether.

And I would say

that makes sense

if our salvation,

if our ultimate

hope is a

self-wrought,

a self-conceived,

a self-justified

salvation,

even if it is

wrapped in

Christian wrappings

and in Christian

lingo

and Christian

ritual.

If our salvation

does not begin

and end with

Christ,

then our suffering

has the real

potential to

break us.

Right?

If we are

thinking,

listen,

I am going

to do well

and be good

and try hard

and this will

get me to where

I want to go,

it will work out

well for me

in this life

and suffering

comes,

then all of

our efforts

have been

in vain.

All of our

efforts will be

in vain.

But if our

salvation,

if it is

in Christ,

then the promise

is that we

have been

changed.

We have not

renovated our

soul,

but he has.

What does he do?

It says in

scripture time

and again

in both

testaments

that he

removes a

heart of

stone

and he

gives instead

a heart of

flesh.

He does a

renovation

inside.

God gives

us a soft

heart so

that we

can experience

his love

and learn

to rejoice

in this

glorious

God.

And along

with seeing

the world

for what it

is,

suffering can

open our

eyes to

the love

of God

which gives

us incredible

hope.

When we

realize the

degree to

which God

loved us,

we understand

that our

sufferings are

small compared

to his.

And when we

understand that

his sufferings

were not

forced upon

him but

that God,

the Son of

God,

voluntarily

takes

suffering upon

him because

of love,

because he

loves us,

he wants us

to know and

feel his

love.

Right?

Verse 5,

the second

part of it,

it says that

this love is

poured out

to us,

continually

poured out.

It's like

being caught

in a quick

moving river

then the

ideal of

his love

becomes

increasingly

concrete,

becomes

increasingly

real in

our lives

and it

is because

of suffering,

it is because

of pain.

There was

a wonderful,

beautiful lady

and I'm not

sure if she's

still around.

I knew

her,

she was in

her 80s

but as

the early

years when I

was an

intern on

Fridays I

was an

advocate

companion to

an elderly

man that

had

dementia

and they

were two,

this wonderful

couple,

the man had

dementia and

it was

progressing and

the wife was

struggling with

her own health

issues and

as the

dementia

worsened,

the man

who wasn't

violent and

who wasn't

aggressive

became violent

and became

aggressive and

she struggled

with it and

then he

died and

then her

health

concern

worsened and

I remember

talking with

her and

she would

say in

her pain

that she

never knew

a closeness

to Christ

as those

last years

when her

husband was

still alive

and especially

after she

struggled and

life didn't

get easy and

I'm not sure

if she's still

alive or not.

We fell out

out of contact

but it is

remarkable to

me that it

wasn't despite

suffering but

because of the

suffering she

went to that

drew her to

the love of

God in a

way even

though she

knew Christ,

knows Christ,

she's known

him since she

was just a

little girl but

it was in

those last

years that she

really knew

his love and

really experienced

his love and

knew it so

personally and

concretely.

And how does

God show us

his love?

He doesn't

say I love

you, okay?

Pat us on

the tush as

we're off to

school.

He says I

love you with

an embrace.

Okay?

He demonstrates

his love.

How?

Verse 6,

7, and 8.

Read with me.

For while we

were still weak

at the right

time Christ

died for the

ungodly.

For one will

scarcely die

for a righteous

person.

Though perhaps

for a good

person one

would dare

even to die.

But God,

how does he

show his

love?

Shows his

love for us

in that while

we were still

sinners Christ

died for us.

How does God

love us?

How does he

show his love?

We are called

ungodly,

verse 6.

We are called

sinners,

verse 8.

Later on in

verse 10 it

says that we

are enemies

of him.

We have no

business demanding

anything from

him.

enemies don't

set the terms.

Okay?

Especially when

we are sinful

and God is

perfect.

When we are

unrighteous and

he is righteous.

When we are

finite and he

is infinite.

We don't set the

terms of this.

We have no

business demanding

anything from

God.

He is not in

our pocket.

He does not

owe us a red

cent.

And what does

he do?

He loves us and

he demonstrates

his love for

us by reconciling

us.

You see our

condition was so

bad, our

rebellion so

severe that the

only means of

reconciliation was

the son of God

himself and it

says that he did

it while we were

still his enemies.

Friends, that's

love.

That's a love

that is heavenly.

heavenly.

There's no higher

love than Christ.

So you see then

that if you truly

grasp that Christ

has justified us,

that he has made

peace with us,

that even though

suffering comes,

that it is a way

that can shake us

out of our

malaise,

out of our

spiritual slumber

and that we can

see that Christ

is the only thing

that can truly

help us to

endure and the

only one that is

worthy of our

hope and that

when he died on

the cross, he

did so as for

sinners as we

were still sinners

then we

understand then

that rejoicing

and suffering,

they are married

here.

This is the

source of our

hope.

He does not

speak love in

the abstract but

Christ shows his

love is real

and that it is

deep and that it

is immovable,

that it is dense

and because this

love begins in

the past, in the

historical death and

resurrection of

Christ and continues

into the present

with the love of

God continually

pouring out for

us, we can have a

certain hope that

our future will be

even greater and

more glorious and

that our pain as

deep as it is,

and friends, it

might be unbelievably

deep, it is

momentary compared

with the joy we

will experience in

eternity.

It's called divine

perspective and

brings us to our

third and final

point, look with

me at verses 9 to

11.

Since therefore we

have now been

justified by his

blood, much more

shall we be saved

by him from the

wrath of God, 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.

More than that, we

also rejoice in

God through our

Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we

have now received

reconciliation.

So far, we have

seen that we have

been justified, we

have been made

righteous because of

Christ, our sins

counted against us

no more, therefore

we have peace with

God.

Right here, the

wrath of God is no

longer a danger

against us, that at

the end of the age

we will stand before

God and we will not

have to fear his

just wrath upon us.

That in Christ we

have been given

grace to grow through

trials and we are

given this ultimate

hope of the life to

come that pours into

the life in the

present.

Yet there is even

more, Paul says.

He says that we are

reconciled with God.

He says it's even

better than we could

have imagined for if

God treats his

enemies with this

kind of sacrificial

love, love that is

connected to suffering

and the greatest kind

of suffering, how

much more will God

treat us who are now

reconciled to him?

If he treats his

enemies with this love,

how much more will he

treat us now that we

are sons and daughters

of the Most High?

We can only pose the

question, okay?

We can ponder it and

meditate on it and it

will be worth every

minute you spend doing

so, but we have no

idea the glory that we

have in Christ Jesus

now that we are sons

and daughters of the

Most High.

I think to help us

understand this we have

to consider what used

to be.

The biblical story

begins in a garden

that was perfect in

every way and at the

center of this

perfection it was

mankind.

The scripture talks

about mankind

enjoying a deeply

loving relationship

with God, but what

happens?

Pride enters into

the story and all

that reality of the

garden was lost,

all that relational

intimacy and deep

love and friendship

was lost and humanity

has been searching

for a way back ever

since.

And what was lost in

the garden in Christ

is restored.

In the garden Adam

and Eve were expelled

before they could

taste the tree of life,

but the promise for us

is that if we put our

faith in Christ who

reconciled us when we

were yet his enemies,

we will not just be

restored to this

Edenic existence,

existence, but we will

be made perfect and we

will get to partake in

the tree of life.

And what is the tree of

life?

It's Christ himself who

gives himself for our

eternal nourishment so

that we can be sure that

we would be in the

presence of God forever

to experience his glory

and grandeur with

unveiled face forever

without the possibility

of falling ever again.

That's what awaits us.

And we can use human

language in the most

flowery of prose, but we

will never quite grasp

what awaits us.

You know, verses 9 to 11,

it tells us that God,

this is how he treats his

enemies.

He gives them hope.

We are no longer his

enemies.

We are his sons.

The suffering we

experience is, it

prepares us for our

future glory with

Christ because it

strengthens our faith

so that we hope in

someone, not something,

that will never forsake

us.

Does that not

transform suffering?

Does that not help us

walk towards it with

bravery and courage?

Not that we've found

deep within us, but that

it is given to us from

Christ?

So suffering still is

difficult, okay?

It's still to be avoided.

But when it inevitably

comes, we can trust that

God will use it to open

our spiritual eyes, give

us strength and grace, and

help us to hope in

heaven.

I'll end with this.

Before his passion,

Christ's own sufferings,

the disciples in a very

classic disciple

faction proclaim their

belief in a very

self-righteous and

self-confident way.

They say, you know, we

believe in you, Jesus.

Jesus tells them

immediately after that

they won't stick around

when the first threat

comes their way, but

they will scatter and

that he will be left

alone.

And then he says

something remarkable.

This is from John 16,

John 16:32

verses 32 and 33.

He says this,

Behold, the hour is

coming.

Indeed, it has come

when you will be

scattered, each to his

own home, and will

leave me alone.

Yet I am not alone,

for the Father is with

me.

I have said these

things to you, that

in me you may have

peace.

In the world you will

have tribulation, but

take heart, I have

overcome the world.

No matter how

difficult and

frightening and

painful, the

suffering is that

you will experience,

know that if you are

in Christ Jesus, he

will give you a

peace that surpasses

all understanding.

It seems so

counterintuitive to

have a peace in the

midst of such

suffering, but this is

what is promised to

us.

Yet it is so because

Christ has overcome

every tribulation,

every evil, every

painful act that

causes our suffering.

He promises to be

with us to the end

of the age.

Why?

Because he has made

a way for us to be

in him.

Friends, that is

something to take

heart in.

That is something to

rejoice in.

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