God Has Promised Suffering

your love, and that they would not only know but experience you walking with us through these times.

Father, as we turn to your word now, we ask that you would help us,

that we might hear clearly what you are saying,

and that you would give us grace that we may apply it to our lives.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Well, this morning we're looking at the theme that God has promised suffering,

and learning how to grieve well.

Very often our experiences are that in times of struggling,

and Pete mentioned this, is that we immediately want things to change.

We want things to end.

Sometimes we want the suffering to come to a conclusion.

Well, sometimes we need to learn to grieve.

In fact, I think it's important that we learn to grieve.

So three big things we're going to look at this morning.

First, grieving will come.

We stood by side, dressed in our school uniforms,

and as we stood alongside each other, we watched as the coffin was being carried out.

Richard was liked by everyone.

He was a fun kind of guy.

He loved his sport.

He was generous and he was kind,

but yet a tragic accident ended Richard's life,

and he was no longer with us.

In the car park, I remember walking over to Richard's dad.

No words were ever exchanged.

We just embraced and cried.

As a young teen, that was my first real experience of grief.

And Psalm 90 reminds us,

Our days may come to 70 years or 80,

if our strength endures.

Yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,

for they quickly pass and we fly away.

It's a solemn reminder that we live in a broken and disordered world

that ends in death.

It's unavoidable.

And the message of the Bible from beginning to end is very clear.

Live long enough and you will suffer.

Listen to God's word through Isaiah the prophet.

But now this is what the Lord says,

He who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.

I have summoned you by name.

You are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you.

And when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned.

The flames will not set you ablaze.

Not if,

but when.

When you pass through the waters,

when you walk through the fire.

James tells us the same.

He says,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,

whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Not if you will face trials,

but whenever you face trials.

Now both Isaiah and James are writing to God's people,

those whom God has redeemed and called to himself followers.

Yet they are told to prepare for days of suffering.

We should never assume that just because we trust God,

that we won't suffer.

You will go through the furnace.

You will walk through painful trials.

You will face the darkness.

We will all grieve.

So first, grieving will come.

Second, grieving is painful.

It's painful because when we grieve,

it's because we're mourning the loss of someone or something.

A mother grieves

because she has lost her son through cancer.

Pete grieves

because he's lost a cousin and a brother.

A husband can grieve

because he's lost the family home through unemployment.

A young couple can grieve

because their hopes and dreams are crushed

when a tragedy strikes.

You see, when suffering comes,

it takes the people we love

and the things that we most value.

And in a moment, they are gone,

ripped from the clutches of our arms.

And it is terribly painful.

There are three ways, I think,

that the Bible speaks about our grief.

Three emotions we experience in times of struggle.

And to help us look at this,

we're going to look at the Psalms together.

And one of the things about the Psalms is

they show us and they record for us

the personal experiences

of those who are going through hard times.

And as we listen to these experiences,

as we listen to these true life accounts,

they help us to grieve.

The first emotion,

the first kind of grief I think we encounter

in times of loss

is anger.

When we go through the waters,

we can be angry.

Look at Psalm 77 with me.

Psalm 77.

Psalm 77.

Psalm 77.

Psalm 77.

Psalm 77.

Psalm 77.

Starting at verse 1.

I cried out to God for help.

I cried out to God to hear me.

When I was in distress,

I sought the Lord.

At night,

I stretched out untiring hands

and would not be comforted.

In other words,

the comfort didn't come.

I remembered you,

God,

and I groaned.

I meditated

and my spirit grew faint.

You kept my eyes from closing.

I was too troubled to speak.

I thought about the former days,

the years of long ago.

I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart meditated

and my spirit asked,

Will the Lord reject forever?

Will he never show his favor again?

Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

Has his promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?

Question after question.

Why are you doing this?

Where are you?

What's it all for?

This is raw emotion.

He's angry at God.

Look back at verse 5.

I thought about the former days,

the years of long ago.

I remembered my songs of joy.

There are songs of joy he's talking about in the night.

I looked back on my life,

all those good times.

I remember when my life was happy,

when we were together.

But now she's gone.

I remember when we walked and talked.

But now they don't even recognize me.

The writer of Psalm 22

says what we all want to say.

My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me?

So far from my cry of anguish.

My God, I cry out by day,

but you do not answer by night,

but I find no rest.

Isn't that how we often feel?

Angry with God.

Job certainly did.

Just have a look back to Job 19.

It comes just before the Psalms.

Job 19.

And verse 7.

So this is a cry towards God.

He says,

Though I cry violence,

I get no response.

Though I call for help,

there is no justice.

God has blocked my way

so that I cannot pass.

God has shrouded my paths in darkness.

God has stripped me of my honor

and removed the crown from my head.

God tears me down on every side

till I am gone.

God uproots my hope like a tree.

God's anger burns against me.

God counts me among his enemies.

God's troops advance in force.

They build a siege ramp against me

and encamp around my tent.

Remember from last week

that Job had lost all his possessions.

He had lost his family.

He had lost his health.

And here he expresses his anger.

He shouts at God

and accuses God of being like an invading army

that is swept into his life,

taking away and destroying

what is most valuable

and precious to him.

Anger is an expression

of our grief.

So I wonder if somebody wouldn't mind

closing the doors.

I think there's doors open there.

Thank you.

So second,

so first,

response

in times of struggle

and suffering

of grieving

is one of anger.

The second is sorrow.

When we go through trials,

we can be full of sorrow.

Have a look at Psalm 13.

Psalm 13, verse 1.

Psalms 13:1

Psalm 13.

How long, Lord,

will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

How long has God forgotten me?

He doesn't love me.

He doesn't care.

And with unanswered questions,

all we are left with is sorrow.

Broken hearts that seem to find no comfort.

Flick back to Psalm 6.

Here the psalmist again pours out his sorrow.

Psalm 6, verse 6.

Psalms 6:6

I am worn out from my groany.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping

and drench my couch with tears.

My eyes grow weak with sorrow.

They fail because of all my foes.

You see, when all the shouting is done,

when the anger subsides and no answers come,

then all that is left is sorrow.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping

and drench my couch with tears.

Listen to this account written by Dustin.

I don't know him, but read his story this week.

He recounts his family's sorrow.

He says,

This was certainly what my wife and I experienced

after our son Owen died in 2003.

We were living in the Middle East

and as Kelly went into labour

we were medically evacuated to Istanbul, Turkey

where premature babies have a better chance of survival.

He was born October the 3rd

but he only lived for 20 minutes.

I saw him kicking and moving

and heard him give one little cry

but that was it.

Our firstborn had died.

The pain was unlike anything we had ever experienced.

We felt alone.

A few nights after Owen died

my wife stayed up for hours

scouring the scriptures for hope and comfort.

She finally fell asleep

more discouraged than ever

because she found none.

Of course it was there

but when we are in the depths of pain

we often can't see it

let alone feel it.

Sorrow

is an expression

of our grief.

The third expression

of our grief

I think is one of despair.

Turn to Psalm 88.

As we face into the darkness

of our struggles

sometimes our grief

is one of just

utter despair.

The Hebrew title of this Psalm

is the suffering

of affliction.

It's almost like the suffering

of suffering.

It's the most discouraging

and despairing Psalm written

perhaps

the most discouraging

in all

of Scripture.

Follow with me

as I read

verse 1

Lord

you are the God

who saves me

day and night

I cry out to you

may my prayer

come before you

turn your ear

to my cry.

I am overwhelmed

with troubles

and my life

draws near to death.

I am counted

among those

who go down

to the pit.

I am like one

without strength.

I am set apart

from the dead

like the slain

who lie in the grave

whom you remember

no more

who are cut off

from your care.

Verse 15

From my youth

I have suffered

and been close to death.

I have borne

your terrors

and I am in despair.

Your wrath

has swept over me

your terrors

have destroyed me

all day long

they surround me

like a flood

they have completely

engulfed me.

You have taken

from me

friend

and neighbour.

Darkness

is my closest friend.

This writer

is grieving.

In fact

it seems

he has been grieving

most of his life.

Look at verse 15

From my youth

I have suffered.

There seems

to have been

no let up

throughout

verse 17

all day long.

They surround

me like a flood.

Every day

is like

it's going

to be his last.

But he's done

with being angry.

There are no more

tears to be shed

at night.

The tears

have run dry

instead

it is now

just despair.

Look at the end

of verse 18

Darkness

is my closest

friend.

The psalm

ends without

any hope.

There is no

Oh

but I will yet

praise the Lord.

There is no

yet this I know

God will

deliver me.

The suffering

has extinguished

the light

and all

that is left

is hopeless

darkness.

One writer

said this

about the psalm

whoever

devises

from the

scriptures

a philosophy

in which

everything

turns out

right

has to

begin by

tearing

this page

out

of the

Bible.

Now some

of you

here know

what this

writer is

talking about.

Some of you

have been

in this

darkness.

Despair

is an

expression

of our

grief.

But why

do we have

these expressions

of grief?

Why have

they been

written down

for us?

Well three

reasons I

think they

are here

for us.

First

they give

us

permission

to grieve.

We're not

very good

at handling

grief are

we?

In our

attempts to

comfort one

another we

say things

like well

God is

sovereign,

God is

in control,

we just

need to

move on

and get

on.

Well it's

true God

is sovereign.

He is in

control over

our suffering.

Yes God

is with us

in our

pain even

when we

cannot see

it but

it still

hurts.

God's

control over

our suffering

does not

take the

pain out

of suffering.

Theological

explanations

do not

end our

hurts.

We need

to be able

to grieve.

We just

need to

cry.

We don't

have to

grin and

bear it.

The

Psalms teach

us that

this is

right and

normal.

God is

giving us

permission.

We're not

meant to

understand the

things we

go through.

We are

not meant

to be

strong and

brave.

We're not

meant to

have it all

together.

We need

to learn

to grieve.

Second,

our grief

is an

expression of

faith.

I wonder

if you

noticed as

we look

in each

of these

Psalms,

whether it

was one

of anger

or sorrow

or times

of despair,

it's all

spoken out

to God.

There are

no answers,

there are

no comfort,

but yet

all of

their

questions,

all of

their anger,

their

disappointments

is all

directed

towards God.

And I

want us

to see

this,

that this

is not

sinful.

It is

not wrong

to do

this.

It is

an expression

of our

faith.

Sometimes

people will

come alongside

you and

say,

you need

to have

more faith.

If you

have faith,

your grief

will be

removed and

will be

replaced with

healing and

joy.

No, we

don't need

more faith.

Grief is

an expression

of our

faith.

As we

grieve,

we are

learning to

lean on

God.

Here's how

one writer

put it.

As we

grieve,

we strengthen

our faith.

It enables

us to

trust more

in God

and his

resources

than in

ourselves.

With every

loss, we

are reminded

of the fact

that we

are not

in control

and we

are not

self-sufficient.

Every loss

allows us

to rest

in the

grace of

God,

enabling us

to change

our perspective

and allow

our hope

and anticipation

of the

life to

come to

grow.

So we

have

permission

to grieve.

Grief

is an

expression of

our faith.

And then

third, grief

will give

way to

joy.

Psalm 30

Psalms 30:5

verse 5

says this,

Weeping

may stay

for the

night,

but rejoicing

comes in

the morning.

Just as

the darkness

of the

night is

dispelled

by the

rising sun,

so with

the coming

of Jesus

Christ,

the suffering

will be

removed and

replaced with

joy.

As sure

as and

certain as

the sun

will rise

every

morning,

so we

can be

absolutely

sure with

the coming

of Jesus.

The

darkness

will end,

sorrow

will cease,

and grieving

will be no

more.

None of

us knows

how long

the night

will last,

but morning

is coming.

Weeping

may be

our

experience.

The night

may drag

on,

but joy

awaits.

You see,

grief

changes

our

perspective

and allows

us to

rest,

to depend

upon God.

And

anticipation

of the

life to

come

grows.

grief

will

come.

Grieving

will come.

Grieving

is painful.

And then

third,

grieving

for us.

As we

grieve,

we need

to remember

that God

grieves

with us

and for

us.

I'd like

us to

look to

Isaiah

43,

so just

go forward

from

Sam

until

you

come to

Isaiah.

Sam's

Proverbs

Song of

Solomon

or

Ecclesiastes

Song of

Solomon,

Isaiah

43.

This is

where we

started

this morning,

Isaiah

Isaiah 43:1

43,

verse

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

1.

Isaiah

43,

starting

at

verse 1.

But now

this is

what the

Lord says,

He who

created

you,

Jacob,

He who

formed

you,

Israel,

do not

fear,

for I

have

redeemed

you.

I

have

summoned

you by

name.

You

are

mine.

When

you pass

through

the

water,

waters,

I will

be with

you.

And when

you pass

through the

rivers,

they will

not sweep

over you.

When you

walk through

the fire,

you will

not be

burned.

The flames

will not

set you

ablaze.

Now

verse 2

is a

promise

and a

problem.

The

promise is

clear,

God is

with us,

we will

not be

overcome.

And

here is

the

problem.

The

problem

is

unanswered

prayers

and no

respite

makes us

feel God

is not

with us.

When we

do pass

through the

rivers,

it is

like they

do sweep

over us

and we

feel like

we are

drowning

and we

can't

breathe.

And when

we walk

through the

fire of

struggle,

it is

as if we

are burning

up.

we

experience

no comfort

or relief.

So how

can God

say he

is with

us?

And how

can he

say the

flames

will not

touch

us?

Well,

what God

has promised

has been

fulfilled.

He came

and entered

into our

grief

to redeem

us so

that he

might call

us and

might say

over us

mine.

You

belong to

me so

that you

might know

me forever.

Have a

look at

Isaiah 53,

just a

couple of

chapters on.

Keep in

mind the

promise that

God says

we will

walk through

those rivers,

we will

go through

the

furnace.

Isaiah 53,

this is

speaking of

God,

but yet

pointing

forward to

the God

man Jesus

Christ who

was to

come.

God knows

what it is

to suffer.

He enters

into our

grief.

Chapter

53,

verse 3.

He was

despised and

rejected by

mankind,

a man of

suffering and

familiar with

pain.

Like one

from whom

people hide

their faces,

he was

despised and

we held

him in

low esteem.

But more

than that,

God entered

our grief

to deal

with our

sin so

that we

might know

God with

us.

Verse 4,

surely he

took up

our pain

and bore

our suffering.

Yet we

considered him

punished by

God,

stricken by

him and

afflicted.

But he

was pierced

for our

transgressions.

He was

crushed for

our iniquities.

The punishment

that brought

us peace

was on him

and by

his wounds,

by his

sufferings,

we are

healed.

How do

we know

this is

true?

How do

we know

this is

what God

has done

for us?

Well,

have a look

at Matthew

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26.

The first

book in the

New Testament,

Matthew

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26

and verse

37.

Matthew

26.

Here,

God,

in the

person of

Jesus,

is facing

his own

death and

suffering on

the cross

and uses

those very

words from

Isaiah 53

as his

own as

he cries

out,

his own

grief to

God.

Verse 37.

Jesus took

Peter and

the two

sons of

Zebedee

along with

him and

he began

to be

sorrowful

and troubled,

an expression

of grief,

of sorrow

and despair.

Then he

said to

them,

my soul

is overwhelmed

with sorrow

to the

point of

death.

stay

here and

keep

watch

with

me.

The

agony

of

death

and

judgment

stares

him in

the

face.

It

doesn't

just

bring

sorrow,

but it's

a complete

overwhelming

of

utter

despair.

Verse 39,

going a

little

further,

he fell

with his

face to

the

ground

and

prayed,

my

father,

if it

is

possible,

take

this

cup

from

me,

yet

not

as

I

will,

but

as

you

will.

Jesus

grieves

for us.

He is

willing to

go through

our

death

and our

suffering

for our

sin,

because

here is

Jesus

hung on

the

cross.

He

passes

through

the river

for us.

He

walks

through

the

fire

for us.

He

is

overcome

by the

waters

of

judgment.

The

flames

of

God's

wrath

consume

him.

Jesus

dies,

but as

he dies

for us,

he dies

so that

by his

sufferings

and by

his

wounds

we are

healed,

forgiven

of all

of our

sins so

that we

might belong

to him

and never

lose him.

We have

been

redeemed

so that

we may

experience

a new

creation

where

there

is

no

more

grieving

and we

will

receive

our

new

bodies

that

will

never

suffer

again.

You

see,

whatever

we

lose

because

of our

suffering,

whether it's

our health,

our loved

ones,

our dreams

or our

joys,

because

Christ

suffered

for us,

we will

never,

ever,

ever,

ever

lose

God.

He is

with us

today

and we

will

enjoy him

for an

eternity

because by

his wounds

we are

healed.

And so

whatever our

grief,

whatever our

struggle we

may be in

today,

whatever lies

in the

future,

we can

confidently

say,

when I

pass through

the waters,

he will

be with

me.

And when

I pass

through the

rivers,

they will

not sweep

over me.

And when

I walk

through the

fire,

I will

not be

burned.

The flames

will not

set me

ablaze.

We may

lose much

in this

life,

but we

will never

ever

lose

God.

He will

be with

us and

we will

be with

him for

all

eternity.

Learn,

my friends,

my brothers

and sisters,

learn that

we at

times need

to grieve

and cry

out to

God.

Let's

pray.

go

and

to

to