Hope in the Midst of Suffering

Senior’s Service – September 7, 2008

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

We all go through distressing times in life. These seasons of suffering, may be brought about by relational difficulties, financial hardships; or other trials. But as God's children, we can take heart in knowing that our pain is not wasted.

Our Scripture reading today is taken from 2 Corinthians. Listen now as I read verses 7 through 10: “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!
Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Sometimes our pain is for the eternal benefit of others — the Lord uses it to reveal the genuineness of our faith so that others might see it and be drawn to His Son (1 Peter 1:7). By the way we respond to adversity, our belief in Jesus becomes visible to those around us. Believers will be encouraged, and seekers will ask us questions about our faith.

At other times, God uses trials to teach us to obey — Hebrews 5:8 tells us that even our Savior learned obedience from the things He suffered. Another purpose of hardship is to broaden our ministry. The apostle Paul's imprisonment let him minister among the guards, resulting in the salvation of many.

Difficulties can also be the Lord's tool in preventing a problem from happening — an unidentified ailment kept Paul from becoming prideful. When disobedience threatens our walk with God, He will take whatever steps are needed to draw us back to Him. He may allow a need to remain unmet or something cherished to be removed. His purpose is that we confess our sin and return to Him.

We may not know the reasons for our heartaches, but the wisest choice is to trust God. After all, He who saved us through the sacrifice of His Son has promised to use our suffering to bring about eternal good (Rom. 8:28).

Please join me in praying the Lord’s prayer.