The Suffering: Part 1- Focus on Jesus

The Suffering: Part 1- “Focus on Jesus”

Romans 8:35-39 (NIV)

Purpose & Introduction:

Today, we’re starting a new discussion on the hard times of life that we ALL go through. In fact, sometimes it can literally feel like we are in a boxing ring, and life is just beating us down with nowhere left to turn. I’m sure that you all have felt pain before that has knocked you down.

I remember a great time of my life… I was 9 years old! My cousin had just turned three and had gotten into building with legos! That man spent hours on end building houses, cars, sets of movies… you name it and he probably built it! It was fascinating to see him build all of these things before he could even spell his name! Lots of weekends my cousins and brother and I would all gather together and spend the night at our grandparents house! It was awesome, we ate good, watched movies, played outside and had the time of our lives! I remember one night that we stayed at our grandparents I got up in the middle of the night to go grab a midnight snack! As I was walking through the living room I remember hearing a crash and feeling the worst pain in the world! I stepped on my cousins recently built lego house and had about 4 lego squares stamped into my left foot! The pain was so bad that it sent me to the ground!!

But, the pain that I want to dive into is not the pain that we go through when we step on legos.

The pain I want to discuss are things like:

When our parents get a divorce

When we feel completely isolated and alone

When we lose someone close to us

Because, we all go through painful times of life like those.

Here is what I want you to know that I have learned through the pain in my life:

Our Pain Doesn’t Have To Define Us.

We can get back up! We can rise just like Batman did out of the cave in the Dark Knight Rises.

And I believe that the only way we can truly rise is when we focus on Jesus.

Historical Background of Passage:

As the early followers of Jesus began to spread the Good News of what Jesus had recently done by rising from death, they began to experience a lot of pain and suffering. For those early believers it seemed like just about everyone was trying to beat them down and keep them from helping others. These early believers were going through so much pain and hardship that it was difficult for them to even be seen in public. You could imagine that these folks were hard pressed and ready to throw in the towel and call it quits. It was during this time that one of Jesus’ most serious followers, Paul wrote to them in a letter and gave them a whole new way to process through their pain.

But, as many of you may know, Paul wasn’t always that close and serious follower of Christ. He actually at one point was one of the main guys beating up on those following Christ! But, through the power of Jesus, Paul’s life drastically changed and he went from hating Jesus to having such a powerful mindset change that he eventually said this about Jesus:

Romans 8:35–39 NIV

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Did you catch that? Paul admits this: We will go through hard times! But, he assures us that nothing has the ability to separate us from Jesus’ love.

So, what does that mean for me and you? It means that we don’t have to be defined by our pain!

Whether you are a cancer patient, an orphan, lonely or lost! We can be defined as a sons & daughters the King!

It all starts with where we put our focus.

How do we focus on Jesus?

Step 1: Look Up

First, we focus on Jesus by looking up.

It may seem pretty simple, but it’s true and it’s effective.

When life hits, it hits hard and often times unexpected!

A car crash, bullying, knee injury. BAM!

Our whole life is turned upside down.

In that moment, most people give up and never even make it to step one.

In that moment, we have a decision to make. Will we stay on the ground or get up?

Illustration: Tearing my ACL at the end of my senior year and losing hopes of playing collegiate football!

-I had put my whole future in the hands of a sport and in a moments notice it was gone.

-I was hurt physically, but also mentally.

-I felt like I had nowhere to turn and began to feel down and out.

I wanted to stay down on the ground after that life hit.

I had lost hope that my future could ever change. Have you ever been there?

It seemed easier for me to roll over and give up than to try and keep fighting.

Here’s the truth: there was so much more for me to live for! There is so much more for you to live for!

Your pain is not forever!

Situations change.

Take Paul as an example. Jesus helped Paul show us that we don’t just survive our suffering, but we can thrive through it!

To the skeptics: I’ve been there! You might be thinking that Jesus can’t or hasn’t helped you yet.