Sermon Tone Analysis

Don’t Misunderstand Suffering

There are 2 passages that are often quoted in order to give hope and comfort in painful times.

Jeremiah 29:11 is one

And Romans 8:28 is the other

The Jeremiah passage has a special significance for me:

In 2010, Pam and I experienced the joy of learning that we were going to be parents.

We were thrilled, even though we were extremely nervous.

But at our 11 week appointment we received news we had not prepared ourselves for.

Our baby had stopped growing and no heartbeat could be found.

We were devastated.

But the sadness was compounded as our best friends and ministry partners, whom we lived life nearly daily with, were expecting a baby at the very same time.

Though we were genuinely excited for our friends, for 7-8 months we were reminded of pain of our loss.

The day Pam went in for the procedure to remove our lost child, I brought a cup of coffee in a travel mug.

Without realizing it, I had grabbed the mug that had Jeremiah 29:11 printed on it.

Pam saw it as we waited for the Dr to come in.

Taken at face value, it would seem, based on our current situation, that Jeremiah 29:11 was myth or a tall tale.

But when you understand the context, it changes everything.

Jeremiah 29 is actually God’s letter to the Israelites (his chosen people) who have been brought into exile in Babylon.

Robbed of their homes and brought to a foreign land.

It was not a good place to be.

But in the middle of their suffering, their pain, and their discouragement, God speaks a promise:

He doesn’t promise an easy road, a road without struggle, loss, pain, despair, and frustration.

We live in a world that is FRUSTRATED by the fall, remember last week.

No, He promises that we can trust Him, that nothing is outside of His control, and that, for those who know Him, love Him, and follow Him, He is working all things out for GOOD.

As we set in that hospital room waiting for the Dr, we were reminded, and are continually reminded, that we can trust in God because NOTHING is outside of His control, that He loves us, and that He is working ALL things out for good, we just don’t see it yet.

As we look at Romans 8:26-30 today, I want to point out three absolutely incredible realities that are true of us who love God and know Him as father.

But first I want to remind us of the 2 goals/desires/prayers in this study:

That those of us who are truly believers in Jesus will understand more fully the glorious reality of our salvation and identities in Christ Jesus.

And that we would LIVE in these realities, embracing the freedom, joy, power, and hope they bring to our lives.

That those who have yet to come to faith in Jesus would be struck with the glorious goodness of our Lord and savior, will realize the hopelessness of their lives without Him, and will come to genuine faith in Jesus and RECEIVE the freedom, joy, power, and hope He brings to lives submitted to Him.

Three Incredible Realities to Remember

1) There is real HELP when we are HURTING.

Most bible translations do not separate verse 18-30, rightfully making it one interconnected section that is speaking to what was introduced in vs 18, the present suffering we all find ourselves in.

We saw last week that suffering is something that is a reality for everyone because of the cursed and sin-stained world we live in.

We talked about how all of creation and all of humanity is groaning under this curse, and is longing for relief and redemption.

Paul challenges us to wait with patient eagerness for the day Christ comes to fix what is broken, and how that hope will help us persevere.

So, when verse 26 starts off with the words “in the same way,” Paul is helping us to understand HOW we will persevere with eager patience in suffering.

Paul seems to be confronting a thought that most everyone of us battle at some point, or points, throughout our lives.

This destructive thought or feeling that “I am alone in my struggle and God is not listening to me.”

The devil loves to attack believers with lies like this, that God has abandoned you, that He doesn’t care and isn’t listening.

So to those thoughts and feelings, Paul speaks truth:

The truth- the spirit helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us when we just don't have the words to pray.

At our lowest and darkest moments, when we struggle to speak, and struggle to make sense of our circumstances, Paul says the Spirit steps in.

He translates our unutterable groanings clearly to God the Father.

And He takes our groanings and translates them in accordance with God’s will.

"Our insight into God’s will is far short of perfect, and so in many situations, we are puzzled to know what exactly to pray for.

But the Spirit comes to our aid, interceding on our behalf with “groans that words cannot express.

We may not know what to ask for in a given situation, but the Spirit does.

His requests are in perfect harmony with the will of the Lord for us.”

NIV Application Commentary, Douglas Moo

Even when we do not know how to pray or do not have the words to say, the Holy Spirit is personally helping our prayers to be answered in and through God’s will.

That is the promise.

Maybe that isn’t quite a comforting as you feel like it should be.

The shared human struggle is that what we really want is for God to answer our prayer according to OUR will and OUR desires, not His…all the time.

Suffering creates a collision between our will and God’s will; between what we would ask for and what the Spirit would ask for.

And forces us to deeply evaluate which will is more important to us.

Verse 28 is seeks to satisfy this conflict.

Though we struggle to see how, God is working ALL things out in our lives for GOOD, according to His will, His plan, His purposes.

But the first reality we must shelter ourselves under is that we are not alone, there is help when we hurt.

The second is...

2) There is great PURPOSE in our PAIN.

There is a startling and hope-filled promise here.

Paul is saying that those who are believers in Jesus (children of God) can find hope in the reality that there is no pointless pain in their lives.

God is at work in everything in a believer’s life to accomplish His good purposes.

Two very important points to make:

First, this is a promise made to a specific group of people, not everyone.

Those that “love God”.

Not those that know God, or know about God, or believe in God in some way.

No, those who LOVE God, who know God as Father, as Abba Father.

But also those who are “called” by God “according to his purpose.”

Those whom God has called to follow Him and who have accepted his call.

Those whose lives are marked by a sense of belonging and desire to follow.

Second, Paul is not saying that only good things happen to his children.

This isn’t a promise of prosperity and freedom from pain.

Rather, it means that underneath every event and every situation and every pain is a divine plan that God is working out in the life of a believer.

God’s good purposes never fail or falter in the life of His children.

There is never anything that happens to God’s children that God cannot or will not use for His purposes.

And in verse 29 Paul reveals God’s main purpose.

To mold us and shape us into the image of Jesus.

The promise here is that everything in the life of the believer is working toward shaping Christ-likeness in them.

Therefore, the hope for us as believers is that somehow, some way this pain, this struggle, this frustration all fits within God’s plan and is making us more like Jesus.

What Paul is saying here is an assault on what we naturally believe about the purpose of life.

Paul is saying that life isn’t about enjoyment, prosperity, and the absence of suffering.

Yes there is enjoyment, and there can be prosperity, and there will be times when we don’t suffer, but the purpose and aim of our lives is NOT that.

The purpose and aim of our lives is to be conformed and transformed.

That everyday and through every struggle and trial, blessing and success, we would become more and more like Jesus.

God purpose for you life is to redeem you, restore you, and give you a hope that will sustain you through any and all this life has to throw at you.

3) There is a glorious PROMISE in our FUTURE.

What is that future and hope?

That those He has known and loved long before they ever knew Him, He has predestined.

Predetermined to use every event and circumstance in their life to mold and shape them to be more like Jesus.

And those He has chosen, not because they were good enough, smart enough, or religious enough, but simply because He loved them, He has called;

And those He has called, in a specific and effective way that any of us who have come to know the Lord can attest to, He has justified;

And those He has justified through the blood of Jesus, freeing them from the penalty, the guilt and the shame of their sin, He has also glorified.

This glorification is the goal of verse 29 fully realized, where the children of God are made perfect in all respects.

Do you see a theme in Romans 8?

Over and over again Paul implores us to look beyond our pain, our shame, our sin, and our struggles.

Yes we have sinned and turned our backs on God, but there is no condemnation for those in Christ.

Yes we still struggle with our sin, but God has sent His Spirit to give us POWER over our sin that we may persevere and live differently.

Yes we will stumble and fall, but God has adopted us as His beloved and cherished children so that we are no longer slaves, but we are sons and daughters of the King.