Tag: Suffering

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Compassion For Today

Dear sister,

If I’m honest, I’d tell you I hate going through trials.  Hate it.  Yet it is in trials when I really need to cling to the character of God.  One of His many character facets is compassion.  He is a compassionate God.  But what does that mean and how can it help us in the depths of despair?  Sister, let us look to scripture to help us figure out why the compassion of God matters to us today.

Biblically, compassion seems to imply empathy (sympathy or understanding) with action.  In the Old Testament, God often had compassion on Israel after they had disobeyed Him.  He had compassion on them and forgave them of their sin or gave them relief from a trial.  Micah 7:19 says, “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” In Lamentations, Jeremiah writes, “but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love (3:32).”  As we move to the New Testament, compassion is mostly used just before Jesus healed, fed, or taught people (Mark 6:34, 8:2; Lk 10:33).  So scripture seems to teach that God’s compassion is most given when sin, sickness, or physical ailments abound.  When these people were in their most need, God had compassion.  He felt deep sorrow and pain with them and then met their genuine need.  He healed, fed, cast out demons, and forgave sins, not because they earned it, but out of His compassionate love, grace, and mercy.

We serve a God who sees.  In fact, that is one of his names, El Roi.  He sees us in our despair, however that looks in our lives.  Perhaps you need Him to help provide for your family?  Or for Him to heal a sickness that threatens you or a loved one?  Maybe you need Him to see a spiritual or mental anguish that needs to be released? Does God still see us and give His compassion to us today?

Yes, sweet sister!  The same God that healed the leper, that touched the woman that bled, that forgave Israel for her spiritual adultery can answer your prayer today.  He sees your pain and sadness and still acts on it with His compassion.  But there is also a dig deeper way that He has shown His compassion.

God has seen His broken creation groan under the curse of Adam for thousands of years.  Millions of deaths, untold numbers of sickness, pain, and sadness that we thought were unseen.  Yet God had compassion on this creation that once was good and sent His Son, Jesus, to come and live the life that we could never live, by obeying God perfectly.  Then Jesus died the death that we deserve because of our sin.  God’s action was killing His beloved Son.  Yet Jesus did not stay in the grave, He rose again three days later cancelling our penalty of death forever!  His compassion results in our forgiveness and eternal life!  What hope that gives us in our sufferings!  That God’s compassion will end all sorrow, pain, and suffering.  We will see Jesus face to face and only have joy forever in heaven with Him!  Yes!  God’s compassion matters to us today!

Your sister in Christ,

Colleen

 

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God’s Good “No” Answers

Dear Sister,

I recently read we should thank the Lord in the midst of our sufferings, in fact for our sufferings. That act draws us closer to Him and helps us through our dark times. In one of my all-time favorite books, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister do exactly that as they travel roads of unspeakable horror, yet find themselves blessed by God over and over again. My husband and I have also found God’s grace in His “no” answers.

Sometimes, though.

Oh, there are times that my spirit simply cries and hangs on for dear life. I cherish the verses in Romans, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom. 8:26-27) No formula, just remain in Him. He pleads for us. With His Father, with God. For us. There couldn’t be a better advocate, no one who understands me better.

How blessed are we?

I had to laugh through tears as I looked up this passage. I know I’ve read the chapter untold times, but until tonight I did not realize that these verses of the Spirit interceding for us is sandwiched between, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Rom. 8:18) Unspeakable joy to come!

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Satan’s plans for evil are thwarted by our loving Lord and turned to good.

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35, 37-39) His assurance we are ever His beloved.

From crying out in desperation, too crushed to even formulate words in defense, to knowing with great surety our trials are not without a purpose, we are conquerors through Jesus—and not just that, but the best we can even dream of is merely a shadow of what is to come. Sweet sister, as you cry in your dark hours, cling to Him—He has great, beautiful plans for your tomorrows!

Running with you,

Rebecca

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Redounding to His Glory

My dear Sister,

It came to my attention that your heart is aching…aching because of a longing, a yearning which is not yielding the desired results. You’ve prayed so much. You have begged the Lord–but you only hear silence.

I was not told what it is you are longing for, but oh, how I have a sense of what you are experiencing. No, I cannot say I know just what you are feeling. It isn’t comforting when someone says those words, “I know exactly what you’re going through”, because no mortal can know exactly how another experiences a trial. I can have a glimmer of it, but not fully. You are different from me and I from you, but I can tell you of that One who knows you perfectly, the One who was tempted in all points like you. He tells you that He feels your infirmity with full knowledge and will help you in your time of great need. (Hebrews 4:15-16 )

I will try to encourage you, try to comfort you, but my words will always fall short, certainly not for want of trying. This One I am telling you about will never fall short or fail you. Our great Savior, through the Psalmist, tells us that unless He is our help, our souls would settle in silence. He says that when our feet slip, He will hold us up. And the author of Psalm 94:17-19 also says that when we are filled with anxieties, as you are at this time, God’s comforts will delight our souls.

Dear, dear sister…In your very real yearning and anxiety and even emptiness, immerse yourself in the Psalms. There you will find our God in all His goodness and tenderness and comfort and power and majesty. You will have taken a deep course in Theology. When you make it a habit of viewing Him in His beauty through His Word, your trouble in the present will blur, even dim. If you practice lifting your heart in responsive praise because of Who He is in spite of your agony, you will begin to view your situation with new eyes, eyes that dwell more on the beauty of the Savior than on the grief and unrequited desire.

What I have said to you was expressed beautifully by that Puritan of old, Thomas Chalmers, when he talked about “the expulsive power of a new affection”. When we love God more than our own desires, even desires for good things, our affection for Christ will expel our affinity for the things of this world.

My suffering sister, commit to loving Him above all else. Stay your mind on Him. Sing. Worship. He will give you His peace, (Isaiah 26:3)… His joy…Such freedom from care…Such grace…Such resolution for the sadness of the soul…Such hope in your pain. As the old chorus says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

If you will begin to think and act in these ways, you may find your situation remaining the same, but your perspective, your heart’s desire, your vision will change and you will become more like our Savior, in whose image you are made. And that is just what He wants–and what He wants is always good. Always.

Oh, yes. One more thing. Think of this when the tendency is to dwell on yourself because of the pain–your suffering actually redounds to His great glory. It is putting Him on display. His mighty strength is made perfect in your utter weakness. How lovely is that!

I love you and will continue to pray for you in your journey.

Love in God’s Truth and His mercy,

Your Sister in Christ,
Cherry

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Leaning Into Hope

Dear sister,

Have you noticed that when we talk about suffering we often talk about when a family member gets cancer, we ourselves get sick, or a loved one passes away? I’m not discounting the pain and struggle that comes in these difficult times but what sticks out to me is that these things are outside of our control.

What about the disappointments and shattered dreams we bring on ourselves? I don’t hear anyone talking about those. When I look at my own life and look at the lives of those around me, I feel alienated and alone. Does it ever seem to you, dear sister, like everyone else has life figured out? Do you ever feel like you’re the only one struggling?

I do. That’s why I want to take a moment to shine a light on our depravity. I want to consider Eve, who was the first person to disobey God; David, who committed adultery with his best friend’s wife and then had him killed in battle to cover it up; and Peter, who willfully denied the Lord Jesus in His hour of greatest need. I want to hear their stories. I want to know that I’m not alone. Don’t you?

Some time ago I was in a relationship with a really great guy. He really liked me and wanted to be with me. I liked him as well but was experiencing some doubt and fear. Long story short, a little bit of doubt and fear turned into a lot of doubt and fear and I ended up going down a destructive path and breaking things off with him.

Months later, it suddenly clicked; our future together was as clear as if it had already happened. Shattered, broken, and empty, I ran to God in my distress, giving him the pieces of my broken heart and there he revealed the sins, idols, and wrong beliefs that had been guiding my decisions for a long time.

I was angry with myself for messing up and angry with God for letting it happen. Yet I heard him calling: “Are you willing to go with me? Come, follow me.” I could see where he was taking me; it was dark, scary, and far away from the things I wanted. I did NOT want to go with Him. But after some kicking and screaming I finally surrendered to the work God was doing in my heart.

Let’s fast forward to where God and I, through counseling, mentorship, reading the Word, and prayer, began to identify my idolatry and my enslavement to the approval of others. Then God the Holy Spirit unraveled the lies that had caused me to break my own heart. He also revealed deep hurts that had never healed, and brought reconciliation to broken relationships. Finally, with this new knowledge of the truth, I was able to discard the lies I had been believing.

Even though I still have moments of regret, I am learning to lean into the hope and healing the Lord has brought about through my brokenness, that God is the Always Good Father and that this hardship was necessary for my own salvation and the situation that ultimately will bring Jesus the greatest glory.

Sis, if you have fallen into a snare, please know that you are not alone. It may look like everyone else has it all together, but they don’t. We are all sinners and we all have struggles. Remember that God holds your life and in Christ there is no condemnation but only forgiveness, mercy and grace. Take courage, dear sister, and be strong in the Lord. Whatever you’ve done, it is not beyond redeeming. Whatever you’ve done, it is not the end. God is an expert in redemption and making old things new. You can trust Him.

Fighting with you,

Kayla

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground.  These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.