Suffering, Pain, & God’s Sovereignty

by Bruce Mills

As I write these words, I am sitting in a recliner with my left leg locked in a brace, unable to move it.  I suffered a serious fracture of my patella (knee cap) and had to undergo surgery to repair it.  Now I am living with pain almost every moment of every day, and I am faced with many months of rehabilitation before I will ever be able to walk on it again without a brace and either a wheelchair, crutches, or a walker.  I am dependent upon my family members to help me bathe, go to the bathroom, and get dressed.  It will be about eight weeks before I am able to return to work in a limited capacity.  There is much about my situation that is humbling and humiliating. 

I have already experienced the depression that comes periodically in such situations, as Satan tempts me to despair that my circumstances will never get better, that my pain will never go away, that my rehab will be too much for me to bear.  I admit that it is a daily struggle.  So when those dark times of depression and anxiety come, I have decided to follow my own counsel; the advice that I have given many other believers through the years who were going through some difficult time of suffering in their lives, and that is to rest in the sovereignty and trustworthiness of God.

I really don’t think there is a more comforting doctrine in times of suffering, pain, and physical limitation than God’s sovereign control over such matters.  When I contemplate the fact that He has absolute control over everything in the universe, and foreordained from before the world began that I would go through this experience in order that His glory might be magnified, it brings a sense of purpose and comfort to my soul. 

Ephesians 1:11 declares that God in Christ “works all things after the counsel of His will.”  The Greek word for “works” is energeō, which indicates that God does not merely carry all of the universe’s objects and events to their appointed ends, but that He actually brings about all things in accordance with His will.  In other words, it isn’t just that God manages to turn the evil, harmful, and hurtful aspects and events of our world to good for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28); rather, it is that He Himself ordains and orchestrates these terrible, painful, difficult events for His glory and His people’s good.

Consider that He proclaimed to the Pharaoh of Egypt that the only reason God had brought him to the place he was and allowed him to remain in power was so that as God rained down plague after plague upon the Egyptian people, God’s name and power and glory would be proclaimed throughout all the earth (Exodus 9:13-16).

Consider the man in John 9 who was born blind—who lived perhaps 20-25-30 years in darkness—forced to beg in order to survive.  Yet Jesus said that the reason those awful events took place in that man’s life were “so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).

So when I consider that Scripture teaches that God goes to such lengths to bring pain and misery upon His creation in order to display His glory, the fact that He will cause me to suffer a serious injury to my knee and leave me dependent on others for the most basic functions of daily life means that He is working to accomplish His glory through me and my situation.  That is a marvelously encouraging thought, especially when I am hurting and weak and incapable.  Because when I recognize that He is accomplishing His purposes in me and magnifying His glory through me, it is staggering to my feeble mind.  Ultimately, my injury is not about me; it is about God’s glory.

But since God has called me to this purpose, what might He be doing in my life?  Well, as I said at the beginning of this post, there is much about my circumstances that are both humbling and humiliating, and since God knows my sinfully prideful heart, He knows that I need to be broken of that pride.  One way is to forcibly rid me of my own self-sufficiency by making me completely dependent upon others.  In the wonderful book, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, a collection of essays on the subject of suffering in the life of the believer, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor, Joni Eareckson Tada writes:

Do you know who the truly handicapped people are?  They are the ones—and many of them are Christians—who hear the alarm clock go off at 7:30 in the morning, throw back the covers, jump out of bed, take a quick shower, choke down breakfast, and zoom out the front door.  They do all this on automatic pilot without stopping once to acknowledge their Creator, their great God who gives them life and strength each day.  Christian, if you live that way, do you know that James 4:6 says God opposes you?  “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

And who are the humble?  They are people who are humiliated by their weaknesses.  Catheterized people whose leg bags spring leaks on somebody else’s brand-new carpet.  Immobilized people who must be fed, cleansed, and taken care of like infants.  Once-active people crippled by chronic aches and pains.  God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, so then submit yourselves to God.  Resist the devil, who loves nothing more than to discourage you and corrode your joy.  Resist him and he will flee you.  Draw near to God in your affliction, and he will draw near to you (James 4:6-8).

It’s too early to know what all the lessons are that God wants me to learn over the next several months, but one obvious one is to rip away some of my pride and teach me humility.  And as I learn that lesson, God is glorified.  So it looks like the next several months will be an adventure, albeit a painful one, as God works through my disabling circumstances to bring about His glory and my good.  I pray that I will “consider it all joy…knowing that the testing of [my] faith produces endurance” (James 1:2-3).

The Proof That We Are God's Children

by Bruce Mills

I have been studying Romans 8:14-17 for an upcoming lesson in my adult Sunday School class. The passage reads as follows: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

This passage is all about the believer's adoption into the family of God, and there are many rich truths contained in it. But the section of this passage which captured my attention is As I examined this passage, I became intrigued with the last half of verse 17--"if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

This is the difficult part of the verse, but it fits well with what precedes it. Here we have the proof that we are truly God's heirs. So how do we know that we are the sons of God and His heirs? How can we be certain?

Paul's answer in verse 17 is suffering. The Spirit of God brings suffering into our life to reveal to us that they really are His children. The word “suffering” here has to do with persecution, mockery, scorn, ridicule…whatever comes to us by virtue of our union with Christ. You can identify the child of God by the fact that he’s the one the world doesn’t really like. He doesn’t fit in with the world. And so persecution will come, and its intensity will vary to all kinds of extremes. Sometimes it’s light affliction, sometimes it’s martyrdom, and sometimes it’s somewhere in between.

All genuine believers will be ostracized or shunned or looked down upon or mocked in some way or another for their faith, if indeed, it is faith in Jesus Christ. Because Paul says here that we are God’s heirs if we’re the ones who are suffering. We are the ones who will be glorified together with the Lord if we’re the ones that are suffering. So it’s a statement of fact about us. Christians are going to be alienated from the world.

Now let me help you understand what the phrase “if indeed” means in the Greek. The word here is a marker of an emphatic condition and a good way to translate it is “in as much” or “since.” One commentator has translated it “since indeed.” And I would also point out that the word translated “we suffer with” is a present active indicative verb, expressing an on-going activity. So you can translate this verse this way: “and if children, heirs also; on the one hand, heirs of God and on the other hand, fellow heirs with Christ, in as much as (or, since indeed) we are suffering together with Him.”

In other words, it is a mark of our identity. It is assumed to be a reality, and it is assumed to be something that continues throughout our lives. I don’t think Paul means that it is continuous in the sense that there is never a break. But I do think he means that throughout our lives, there will be a pattern of scorn, ridicule, and persecution at some level for all those who are true believers.

2 Tim. 3:12 says, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Now, someone might say, “Ah ha, Bruce, that verse says ‘all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.’ The reason some Christians are not persecuted for their faith is because they simply don’t have the desire that they should have to live a godly life for Christ.” Then I say, they aren’t really true believers. Genuine believers love their Lord and are willing to suffer for Him. They don’t like it, but their love for Him is greater than their fear of man. It is the proof of the fact that they belong to Christ. Suffering is a necessary element in the life of a believer. If you’re a true Christian, you are going to suffer.

So examine your life. Is there a pattern that arises every so often of you suffering for Christ, in the sense that others mock you or ridicule you for being so simple as to believe the Bible and not participating in the sinful activities which they love? Do others sometimes avoid talking to you because you bring up the Lord in the conversation? Have you ever been treated unfairly at work—perhaps passed over for a promotion or an assignment—because the boss liked the ungodly, unethical behavior of someone else rather than the godly character and ethical standards which you upheld? Are there perhaps some of your family members who want nothing to do with you since you became a follower of Christ, so they don’t invite you to certain gatherings anymore because your presence might put a damper on their behavior?

I’m not talking about the suffering that comes from being a part of the overall group of people known as evangelical Christians which the world loves to ridicule. I admit that if you identify yourself as an evangelical Christian in our society, people look at you like you have a third eye. But I’m not talking about suffering for the Lord in that sense. Anyone can hide in a group which is ridiculed, because they can still get reassurance and comfort from the other members of the group. But I’m talking about whether or not you have been persecuted, ridiculed, mocked, or rejected on an individual basis because of your professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Suffering for Christ is the mark of identity for those who are the true children of God.

2 Tim. 2:11-12 puts it this way—“It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him.” It is a trustworthy statement…in other words, this is true as true can be. And he says, if you’re going to be one of those who reign with Him, you’re going to be one of those who endures suffering with Him. True Christians are a rebuke to the world. A hostile, God‑hating, Christ‑rejecting world doesn’t take kindly to believers.

You say, “Well, why do we have to suffer? I mean, if we are the sons of God who are going to inherit eternal glory, why don’t we just get on with the glory? You know, as soon as I get saved, just take me to heaven. Why do I have to hang around and suffer?” Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5:10. It says, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

So what’s the answer? The answer is that the more we suffer, the more we grow, and the more we grow, the greater capacity we receive to glorify the Lord in eternity. 2 Cor. 4:17 says, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” You see, the more you suffer here in this life, and the more you learn about God and abandon yourself to His service, and take the rebuke of the world, then the closer you draw to Him, the more you’re infused with His strength, and the more that affliction is producing in you an eternal weight of glory. The more we suffer in this life, the greater will be our capacity for glory in the life to come.

I am convinced that when we get to heaven, there will be very few American Christians who receive as great a capacity to glorify the Lord in eternity as many believers from other nations where suffering for Christ goes to a level which none of us have ever experienced. If we only truly understood that whatever affliction we receive, whatever ostracizing, whatever difficulties we might have is only a “momentary light affliction [which] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”

So then, suffering for Christ in this sin‑cursed, Christ‑hating world is normal for the Christian. It’s routine stuff. We should be willing to do it because in so doing it we not only receive the assurance of the Spirit that we are God’s children, but we are also given a greater capacity to glorify God in eternity.