"For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." - 1 Peter 3:17
Before we get too far down the road on this subject of pottery and spiritual growth, I feel the need to spend a little time on the subject of Christian suffering.
"Why do bad things happen to good people?" I'm sure you've heard this question asked. In fact, you've probably asked it yourself a time or two in your lifetime. It's a tough question to answer due to our collective and individual preconceived ideas about God.
We hear the phrase "God is good" a lot in the church setting. We like to chant it back and forth to one another during services or sing about how good God is during worship. We quote the scripture during good times and bad to remind us that God's character and nature is inherently 'good'.
But what does the phrase "God is good' really mean?
If you couple that phrase with the concept of God as our Heavenly Father, then we have a relatable concept to work with. We can all get our heads wrapped around what a good father looks like. Some of us even had the privilege of being raised by a man who exemplified what a 'good father' is.
A good father takes his responsibilities toward his children seriously
A good father provides for his children to the best of his abilities.
A good father protects his children with everything in his power.
A good father nurtures, encourages, and edifies his children instead of tearing them down.
A good father works hard to provide the best possible environment that will allow his children to grow up as healthy, well-adjusted adults.
I think we'll all agree that a good father does all of this and more.
So, if God is our 'Heavenly Father' and God is a 'good' father then it stands to reason that everything we know and understand about what a good father is and does would be exemplified in our omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, sovereign Heavenly Father.
Which is why when horrible tragedy strikes one of His children, the cry toward Heaven is typically not, 'thy will be done, Father' (or any variation on that theme). The collective cry from those afflicted is a nearly universal "WHY, OH LORD!"
When the tragedy ushers in a prolonged season of suffering, God tends to bear the brunt of the blame in the hearts and minds of His children, generally speaking. The longer the season lasts, the stronger the temptation to embrace bitterness and conclude God is hardly "good" and a very poor "father". Once bitterness is embraced, rebellion is the natural result. This happens every day in the hearts and minds of many of God's people all across the globe.
With all of this established, my question to you, dear reader, is simple. Why do we assume the phrase "God is good" automatically means we are exempt from suffering?
Job's story establishes the idea that God uses suffering as part of His transformative process. This single concept flies directly in face of our understanding of "good".
In our minds, a 'good' father does not intentionally cause or allow his children to suffer. In fact, any parent worthy of the title does everything in their power to protect and prevent suffering for their children. We spend an incredible amount of money every month on every imaginable type of insurance known to man as a form of protection from suffering. In short, in our collective minds, suffering in any form not only has no observable value, it is something to avoid at all costs.
But God's methods of maturing, growing, and transforming us into vessels of Honor definitely uses all manner of suffering and hardship. It is this contradiction in our thinking and God's that the enemy of our souls expertly exploits to distract us from the singular truth that 'God is good'.
Once the seeds of doubt in God's character and nature are sown into our hearts and minds, it doesn't take much hardship to grow those seeds into an orchard of anger and bitterness toward God. Once a believer is convinced God is not really all that 'good', the doors to our heart and mind are opened to anything Satan wants to pour into it.
This is the foundation of most forms of rebellion against God.
Yes, I said 'forms of rebellion. Like the sin of pride, rebellion comes in many flavors. The most obvious form is, of course, moral failings. The list of ways we can immorally act out our rebellion is legion. We've all seen the faithful brother or sister who suddenly drops out of church and starts systematically destroying their lives with sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. But rebellion isn't always so obvious.
As a matter of fact, our churches are filled with faithful 'churchians' who are living in rebellion while sitting in their favorite spots in their favorite church, singing their favorite songs, and listening to their favorite preacher. To hear the Word of God is fine but to refuse to actually apply what we're hearing is, according to scriptures, a form of self deception or, in other words, rebellion.
The book of Isaiah starts with a long diatribe against God's people for their rebellious attitudes and pride-filled, self-governed ways. Right in the middle of Isaiah chapter 1 you find these amazing words:
"Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood." - Isaiah 1:13-15
What God is basically saying to Israel here is, "Just stop coming to church. It's a waste of time for both of us." The reason for this is simple, Israel was in complete rebellion against God WHILE observing all of the rituals, rules, and regulations that God had established back in Moses' day.
It is important that we understand God's perspective here. He's not interested in the outward show of religion. He's after our hearts. He doesn't want rebellious sinners masquerading as spiritual saints. He wants repentant, blood-washed saints who are willing to allow him to transform them into the image of His son. He's looking for men and women who are willing to allow Him to transform them into modern versions of Peter, Paul, or Mary. He's searching for believers who will not elevate style over substance. He wants people who are going to be committed to His Word, His Will, and His Ways, even if His ways means we have to go through a season of life-changing, world-destroying suffering.
I'll repeat, we all have an appointment in the Potter's kiln. If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you'd better know God has a path for your life that your eye has not seen nor your ear heard about yet. You'd better understand God's desire for you is to create a 'new creature' out of you. He wants to transform you into something you probably aren't even aware is even possible for you to become.
He wants to transform you into a Spirit-filled, Kingdom-building world changer.
But to do that, He has to kill you. He has to kill your pride. He has to kill our self governance. He has to remove the thought processes that cause us to run and hide from Him when He is seeking to commune with us. He is looking to exorcise the hard-headed, stubborn pride that draws us away from Him when we don't get our way in life. He wants to remove the sinful attitudes that cause us to fall into rebellion when He does not measure up to our expectations of Him.
His preferred method for doing this is for us to listen to His instructions and obey Him without question. Unfortunately, most of us aren't very good at that. So, because He loves us and wants the very best for us, our Heavenly Father does something that a good father does in order to modify our attitudes and behavior.
He uses suffering and hardship. He uses suffering because He loves us. He uses suffering because He is a good father. He uses suffering because God knows the truth about suffering:
What doesn't kill you may make you stronger, but what DOES kill you will make you invincible.
NEXT: SIMON SAYS
Yes, I said 'forms of rebellion. Like the sin of pride, rebellion comes in many flavors. The most obvious form is, of course, moral failings. The list of ways we can immorally act out our rebellion is legion. We've all seen the faithful brother or sister who suddenly drops out of church and starts systematically destroying their lives with sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. But rebellion isn't always so obvious.
As a matter of fact, our churches are filled with faithful 'churchians' who are living in rebellion while sitting in their favorite spots in their favorite church, singing their favorite songs, and listening to their favorite preacher. To hear the Word of God is fine but to refuse to actually apply what we're hearing is, according to scriptures, a form of self deception or, in other words, rebellion.
The book of Isaiah starts with a long diatribe against God's people for their rebellious attitudes and pride-filled, self-governed ways. Right in the middle of Isaiah chapter 1 you find these amazing words:
"Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood." - Isaiah 1:13-15
What God is basically saying to Israel here is, "Just stop coming to church. It's a waste of time for both of us." The reason for this is simple, Israel was in complete rebellion against God WHILE observing all of the rituals, rules, and regulations that God had established back in Moses' day.
It is important that we understand God's perspective here. He's not interested in the outward show of religion. He's after our hearts. He doesn't want rebellious sinners masquerading as spiritual saints. He wants repentant, blood-washed saints who are willing to allow him to transform them into the image of His son. He's looking for men and women who are willing to allow Him to transform them into modern versions of Peter, Paul, or Mary. He's searching for believers who will not elevate style over substance. He wants people who are going to be committed to His Word, His Will, and His Ways, even if His ways means we have to go through a season of life-changing, world-destroying suffering.
I'll repeat, we all have an appointment in the Potter's kiln. If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you'd better know God has a path for your life that your eye has not seen nor your ear heard about yet. You'd better understand God's desire for you is to create a 'new creature' out of you. He wants to transform you into something you probably aren't even aware is even possible for you to become.
He wants to transform you into a Spirit-filled, Kingdom-building world changer.
But to do that, He has to kill you. He has to kill your pride. He has to kill our self governance. He has to remove the thought processes that cause us to run and hide from Him when He is seeking to commune with us. He is looking to exorcise the hard-headed, stubborn pride that draws us away from Him when we don't get our way in life. He wants to remove the sinful attitudes that cause us to fall into rebellion when He does not measure up to our expectations of Him.
His preferred method for doing this is for us to listen to His instructions and obey Him without question. Unfortunately, most of us aren't very good at that. So, because He loves us and wants the very best for us, our Heavenly Father does something that a good father does in order to modify our attitudes and behavior.
He uses suffering and hardship. He uses suffering because He loves us. He uses suffering because He is a good father. He uses suffering because God knows the truth about suffering:
What doesn't kill you may make you stronger, but what DOES kill you will make you invincible.
NEXT: SIMON SAYS
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