Persevering in Hope
(Exhortation - May 1999)
Here is a brother living in conditions we cannot even imagine, pouring out his innermost feelings which reveal his faith, confidence and hope in the things we all hold dear. How blessed we are to live in a country where there is freedom to worship our God, without fearing the authorities, and where we have comfortable homes to live in, with all the modern conveniences that make life easier. We can go to the nearest grocery store and buy all the food that we can afford. We have automobiles to take us many miles away to our favorite vacation spots or to the Bible school of our choice; but for our brother, and many like him, the environment yields untold anxieties and deprivation.
God is in control
The question as to why God allows some brethren to suffer such difficulties and
hardship while others have relative ease is not for us to pose. One thing, however, is
certain, we all have our own individual trials. What we must remember is that the Lord
knows our struggles, is in control, and is preparing the world to receive the new order of
things, when sorrow and sighing shall pass away.
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21:1-4).
Suffering
Among the many examples of suffering in the scriptures we have the apostle Paul.
"Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches" (II Cor. 11:24-28).
The voluntary loss of position and prestige as a Pharisee and the subsequent suffering as a Christian were of no consequence to him.
"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead" (Phil. 3:7-11).
To win Christ, to be found in him and to know him, were to Paul compensations that counter-balanced all deprivation and suffering.
Peter and John turned their public beating and humiliation into an occasion of "...rejoicing, that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name" (Acts 5:40-41). There may be times when we have cause to search for meaning in our personal trials. We may not understand why we have to suffer, but we can draw strength from the examples of these men of faith.
Pain essential to survival
Sometimes we need the stimulus of pain to alert us to avoid further harm. In his book God’s
Truth, Bro. Alan Hayward cites the case of a nine-year-old boy who was born with a
deficit in his central nervous system. He was found to have multiple injuries due to the
absence of pain sensation. For example, there was extensive scarring from burns, because,
being unable to experience painful stimuli the youngster was unaware he was touching a hot
surface. The boy needed the protective warning system with which the body is normally
equipped to prevent this sort of injury. In this sad situation we can see an analogy to
our own lives. Sometimes, we need a sharp jab of pain, acting as a stimulus, to prompt us
to remove ourselves from a harmful environment.
The scripture tells us, "Now no chastening (trial) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:11).
My trials may differ from yours, but whatever the trial or however difficult it may be, God knows what we can endure and will not test us beyond our capability. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Cor. 10:13). It is a salutary thought that our prayers and acts of kindness may engender "a way of escape" and an alleviation of suffering in others.
As we prepare to remember the Lord, in the breaking bread and drinking of wine, we think about the ultimate suffering he endured, as he laid down his life in sacrifice for us. Our late Bro. Sargent posed the question that should be framed in all our minds as we contemplate the dreadful scene:
Was it for me thy flesh was wounded sore,
Thy body lifted high on cross of shame?
Was it for me the King of Glory bore
So meek the scourge, and ruthless men’s defame?
Was there no other way for any man to live,
but thou must die, no joy but through thy grief?
Is sin so dark that God cannot forgive
save through thy sacrifice, and our belief?
Lord, let me learn thy sorrow, mark thy pain.
that no more heedless through the world I roam,
but come to take the pardon thou didst gain,
and find within thy fold eternal home.
The Lord himself invited us to cast our burdens upon him. Let us do so and press on, persevering in the hope of eternal life.
Bill Link, Sr., Baltimore, Maryland