So Why Am I Getting Surprised and Frustrated Over Life's Trials When God Wills That His Own Must Also Suffer for the Greater Good?

-

While reading through the Spurgeon devotional on my mobile phone - this morning's particular passage has Acts 14:22 as the verse of the day. The passage is as follows:

God's people have their trials. It was never designed by God, when He chose His people, that they should be an untried people. They were chosen in the furnace of affliction; they were never chosen to worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of mortality was never promised them; but when their Lord drew up the charter of privileges, He included chastisements amongst the things to which they should inevitably be heirs. Trials are a part of our lot; they were predestinated for us in Christ's last legacy. So surely as the stars are fashioned by His hands, and their orbits fixed by Him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: He has ordained their season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have upon us. 

Good men must never expect to escape troubles; if they do, they will be disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been without them. Mark the patience of Job; remember Abraham, for he had his trials, and by his faith under them, he became the "Father of the faithful." Note well the biographies of all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and you shall discover none of those whom God made vessels of mercy, who were not made to pass through the fire of affliction. It is ordained of old that the cross of trouble should be engraved on every vessel of mercy, as the royal mark whereby the King's vessels of honour are distinguished. 

But although tribulation is thus the path of God's children, they have the comfort of knowing that their Master has traversed it before them; they have his presence and sympathy to cheer them, his grace to support them, and his example to teach them how to endure; and when they reach "the kingdom," it will more than make amends for the "much tribulation" through which they passed to enter it.

Today's devotion is really a far cry from the prosperity "gospel" movement or the "name it and claim it" movement. It's a huge terrible lie to declare that those faithful to God will be spared from trials. Instead, Acts 14:22 has it that it's God's will that those in Christ should suffer. It sounds humanly insane but it's true. God has really called His people to suffer. This doesn't meant to take pleasure in suffering but to take pleasure that God has a purpose for this suffering. 

I remembered the time when I was struggling with my teenage life after I got saved. I was mocked by people saying that if God is so merciful then why am I allowed to suffer. I was shocked at why staying in the right side meant getting into trouble. I had to face this and that. I was reading the Bible yet why did I frequently forget that God's good men are not without troubles. Job had his trials. Noah was mocked by the world when he was building the Ark. Abel the righteous was struck by Cain and had to be replaced with the righteous Seth. The prophets weren't spared from trouble and they were doing what was right. I could've answered the mockery and say, "If it's God's will that I suffer then so be it!" I didn't see the beauty of worldly suffering would've kept me humble. I was given the chance to transfer to a secular school. Instead, I chose to stay what might be called the place of affliction rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Most people just don't get Job because the Bible is spiritually discerned. Most people don't realize that God allowed Satan to hurt Job with a good reason. In my case, many of my past failures were most likely chastisements from sins and to keep me humble. Some people with past failures growing up have become better people than those who achieve too much in the worldly sense.

I seldom have the foolish tendency to believe if I do what's right then I won't get into trouble. Far from it. Jesus Christ being the Son of God always did what was right and where did it lead Him? Jesus in His full obedience to God the Father had to face the wickedness of His day. Becoming more like Jesus doesn't mean the world will love you. In fact, John 15:18-19 has Jesus warning His disciples that they will be hated because they aren't of the world. The prophets and apostles did what was right and where did it lead them? Some say Isaiah was sawn in half. Jeremiah was an outcast of his own people. John the Baptist was beheaded for renouncing the immoral affair of Herod Antipas and his half-niece Herodias. Some say Peter was sentenced to die by crucifixion and requested he die upside-down - seeing he wasn't worthy to die like the Lord Jesus. Paul was later beheaded in Rome under the rule of Nero. Later records show the apostles were suffering. John suffered exile in Patmos and didn't have a good retirement home until he was called home. Whoever says that you don't get into trouble if you do what's right is dreaming. Sure, you can get into trouble for doing what's wrong. However, doing what's right is not a guarantee you will be free of trouble. I mean, some people are living wickedly and seem to live life free of troubles.

Besides, even the term Christian was said that it wasn't an endearment either. I was looking at how the disciples were first called Christians in Acts 11:26. The word Christian comes from the Greek word Christianos or followers of Christ. Jesus didn't call His disciples as such - the unbelieving people did. The disciples never called themselves such - it was the people in Antioch who first called them Christians. Later, Acts 26:28 has Herod Agrippa II (who replaced the Herod Agrippa who was eaten of worms) saying, "You almost persuaded me to be a Christian." It seems that Agrippa II was really looking at the term with disdain. Peter later said in 1 Peter 4:16 that if any person suffers as a Christian - let that person not be ashamed. It would be that Peter took delight in the insult of being called a Christian. Later, more insults were given such as Christians who refused to compromise with the Mother Church of Rome were later considered as either Baptists (because these Christians openly baptized new converts by immersion) during the Dark Ages or Protestants after Martin Luther led the badly-needed Reformation. The terms Christian and Protestant (and may I say, probably even the term Baptist) were meant to be insults. Yet, the Christians throughout the centuries have borne the mockery with gladness. With that in mind, why am I exploding over mere insults (to the point I want to harm the person physically over a petty offense) when the Christians throughout the centuries suffered worse? 

God will not allow bad things to happen if He doesn't have a good purpose for them. Perhaps, it's a chastisement from sin unknown to the believer. Perhaps it's to separate one from any pride that could've made a person defective. Perhaps it's to reveal to the person any sin they're not aware they had. Satan the evil one will always require God's permission before he can harm the Christian. When God says, "Okay Satan, you can." then it's not a cause to say, "Why God, why are you allowing Satan to hurt me?" Rather, it's a cause to say, "Okay God, you let Satan hurt me. Now give me your strength to prove Satan wrong." Satan was proven wrong when Job survived the terrible ordeal. Satan is but a temporary foe who's going to be defeated soon. The trials and sufferings of life that Satan is allowed to inflict are but temporary. Regardless, God's allowance of evil to hurt His children is never without a good reason. Besides, for one to lose excess weight, one must do certain difficult exercises such as building stamina to walk long distances, increase heart rate and breathing, cut away sinful pleasures such as high-fat foods, and even eat foods you don't normally eat. Nobody gets strong without lifting weights. Trials would be like the weights a person lifts. God adds another volume to the weight after one set is over. In the gym, you get heavier exercises after you pass one set. God does the same. That's what it means to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

The path to Heaven isn't an easy one. Believing the Gospel of Jesus isn't an easy task either because people are set to believe in their own righteousness and ignorant of God's righteousness (Romans 10:2). Receiving Jesus Christ as one's personal Lord and Savior can cause you your life. People can fear getting saved because their temporal conditions wouldn't be saved. The calling to through much tribulation isn't about conditional security. Rather, any person who's truly secure in Christ should expect tribulations to hit them. There's no easy path for a person who's in Christ. Living a godly life will also mean persecution for doing right (2 Timothy 3:12). A man faithful to his wife can expect to be mocked by his peers who have their adulterous lifestyles. The mark of true salvation is enduring to the end. 1 John 2:19 also warns that those pretenders are just sit-ins. Any immature Christian can argue about their suffering. However, God's suffering will help the immature Christian mature by God's grace. All the tribulations are meant to keep the Christian in focus. It's pretty much that if you're in negative devotion then God uses any form of punishment (such as persecution) to keep one on the right track. 

See also: