God's Sovereignty... or sympathy for me?

As I sought to begin my day. once again, John Courson had words of wisdom that struck home. Perhaps they will strike home with you.

Be blessed, be a blessing,
BE

[I only copy this as there is no perma link on his sight for this particular article.]

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Daily Devotional with Pastor John

April 23

"And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me." Genesis 42:36

Here’s the question: How will I react to difficulty? Will I be like Jacob and say, “All things are working against me”—even though I know in my heart such is not the case? Or will I be like Joseph and say, “Man may have meant this for evil, but God meant it for good” (see Genesis 50:20)?

Unfortunately, all too often, I choose the sniveling of Jacob over the security of Joseph. Why? To elicit sympathy. What is it about our flesh that wants people to think we have it hard? While this may seem an insignificant quirk, in reality, it borders on blasphemy. In getting you to feel sorry for me, I get you to question God’s goodness, provision, and protection in my life. Thus, your pity for me is at God’s expense.

Who will I be? I can be self-indulgent and allow God to be cast in a bad light, even though I know in my heart the promise given to me, the price paid for me, and the peace available within me. I can deny all of this and say, “I want you to feel sorry for me. Listen to my tragedy.”

Or, I can say, “I will not dishonor this good, gracious, loving God, who has been so kind to me, so good to me. He’s my Creator and my Father. Therefore, I will not bring shame to His name in seeking sympathy from anyone.” That is called the fear of the Lord. It’s saying, “Father, I care more about Your reputation than I do about getting sympathy from the congregation. I don’t want them to think questioningly, negatively, or blasphemously of You.”

Where are the men and women who say, “We fear God. We will not snivel. God is good and we know deep within our hearts that He is working all things together for good”?

Here’s the question: In the name of compassion, are you one who constantly weeps with others? Perhaps what we need in the Christian community during this time of self-centered Christianity are men and women who say, “I fear God. So, dear brother, precious sister, even if you don’t understand, even if you think this is cold-hearted or lacking compassion, you know that this difficulty or tragedy will work for good. Stand on that knowledge. Cling to it. I will weep for you if you don’t get it. But I’m not going to weep with you as you question God. He’s too good for that.”

May God give us wisdom. May God give us peace. May God give us understanding. All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). I know it. And so do you.

This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book "A Pillar By Day" by Pastor Jon. "A Pillar By Day" is a collection of 365 short devotions from the Old Testament books of Genesis through Deuteronomy.  If you would like your own copy of "A Pillar By Day" you may click here to go to the SearchLight Store

Book Review: How Long, O Lord?

How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering & Evil.
D.A. Carson, 1990 Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI.

How Long, O Lord? was my vacation reading this year, as we travelled to and from the Grand Canyon. Travelling with teenage drivers is a new experience, very relaxing with my daughters and wife driving. The scenery made it difficult to read, but camping made up for it.

How Long, O Lord? was not written to comfort those who are suffering. It was written to help Disciples of Jesus think Biblically about suffering. Some might appreciate the thoughts of D.A. Carson on this subject when suffering; but when we suffer as humans, we tend to emote rather than think. Therefore, “How Long, O Lord?” would be better read before, than during, suffering.

Mr. Carson states what the book is:
"Primarily, this is a book of preventative medicine. One of the major causes of devastating grief and confusion among Christians is that our expectations are false." (Carson, preface, pg. 9)

Further he states:
"But I shall be satisfied if it helps some Christians establish patterns and habits of thoughts that are so strong that when the hardest questions batter the soul there is less wavering and more faith, joy, and hope." (Carson, preface, pg. 10)

This is not an feel good book with easy, glib answers about suffering. D.A. Carson is a pastor and theologian who thinks from the Bible about its teachings (which is orthodoxy = right teaching). Mr. Carson looks at suffering from the scriptures:

1. Where did it come from?
2. What are its sources and forms?
3. How does God respond to suffering?
4. How should we respond to suffering(which is orthopraxy -right practices)?

Mr. Carson does an excellent job of examining this as a fellow sojourner in suffering. His conclusions are from the Lord, the Word, and are not his own.

Biblically, as Mr. Carson reminds us, suffering is a result of the Fall of Adam and Eve after Creation.

Suffering originated with sin. In fact, Mr. Carson would maintain that all suffering is a result of sin, though only sometimes is it the direct result of the sinner. Some, like natural disasters are the result of the original sin of Adam & Eve (all suffering has its origins here). Others, like lung cancer MAY be a direct result of abusing ones own body. In between is a range of sin and suffering that we ALL struggle with in some way. And we see this throughout the Bible.

God is NOT surprised by suffering, nor is he impotent to deal with it. His response is to provide an eternal solution and provide us with an example for responding to suffering in our lives; that of Jesus Christ.

Our response to suffering should not be to question "Why?" as if we deserve not to suffer. Rather, we might better ask "Why should our suffering not be worse?" Suffering should help us to see God's goodness, holiness, mercy and grace.

Part 1 Thinking about Suffering and Evil

Mr. Carson first recognizes that thinking about suffering is HARD. He then examines false starts that we may have in our thinking. This is critical as where we start thinking defines the presuppositions we have.

Part 2 Parts of the Puzzle: Biblical Themes for Suffering People

These are the Themes he explorers, hardly exhaustive, but VERY COMPREHENSIVE in scope.

• The Price of Sin
• Social Evils, Poverty, War, Natural Disasters
• The Suffering People of God
• Curses and Holy Wars—and Hell
• Illness, Death and Bereavement
• From the Vantage of the End
• Job: Mystery and Faith
• The Suffering God

Part 3 Glimpses of the Whole Puzzles: Evil and Suffering in the World of a Good and Sovereign God

Finally, he addresses the questions of how are we to see God’s actions in the midst of our suffering.

• the Mystery of Providence
• The Comfort of Providence: Learning to Trust
• Some Pastoral Reflections

While Mr. Carson only scratches the surface of the Biblical discussion, and I only scratch the surface of his examination and contemplation.

To whom would I recommend this book?

• Pastors- -to help them better think about suffering Biblically, and equip them to better shepherd the flock the Lord has charged them with protecting and caring.
• Believers/ Disciples of Jesus -who should want to minister to those whom are suffering.
• New Believers-who need to know what the Bible says about suffering before they encounter suffering for themselves.

Personally, I cannot recommend this book on suffering enough.

In closing, I quote form his chapter “First Steps”:

"They [Christians] draw comfort only from the living Lord himself, from the Spirit whom he has graciously given, from a renewed grasp, a felt experience, of the love of God in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3: 14-21). That is not to say, however, that the set of beliefs is irrelevant. It is to say that, in addition to holding that Christian beliefs are true and consistent, the Christian, to find comfort in them, must learn how to use (Carson's emphasis) them. Christian beliefs are not to be stacked in the warehouse of the mind; they are to be handled and applied to the challenges of life and discipleship." (Carson, pp. 20-21)

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Next Review(s):

• What He Must Be. Voddie Baucham
• Last of the Mohicans. Cooper (? I really enjoy this book, but novels are low on my review list, just depends on their impact)

Currently Reading:

• Already Gone. Ken Ham
• Do Hard Things. Harris Brothers

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BE