A Biblical Response to Suffering

A Biblical Response to Suffering by David Speer

David and Kristen Speer 
Assistant Area Directors Caribbean General

One of the deepest weaknesses of our day is the inability to deal with calamity as a normal part of life.  Because we often spend so much time trying to create our own heaven on earth (comfort, security), when a situation occurs where we suffer, we are prone to think that God is mad at us or that we have done something wrong.  I find that even as a missionary, I am not immune to that same tendency.

In the last few chapters of Acts, we see a great example of a better way to respond to suffering.   Paul was falsely accused and arrested and then spent years being coerced by the governor for a bride to let him go.   When a new governor finally heard his case two years later, Paul was forced to appeal to Caesar to get a fair hearing.   While on the way to Rome to appear before him, the ship Paul was on was caught in a terrible storm that was so bad that no one ate for weeks and then ultimately shipwrecked on the island of Malta.  It was cold and rainy that day, so the people of the island built a fire for those that were on the ship.   When Paul added some sticks to the fire, a viper jumped out and bit him!

In the midst of all of his suffering, Paul kept his attitude in check and his connection to the Holy Spirit stayed strong in spite of the things he had endured.   He didn't blame God or focus on his situation but instead looked for opportunities to demonstrate the Spirit's power in the midst of hardship.   The result?   The people of Malta heard the good news and witnessed a demonstration of the Spirit's power to heal.

The reality is that suffering is a normal part of life (John 16:35).   So what was it that kept Paul keenly focused in the midst of so much difficulty?   Truthfully, I find it hard to choose just one or two examples from his writings because they are full of passages that would serve to give us strength.   But one of the passages found in Romans 8:35 NIV, 38-39 ESV, that I think goes right to the heart of the matter and helps us refocus says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?....For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I believe that at the bottom of every incorrect response to suffering you will find some kind of fear--fear that you are suffering because of something you did or didn't do, fear of being alone, fear of the unknown, fear of disaster or failure.   It is only when we are confidently resting in the fact that we are the dearly loved children of a good God that the fear will be driven out and we will be enabled to look past the momentary trouble and focus instead of the opportunities around us.

Grace moments in our time of grief

Grace moments in our time of grief
by Dale Coad

Dealing with critical illness with the grave possibility of death in the family vividly reminds us: we desperately need God!  In those vulnerable moments God whispers His assurance and love.  Last month, Patti and I walked through the sickness and death of her mother.   God's love sustained us with precious grace moments and Holy Spirit nudges.

Here is the journey: Patti's sister called, "Mom's in the hospital and not expected to make it through her fourth surgery."   We were in Costa Rica and her mom in California.   Time and distance were not on our side, but God was.   Patti left Costa Rica to be with her mother in record time.

Meanwhile, I was perplexed about how and when to join Patti.   MT/MR in AGWM's busiest time of the year.   I was scheduled to be in Springfield while Patti was with her dying mother in California.   Should I fly out right away?  Should I wait?  Without knowing what would happen, how does one plan?   Byron Klaus, one of the featured speakers at the Compassion forum in Costa Rica prayed with me, "Jesus, Patti's mother's life and death are not only in your hands but also in your timing."  The Spirit used that phrase, "in God's timing" to encourage me to wait on God for His timing.

As Psalms 27:14 (NIV) says, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

By God's Grace, Patti's mom survived the surgery with enough clarity to determine the limits of her own medical treatment and to depart this life with family by her side.  She died in peace with Jesus and on her own terms.

In her mother's last days, Patti needed wisdom for the planning.   She did not know the area but sensed the Spirit's leading to call a local Assemblies of God church.   God gave us another grace moment.   Jill Valdez's response (the pastor's wife) was endued with such love and support that Patti knew God had pre-arranged this contact.   Within a short time, the church was offered for the memorial service.   What Patti did not know in making her "random phone call" was that Jill was also a hospice nurse!   These grace moments were not random but orchestrated by God.

The memorial service was far from our colleagues and missionary support group.   God's reminder that we were not alone instantly overwhelmed whatever feelings of remoteness that we may have had.   We walked into the church greeted by a dazzling array of flower arrangements from Cuba, Haiti, ChildHope, AGWM and the LAC offices, colleagues all.   Right then, a florist walked in with a curious expression on his face, "These flowers are all the way from the Dominican Republic.  I had to bring them in myself to see how someone from so far away knows this sweet lady."   In that very moment, our colleague were with us in spirit and we felt their love.

As we deal with grief and loss, let's be aware of those grace moments and the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit.    We are not alone.   We are not left to our own decisions.   God is with us and He has a purpose for us.   As the Voice version of the Bible expresses it in 2 Corinthians 1:4,  "(God) consoles us as we endured the pain and hardship of life so that we may draw from His comfort and share it with others in their own struggles."

In our times of grief, let's look for those grace moments.  When others are grieving, let's be sensitive to be their grace moments.

Dale and Patti Coad

From Self-Reliance to Trust

From Self-Reliance to Trust by David Speer

One of the first verses I ever memorized as a young Royal Ranger was Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."   I'm sure that many of you memorized the same verse early in your journey with the Lord.   However, more times than I would like to admit, I have trusted in my own ability and leaned on my own understanding.

Just like I did as a young Royal Ranger, King Hezekiah started out well.  1 Kings 18 says this about him: "Hezekiah trusted the Lord, the God of Israel.   There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.  He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses.   So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did."  But when he and his kingdom were threatened with destruction by the armies of Assyria, he sent emissaries to make a treaty with Egypt and purchase horses and chariots.  In a time of testing, he trusted in human strength and ingenuity to protect him (Isaiah 30).

If, like Hezekiah, you find yourself off on your own, Isaiah 30:15 shows us the path home.   This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: "Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength."

In Isaiah 37, we read that Hezekiah listened to the warning of the prophets.   Even though he could not see how God was going to protect them from the army of King Sennacherib, he chose to put his trust in the Lord instead of figuring it out himself (Isaiah 37).  The result?   "That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.   When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere.   So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land.  He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there."  (Isaiah 37:36-37)

If you find yourself in a difficult situation and cannot see a way forward and are tempted to respond from your own abilities, choose the path of quiet, confident trust.   I want to leave you with this thought from Isaiah 30;19, 21: "He will be gracious if you ask for help.  He will surely respond to the sound of your cries...Your own ears will hear him.   Right behind you a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go,' whether to the right or to the left."

Finding that elusive thing called Peace

Finding that elusive thing called peace by Dale Coad

I am a child of the 60s.  My ordinary childhood in the "Father's Knows best" years were over-taken by the radical anti-Vietnam war years of my youth.   Hippies, flower children, beatnicks were all looking for an elusive thing call peace, a peace that never came.  For some it never would.

Where is peace?  Some wait till everything in their life aligns to an imaginary state of ecstasy with no pain or challenges.    It never comes.  Others, like Jerusalem under siege, deny the severity of the moment.   Disaster is imminent yet they console themselves by denying its reality.   Jeremiah affirms, "They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.  "'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 6:14 NIV)

So where is peace?   Peace is not found in some euphoric state of bliss or denying the existence of pain and sorrow.   Peace is only found in centering our lives, emotions and dreams in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.   Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give you as the world gives.   Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  (John 14:27 NIV)

Jesus' peace is not based on our surroundings all lining up.   Peace is rooting our circumstances in His unfailing love.    His perfect love casts out fear.   This past week, with a mother-in-law and my own mother's health failing, I had ample reasons to be troubled and afraid.   In the midst of receiving hospice notices for both, our Faithful High Priest Jesus made His Peace know.  (Hebrews 4:14).  

He understands.   He truly does.   I found that elusive thing called peace in Him.....Again.  Have you?