In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When life's troubles rise to meet me,
Though their weight
May be great,
They will not defeat me.
God, my loving Savior, sends them;
He who knows
All my woes
Knows how best to end them. (LSB 756.2)
Troubles come to everyone in this life. There is no escaping them.
Sometimes troubles are small, sometimes they are very great.
Nevertheless, you can be sure of two things – God is in control of
your suffering, and He has the best end for you in mind.
However, it often – usually –
happens that the ways of God are hidden from the eyes of men,
especially in the midst of suffering. Consider the case of Job. Job
was a man of God, given great faith, and great temporal blessings. He
had land, property, flocks and herds, a large family, and a good
reputation among the community. Scripture says that he was “the
greatest of all the people of the east.”
(1:3) All the blessings which the Lord had promised to Abraham, Job
had them, and then some. And he had faith in the Lord God.
But the devil, never content to allow the faithful to rest,
petitioned God for permission to afflict Job, to see whether this
great man would then curse God. God allowed it, and so Job was
stricken by the loss of his riches, his family, his status, and even
his health. In one day, Job lost almost 12,000 animals, all ten of
his children, and nearly all of his servants.
The devil thought that this would
cause Job to renounce his faith and trust in God, and to follow his
wife's advice to “curse God and die.”
(2:9) Her reaction is an understandable one, from an human
perspective. After all, Job was faithful, even offering more prayers
and sacrifices than required by the Law, simply out of faith and
devotion. Little good that did him, since all he had was taken from
him in one fell swoop. How can you trust God when He allows such
great evil to befall you all at once? After all, His chosen people
are supposed to be under the protection of His mighty power. If He
works for the good of His people, then why does such great evil
befall His children?
In faith, however, Job rejected his
wife's advice. His response to calamity: “The Lord gave,
and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
No blame, no cursing, no shaking his fist at God. Simply a statement
of fact – the Lord has done all these things, both the good and the
bad. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. After all, is not the earth and
all the fullness thereof the Lord's, to do with as He will? “Shall
we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”
The Lord never promises that life will be easy. In fact, He promises
just the opposite – you will have problems, you will face
adversity, you will suffer greatly.
The first line of this evening's hymn asks “Why should cross and
trial grieve me?” The Scriptures are so full of comfort and joy and
peace and love. Since the Christian life is so great and so full of
hope, why should trials and temptations hurt and grieve you? Because
they hurt. You are not made of plastic. You did not leave your
feelings and emotions and your flesh and blood in the font. When the
devil assails you, you feel his flaming arrows. Death is scary; pain
really hurts.
The effects of sin are no light
thing. When a child is stricken with cancer, no amount of balloons
with happy faces will make him better. When a couple hears that they
will not be able to bear children, no amount of cute kitten pictures
from the internet will allay their sadness and grief. The effects of
sin are a part of reality. Tornadoes and tsunamis will destroy
things. Drought and famine will cause hunger and disease. Cancer,
AIDS, heart attacks, diabetes – all are products of the poison of
sin that infects us all. Cross and trial grieve you because they
hurt.
Unfortunately, some will try to convince you that a Christian ought
not, or need not, suffer in this life. If you are suffering as a
Christian, then you must be doing something wrong, they say. You need
to pray this prayer, or follow these steps, or simply think positive.
You need to figure out your purpose, then live the best life you can.
And ultimately, if you cannot wish away or work away your troubles,
it just means that you really do not have enough faith, so keep at it
until you get better. Put on your big-boy pants, put on your plastic
face, and pretend that life is grand.
Yes, the reality is that sin and its fruits hurt, but they cannot
hurt you too deeply. No suffering in this body and life has the power
to separate you from the love of God which He has pledged to you in
His Son. However, the devil would very much like you to think that it
can. He wants to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus by
making you wonder whether it is really for you. If he can make you
question the sure promises of God, then he can begin to separate you
from the assembly of saints. If he can separate you from the assembly
of saints, then he can begin to separate you from the Word of God. If
he can separate you from the Word of God, then he has all but won. He
has pulled you away from the cross of Christ and the promises of God.
He has caused you to doubt what is true and turn toward what is
false.
How do you know that God loves you, that He works for your good?
Because He tells you so in His Word. Because He comes to you in the
midst of the congregation of the godly. Because He places Himself in
your heart and upon your forehead and tongue and ears.
The devil's tactic for destroying Christians is like that of a lion
chasing a gazelle. Find the weak one, the young one, the one at the
fringe. Start chasing her. Run after her at a steady pace. Zig-zag a
bit to throw her off. Circle around her. Let her see that she is cut
off from all hope of rescue. Then, when he has worn her down and
separated her from the herd, he pounces and devours his prey.
The devil will work on a Christian in the same manner. First, he will
lull you with a bit of security and prosperity. Then, he will start
jabbing at you, softly at first, but intensifying. He will find some
secret sin or desire with which to haunt you. He will throw your past
up in your face. He will make you think that others in the
congregation are so much better than you. That you do not measure up.
He will torture you with suffering in mind and body. If he cannot
drive a wedge into your mind, he will try to divide the Body
physically. Put you in the sick-bed so you cannot attend the Divine
Service. Keep you out of the Church so you cannot hear the Word of
God or receive His Blessed Sacraments. Finally, he will have weakened
you to the point where he can simply knock you over.
But what about the hymn we sang earlier? What about Job's confession?
Shall we not receive evil from God? God is not the author of evil. In
Him can no evil be found. The Lord desires not the death of His
saints, but desires to bless and to show mercy. So how can Job say
that the Lord sends evil, and how can we sing such a thing?
Indeed, the Lord is not the author of evil. The evil things that
befall you are a result of sin, of the wickedness of humanity.
However, we must confess with Job that all things come from God, for
nothing happens without His express will and consent. He allows evil
to befall you, so that your faith may be strengthened by trial and
hardship. He allows the rod to strike, that you may be corrected and
chastised, that your faith may be purified by fire.
The Lord allows that suffering occur in the lives of you His saints,
that it may drive you to repentance of your attempts to direct your
own days and deeds. He allows suffering so that you learn to trust in
Him who is the author and preserver of your life. Then, learning this
lesson, you can sing, “He who knows All my woes Knows how best to
end them.”
And it is indeed true that He knows all your woes, and He knows how
best to end them. After all, the Father of all life sent His
only-begotten Son into the world to bear your sin and be your savior.
He did not spare Him any bit of suffering and affliction, that you
might know that He has taken all your sins and sorrows upon Him, and
has destroyed them by His death on the cross. Your heavenly Father
knows how best to end your woes – He ended your guilt and shame by
sending Jesus to die the atoning death for them.
Therefore, the record of wrongdoing, of doubt and grief and shame,
that stood against you, is erased by the all-availing blood of the
Lamb who was slain but now is raised. The devil cannot harm you,
because you are a child of God. Though he may try to deprive you of
goods, fame, child, or wife, he cannot separate you from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Though he may kick up the sand
of former sins into your face, he cannot condemn you with what has
been washed away in the flood of God's lavish grace. The cross of
Christ stands forever as your anchor in the storm, as your shelter in
the battle, as your strength in the midst of weakness. For when you
are weak, then He is strong for you.
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
then, “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” (1
Peter 3:15). Let your hope be evident to all, in whatever
circumstance. “If you should suffer for righteousness'
sake, you will be blessed.”
The Lord has already given you grace upon grace, that you may bear up
under trial. He will not let you suffer beyond what you can bear,
even though it may seem that He has a greater estimation of your
abilities than you do.
You can bear up under trial as one having hope because you know that
your trials will end. Though the devil may seek to torture you
throughout this life, those who fall asleep in faith enter the
blessed company of the saints, where there is no more suffering or
dying. You can live exhibiting a lively hope and confidence in Christ
your redeemer, because He is preparing a place for you. Although
trials and temptations will come, they will tarry but for a night,
and joy and gladness come with the morning. Do not suffer as those
who have no hope, for your hope springs eternal. So hold fast to
Christ, and comfort your brethren with this same glorious promise.
Now in Christ, death cannot slay me,
Though it might,
Day and night,
Trouble and dismay me.
Christ has made my death a portal
From the strife
Of this life
To His joy immortal! (LSB 756.5)
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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