Series: Saints
Message: Suffering
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jason Calvert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 8:18-30 in the New Living Translation (NLT). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Paul writes, “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:20–21).
I have some dear friends who went through the hell of losing a child to death. Their child was in her twenties with a new baby when cancer struck. It came like a flash flood and, before they knew it, we were all huddled around a casket in a cemetery on a hill above Walla Walla University.
The cancer victim’s father, in tears, choked out the words, “We just kept praying and praying that God would just peek over the edge of heaven and touch our little girl.” But it wasn’t to be.
This happened a couple of years ago, and the couple has other children. Do you think that time and the presence of other children helps the ache? Does it make the suffering of loss any more palatable? I think not. I think suffering like this can only be resolved with a large earthquake, a loud trumpet call, and the voice of a rider on a white horse yelling, “Come forth!” This kind of deep pain can only be resolved when a fresh new body comes from the grave, is reunited with her little one, and feels the embrace of a once-broken mom and dad.
The only solution to suffering of this kind is a great reunion. A Second Coming. A big banquet table. God tabernacling with men.
Neither you nor I are exempt from the kinds of suffering I’ve detailed above. I’ve lost a mother, a daughter, and too many close friends to the sting of death. It always brings an empty raw feeling that doesn’t seem natural or right. The suffering of loss and/or rejection causes deep torment, the kind of torment that can only be soothed with the gentle embrace of the Savior and solved through His triumphant return.
We have this hope that burns within our hearts. We are banking on it. We need it to happen sooner rather than later.
Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Recalibrate: What has brought you through times of deep loss and grief? How can those experiences help you to be an aid to another person facing similar circumstances?
Respond: Ask God to help you share your common experiences with those who are suffering loss or grief.
Research: Check out this article on the importance of empathy.
Remember: “Consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18, NIV).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Pacific Union College Church in Angwin, CA. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Mark has served as a youth pastor, Bible teacher, college and academy chaplain, and lead pastor in the United States and Canada for the last 33 years. He has also authored four books: Born Chosen, Live Out Loud, Portals, and Just Jesus.
If your little one is crawling, make a tunnel. If your child is an infant, play Peek-a-Boo. You may have a pop-up tunnel, or you can use a sheet stretched over chairs. Place your child at one end, then move to the other end and look through the tunnel so your child can see you. Encourage your little one to move through the tunnel. Cheer them through and when they get to the side you are on, celebrate that they have made it. Know that while we are going through difficult stuff, God does not take His eyes off us. He is cheering us through.
Have you ever played a game where you were losing? Did you give up and walk away? Did you keep playing? Make a list of all the encouraging things that you can say to yourself when you feel like you are losing. In Romans 8:32, Paul tells us that God did not spare His own son, Jesus, from losing when He died on the cross. It was when Jesus died that He beat death forever. He also beat it for all of us who want to be on team Live Love. Know that when you feel like you’re losing, God is for you. If God is for you, you will always be a winner even when you don’t feel like one.
When was the last time you felt totally exhausted—I mean absolutely drained? Probably this exact moment. You’re a teenager. You’re always tired, right? You wake up tired. Live your entire day at school tired. Study and do homework tired. Game tired. Then, finally, go to sleep . . . tired. How do you cope with this eternal state of fatigue?
Recently, I had to drive more than sixteen hours with my wife and kids. At one point, it was the middle of the night. My entire family was asleep. The white noise of the low melodious road rhythm sunk in. It was dark. I was tired. And I was driving!
Finally, I realized that I couldn’t do this on my own and have any reasonable expectation that any of us would survive. I needed help now! So I did something I’ve never done before. I pulled into a 24-hour gas station and purchased help. Monster.
Wow, was that a game changer. (Definitely not endorsing or supporting Monster consumption. I’m a sinner. Just making a point.) I consumed a single can of a carbonated amalgamation of ingredients I can’t even pronounce much less understand and, with this in my body, I was able to keep on driving. Point?
Paul says, “We have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory.” Did you catch that? God isn’t just around and with us. He can also be in us. This gives us a Costco-sized sampling of what life can and will be like when we are living in glory.
As you’re starting this week, think about what it looks like for you to have the Holy Spirit in you. Is He in you now? How do you know? When was the last time you noticed God was in you? According to Paul, the idea of God in us is a complete game changer. Right now, invite God to be in you.