Category: Knowing God in the Work of the Lord

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Nine Key Things God Wants the Afflicted to Know

There is high purpose, great comfort, and strong hope that deliverance is coming for the afflicted.

Afflicted

“The pollution played havoc with my respiratory system,” said Mark. “It was as though I lived with a sinus infection for years.”

Mark was telling me his story yesterday over lunch at a suburban Chicago restaurant, and across the table from us sat another missionary who had served in the same Indonesian city for ten years. “The pollution was harsh,” she concurred.

You might wonder, why would anyone voluntarily stay for years in a place like that when as Americans they easily could live in relative comfort elsewhere? The answer, of course, is they did it for the Lord, his kingdom, and the lost. They had signed up to do the work of the Lord, and they knew that God’s work entails enduring afflictions and hardships.

Afflicted even in the comfortable West

Depending on where you live, these hardships can be extreme, as above, or more commonplace. For example, our church meets in a school in Chicago, and so we set up chairs, tables, and technology for Sunday meetings every week. That requires getting up earlier on Sunday morning and often enduring bad weather to get there. It is so much easier and pleasant to stay in bed and then linger over a hot cup of coffee.

Last week one of our committed setup workers called early on Sunday to say she was coming to set up, despite having been sick for several days and still feeling ill, despite the temperature outside being bitterly cold, and despite having to take her usual commute on trains and buses that usually took an hour or more. She would come, set up, and then immediately go back home to recover, she said apologetically. (We told her thank you for being willing to do that, but to stay home.)

Leaders are afflicted

Those who work with and for God learn especially well what is true for all believers. Although he could prevent it, God sometimes allows affliction and hardship into the lives of his people, and he does so for important, worthwhile reasons.

The apostle Paul writes at length about this in 2 Corinthians. In chapter 11 he gives a hair-raising summary of his afflictions. Compared to other false apostles, he had experienced “far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27)

9 key principles for the afflicted

Compared to that list, getting up early to work at church on Sunday does not sound tough. That level of affliction is what Paul is talking about when he teaches an important lesson about God and his ways in the opening of his second letter to the Corinthians. But Paul applies these principles to all believers. He writes:

“[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. [5] For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5 ESV)

I will highlight nine important principles in this passage.

1. The God who allows us to be afflicted is our Father (verse 3).

He is not a distant, aloof deity who does not care about us, but rather he is the one who loves us and gave us life.

2. When he allows us to be afflicted, he also brings mercy and comfort in “all” our afflictions (verse 4).

We can count on it; we should watch for it and receive it like a marathon runner doffing a sun cap with a broad rim as he runs under a blistering sun, meanwhile drinking every drop of a bottle of water. God will give that comfort “abundantly.” His comfort will be adequate to uphold us.

3. In some way, our hardships are ultimately the hardships of Jesus himself (verse 5).

We grow closer to him as we suffer for him.

Comfort for all

Paul continues:

“[6] If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. [7] Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:6–7 ESV)

4. One of God’s purposes in allowing affliction is it equips us to comfort others (verse 6).

It gives us sympathy and compassion.

5. These afflictions are not suffered just by apostles and Christian leaders, but by all Christians (verses 6–7).

Paul says of all the Christians in the Corinthian church that they “endure the same sufferings that we suffer.” Christians cannot avoid all hardship and pain by avoiding the work of the Lord.

Relying on God

Paul continues: “[8] For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. [9] Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9 ESV)

6. Our affliction and hardship is sometimes extreme (verses 8–9).

We can feel “burdened beyond our strength.” We can feel as though death, real or figurative, is at our doorstep. We can be tempted to “despair.”

7. Another purpose for such affliction is “to make us rely not on ourselves but on God” (verse 9).

This is important to God. He wants every believer to rely on him for everything. If we learn this lesson and rely on him, then affliction has served a fundamental purpose.

How do we rely on him? By praying about all things. By believing that he will answer. By trusting his promises and waiting for their fulfillment. By following Scriptural wisdom and wise counsel from others.

The rescue of the afflicted

Finally, Paul writes: “[10] He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. [11] You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:10–11 ESV)

8. God delivers us from even hopeless situations (verse 10).

Paul had seen God deliver him in extraordinary ways before, and he believed God would do it again. We do not believe in a God who just lets us suffer. We believe in the God who raised Jesus from the dead, who saved Paul from the mouth of the lion and from thousands of men who wanted him dead. God delivers his people. God will deliver you as you trust in him and patiently persevere. These are God’s ways. He is a great deliverer.

9. God wants many people to thank him for his rescues (verse 11).

Thanksgiving is important to the Lord. One primary reason he works for our good is so we will say thank you. That may not seem important to us, but it is of ultimate importance to God.

One way he multiplies the thanksgiving that resounds to his great name is when we ask others to pray for our deliverance. “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf.”

So as you endure afflictions, make sure to fulfill their purpose. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV) And ask others to pray for you so that they too will give thanks when God answers. When your deliverance is complete, be sure to testify to others of what God has done. Giving glory to God is the ultimate completion of his purpose in our afflictions.

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Finding God’s Will in God’s Work

One of the surest ways to know God better is to surrender to his will as he leads you to work with him.

I grew up in a nominally Christian family that sporadically attended a protestant church. I do not remember a time in my life when I did not believe in the cardinal orthodox doctrines. After completing the confirmation process at around 12-years-old, I received from the church a Bible and a devotional and immediately began a habit of regular reading in the Gospels and Psalms that continued through high school.

Nevertheless, something was missing. I had not fully surrendered to Christ. When I left home for college, I did not attend church and reduced my Bible reading. By my sophomore year, I began drifting into worldliness. One night I decided to read the Bible and while reading experienced the conviction of sin. I began weeping and became clearly aware that Jesus was Lord, while I was living as though I were the Lord of my life. I bowed and surrendered to his rule. I determined from then on to do God’s will.

Within two weeks God providentially led me to the woman who is now my wife, and she brought me to her church, where I heard the Bible preached with passion, as the inerrant Word of God, to be believed and followed. There I was baptized in water, began to attend the campus fellowship, and eventually became one of the leaders. Upon graduation, I joined the staff of the church, and have been in ministry ever since.

All these dramatic changes began when I surrendered. And they have continued all my adult life. When we choose to do God’s will, and work for him in obedience to his will, our knowledge of him grows exponentially and never stops.

God ordains his role for you

2 Corinthians 1:1 says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (ESV). Paul held an exalted role in the church, but he did not choose it. God chose and called him. When Paul was a violent persecutor of the church, Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus and redirected his life.

He became an apostle “by the will of God.”

God’s will for every believer

Are you ever bored with your life? Do you ever feel insignificant, as though you lack purpose and meaning? Advertisements and secular motivational speakers tell us the answer to this malaise is a better job, or more entertainment, the latest video game, physical exercise, or creative pursuits. But Scripture says we can only find enduring purpose in the will and work of God.

Scripture shows that God assigns work and roles to every believer.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

1 Peter 4:10 (ESV) says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

1 Corinthians 12:7, 11 (ESV) says, “[7] To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. … [11] All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

Thus we, too, serve God “by the will of God.”

The weight of God’s will

No one’s will is more important than his. It endures forever (1 John 2:17). It is good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2). It is pure—the highest and holiest thing we can do (Psalm 19:7–9). This glorious will of God explains why each believer has work to do in his kingdom.

Consider the significance of that, the weight of what carries you along in your work for the Lord, the eternal purpose of it. In a sense, your work for God is like driving a 200-ton locomotive. Although you will at times face challenges, setbacks, and troubles, God will nevertheless accomplish his desire through you if you walk in faith and obedience.

There is a weight of glory in what you do for God, whether you are called to work in a home for the elderly or to tend newborns in a church nursery or public day care. There is infinite value in what you do, whether it is helping run a small group in church or serving on the school board of your city. If you sought his will in adopting a role, you are doing it because it is God’s will.

Moses learns that God requires obedience

In the life of Moses, working with God certainly brought about a greater knowledge of God and a deeper consecration to God’s will. When he met God at the burning bush, Moses was unwilling to go to Egypt. He asked God to send someone else. Nevertheless God insisted, and Moses finally surrendered. So we see the call of God to the work of God brought about a greater embrace of the will of God.

But his surrender was incomplete. Although he knew he should have already circumcised his two sons, he and his wife had never done so, perhaps because his Midianite, non-Jewish wife had resisted it. As a result we see a mysterious episode. As Moses and his family journeyed toward Egypt, God met Moses—his newly recruited worker—to judge him for disobeying the fundamental, essential requirement given to all Abraham’s male descendants, that they be circumcised (see Genesis 17:11–14).

“At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, ‘A bridegroom of blood,’ because of the circumcision.” (Exodus 4:24–26 ESV)

The episode lasts just one short paragraph. There must be a large backstory we are not given, explaining the severity of God’s intervention. Whatever the reasons, Moses, negligent and rebellious, was getting a crash course in obedience. He was learning well that those who work with God must honor and love his will. Although God revealed himself in the Old Testament as “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6), his patience was not unlimited.

Godly people who confessed the importance of surrender

Working with God deepens our knowledge of God by increasing our consecration, our surrender to his will.

Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). And, “Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). And, “I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30). And, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38).

Notice in Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, as recorded by Luke, that he qualifies his request to be spared going to the cross, making it explicit that he only wants the will of God to be done, three times in just one entreaty: “He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, [that’s one] remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will [that’s two], but yours be done [that’s three]’” (Luke 22:41–42 ESV).

The apostle Paul taught, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 ESV). Moreover, “Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17).

King David wrote, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:7–8 ESV).

The apostle John wrote, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17 ESV).

The apostle Peter wrote that we should live “no longer for human passions but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2 ESV).

Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 ESV).

Takeaway

This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of knowing God better. One of the surest ways to do that is to surrender to his will as he leads you to work with him.

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The Next Theme

In keeping with Thanksgiving, yesterday in our church we celebrated and gave thanks for our workers. I wrote a card to each person that affirmed their individual gifts, roles, and strengths, and after church we went together to a restaurant to eat deep dish Chicago pizza.

I basked in the afterglow of our celebration for the rest of the day. We are a band of brothers and sisters seeking the Kingdom of God together in our city, and there is a sweetness in that experience. We go through ups and downs together. We get tired together. We solve problems together. We succeed together, and sometimes we fail together. We sing and pray together.

One of the best ways to get to know people is to work with them. When you work with someone, you learn about his or her character, values, and strengths. You learn about resilience, about steadfast love and faithfulness. Your hearts are knit together with a special bond of love.

The same holds true in our relationship with God. We learn much about God and his ways by working with him.

Working with God is one of the best ways to know him better. Jesus said, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17). In biblical times sons worked with their fathers. Sons learned the family business at their fathers’ side. When we work with God, we are with him and he with us. God’s work is an important way of knowing God.

For example, Moses came to know God exponentially more beginning on the day when he encountered him at the burning bush and for the rest of his life as the leader of God’s people. Likewise for the 12 disciples of Jesus. Likewise for me and every pastor I know.

In Second Corinthians the apostle Paul teaches about God based usually on what he learned in working for him. Paul was put to work almost immediately when God saved him by appearing to him on the road to Damascus. I have been studying 2 Corinthians for several years, reading it again and again. Each time through the Book I learn new things about working with and walking with God. I learn more and more about God’s ways.

As a result, the next theme for this blog will be, Knowing God in the Work of the Lord, and 2 Corinthians will be our focus.

My next post will be, Finding the Will of God in the Work of God. I hope you will join me.