Triumph Over Trouble预览

Benefits of persecution, Part 3 - God takes us through

Jesus said in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” “Through” is a favorite word of God:

Through the Red Sea onto the dry ground (Exodus 14:22)

Through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:5)

Through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4)

Through the deep sea (Psalm 77:19)

And in Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

“There is a great want about all Christians who have not suffered. Some flowers must be broken or bruised before they emit any fragrance. All the wounds of Christ send out sweetness. All the sorrows of Christians do the same.” (Robert Murray McCheyne, from “Brokenness” by Lon Solomon, preface)

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 describes how our sufferings benefit not only us as we receive encouragement and comfort from Christ, but we are then able to comfort others in their distress: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Think about it, if you never had a problem, would you be inclined to run to God more or less? We see God working through our dilemmas. We experience His healing only when we have been broken. We are given His peace by His absolute authority when we give our life situations completely into His control.

That is exactly what Paul is describing in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”

We can’t get ourselves out of trouble, but what a joy to know that God never leaves us and takes us through it, walking beside us!