Encouragement

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Fiery Ordeals
By Deanne Ruedemann

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
I Peter 4:12-13 NASB

. . . for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:45b NASB

This past holiday season started out with the normal hustle of Christmas shopping, visitation of friends and family, school and church programs, get togethers, and in general just trying to make this year be the “best ever” for all concerned…when suddenly our world (at Gateway) was shattered by the terrible news about the death of a precious little boy who had attended Gateway along with his parents and grandparents. Not long behind that news came another blow for a family who expected to adopt a newborn child, but by a turn of unexpected and heart breaking events, began to foster a different child. After that, it seemed that every time I answered the phone, it was to hear of some other tragedy, something so unexpected and sad, that I was reluctant to even answer the phone at all. There were somewhat expected deaths of relatives with chronic illnesses, but there was also an unexpected suicide and the discovery of new illnesses among our church family and their extended families. Some of us battled the sadness of this being the first Christmas without certain family members who had passed away sometime since last year.

Meanwhile the world outside mirrored our own tragedies by the shocking news of the tsunami. Just like we had been shocked time after time with our “local” tragic news, we were shocked over and over with the tsunami news that at first a few thousand were dead, and then a few more, until the final count was way over 100,000. I could see this seemingly unending stream of bad news being reflected in our faces at church, during cell group meetings, or during scheduled “fun” events that seemed to be overshadowed by the pain we were all feeling on some level or another. Even those of us with no personal tragedies happening could not escape the news of others’ pain, nor the worldwide news of the tsunami.

Lest you think that everyone was so depressed during all of these happenings that no joy could be experienced, let me remind you of the good things that continued to happen in the middle of it all. As of this month, I know of at least five births of precious new babies (all healthy!), adults with good health reports, people making decisions to follow Christ, families moving into new homes, and others being delivered from spiritual strongholds and sin. In short, life went on with moments full of abundance and joy.

So how do we handle ourselves, or how are we “supposed” to behave when tragedies invade our otherwise normal lives, especially when these tragedies hit us, personally? I am talking about the kind of trials and troubles that happen to us, and not as a result of our own disobedience or definance in some matter. I am talking about the kind of disasters that hit us suddenly, in the middle of the night, or in the middle of a perfectly good day, causing our world to crumble and our hearts to break from the sheer weight of the pain. I am talking about the trials we encounter because we are living in this sin-cursed world, tormented by the devil who is a murderer and a liar (John 8:44), the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), who comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), and who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (II Peter 5:8).

By now you may be thinking that now I am going to give a short “answer” to all of this grief, leaving you with the feeling that somehow you are less than a “good” Christian by feeling sad or insecure or helpless in the light of all these events. But I’m not. I don’t believe that these tragedies can easily be dealt with in any manner that is trite or superficial, but instead require the application of truth in God’s Word along with time to bring about healing and peace. I praise the Lord for the sermon by Pastor Houston during that time about how life just sometimes “stinks”, and that sad or painful things have happened, and will happen to all of us in the body of Christ. He aptly applied the truth of the Word in showing how God’s grace is sufficient for us in all things (II Corinthians 12:9).

Shortly after the tsunami disaster, I was unexpectantly faced with having to answer someone who asked the difficult question of “why would God let this happen, if he is supposedly good and loving?” In fact, this question was asked by someone who claimed to be a born again Christian. I did not have a long time to go research this matter to “get back” to her “later”, so I prayed silently for the Lord’s strength in what to say, especially knowing that there was also a non-Christian in the conversation. Just so you know, these two people are close relatives of mine, and it was on a long-distance phone call with both of them on separate extensions in their home, listening to my every word. No pressure, right?

Without knowing how I would end the conversation, I began by saying “Adam and Eve”. . . and from there I told about how God originally made the world perfect and without sin, and how Adam and Eve sinned through rebellion, and as a result, brought about all manner of trouble on the world. Through this conversation I eventually made it to heaven, describing how the Christian walk is not final here, and that our hope is in the Lord, in glory, to live eternally with him. I described how we know there is trouble here, from the moment we are born, yet God delivers us from this trouble through the blood of Jesus. I told how that means that we won’t be delivered from the trouble on earth that came as a result of sin, but that we are ultimately delivered from separation of God (hell) through believing in Jesus as our Savior.

I think that it was important for them (and for us) to know that this hope in glory we have as Christians does not in any way mean that we are not going to feel pain or be sad about loss, but it does mean that we have the Holy Spirit and God’s grace which is sufficient in all circumstances. We may not feel instantly delivered from the pain, but we will know that through the pain He will carry us in His arms and He will restore our joy. Ultimately we must choose to either believe God’s Word and know that it is true, or to not believe in the truth of the Bible. Remember that the reason the Lord Jesus spoke about pain and suffering so many times is because he knew all these tragedies would occur and that we would need the Holy Spirit and God’s grace to endure.

Here is what the Lord Jesus says to us. These things are as true now for all of our circumstances as they were for the disciples in His day. Read them, meditate on them, and know that they are Jesus’ way of speaking to you, directly:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” (John 16:20-22 NASB)
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”(Matthew 11:28-29 NASB)
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10 NASB)
“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
“ Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20b NASB)
Copyright Deanne Ruedemann 2005

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