This post is by Deborah Talbert, loving and faithful wife to Pastor Bud Talbert and mother to five children, one of whom is my husband, David. Her teaching has shaped my life, as it has many, many women who knew her. On January 15, 2023, she passed into eternity after a battle with pancreatic cancer. We learned much from her as she suffered and trusted God to the end. This article was written years ago, and she didn’t merely teach these truths; she lived them out. Articles on this site have been republished with her blessing and are here to allow her life’s work to continue to touch lives.
Ever had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? How about a week, or a month, or a year? Ever ask, “Why me?” Ever think God was dealing harshly with you?
We need to stop and ask ourselves, “What is the main purpose of a Christian’s life?” 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us it is to bring glory to God. We tend to lose sight of this when bringing glory to God involves some hardship, suffering, difficulty or problem in my life. God’s intention is to order each part of our lives for our good and His glory, sometimes especially through difficulties.
Hardships come to us in many forms.
The doctor gently explains that you have miscarried the eagerly prayed for child. A fire erupts in your home causing damage and your insurance policy does not cover the loss. You relocate the entire family far from friends and family to a place that is strange, but then several months later your position is eliminated due to a downturn in the economy. A young son is seriously ill with a mysterious malady. Physicians hurry in and out of his hospital room applying various treatments but nothing seems to be working. Your Mum is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and you helplessly watch as the person you know and love is closed off from you. Cancer with its cruel gobbling growth snatches a beloved sister from you. Co-workers in ministry who imagine an injustice begin whispering against you to others. Difficulties of various types do come to us all.
Believers sometimes falsely think that because they are Christians they should lead problem-free lives. There is even a theology espoused by some that Christians who are walking with God will be blessed with good health and financial plenty. According to this “health and wealth” or “name it and claim it” philosophy, believers should lead a trouble free existence. But these Christians are soon conflicted by the reality that difficulties come to all Christians, no matter how committed or godly we may think we are.
Proponents of this theology tell us that all we need to do is pray more, or believe more, or work more, or give more to have a prosperous and trouble free life. The problem, according to their teaching, is that believers with troubles do not have enough faith to reach the higher ground of a blessed life. But this teaching does not line up with the teaching of the Bible. We are specifically told that believers suffer, and the apostle Paul spoke of his trials.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Timothy 3:12, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
The sufferings of the sinless Lord Jesus Himself are also depicted:
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
1 Peter 2:23
We may ask, “Is difficulty in my life a sign of God’s judgement?”
It is always good to bow in prayer before God and ask Him if our troubles are due to some sin in our lives. Sometimes troubles in life are punishment or chastening for our disobedience or sin. The children of Israel were required to wander in the wilderness for forty years because they did not believe God when He told them to conquer the lands He had promised them. Jonah brought near calamity upon an entire shipload of people when in disobedience to God he listened to God’s directions and purposely ran the opposite way. When Lot’s wife defied God’s command and longingly looked back at Sodom, God took her life.
Yet we are given numerous examples from the Bible of godly people who suffered. Job was the most righteous man on earth, yet in spite of that fact he suffered the loss of ten children, all of his wealth, his health, and the good opinion of his friends. Joseph was a godly man who ran from temptation and conducted himself with integrity yet he was sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused by his employer’s wife, and left to languish in prison. David was a man after God’s own heart but after he was anointed by Samuel to be king of Israel he became the target of King Saul’s murderous attentions. In all of his interactions with Saul, David took care not to “lift my hand against the Lord’s anointed,” ( 1 Samuel 26:9); yet Saul repeatedly attempted to kill David.
None of these biblical examples were suffering because of wrong doing. Rather, our loving Father was perfecting these believers through hardships and giving future generations of believers an example of godliness to follow. The question, then, is not if we will have troubles, but rather, how will we respond to these hardships.
What do hardships do for us? There are several positive results of troubles in a believer’s life.
First, we can learn that we are not the ones in control.
Troubles in life direct us to acknowledge that the all-powerful, all-knowing, creator God is in control, not us. When Satan appeared before God to discuss Job, Job was unaware of the unfolding drama that resulted in his trials. God was the one who had complete control over all which transpired in Job’s life.
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13
Scriptures proclaim that God does what He pleases and receives glory through doing His own will with His creation.
Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
Revelation 4:11
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.
Declaring the end from the beginning
Isaiah 46:10
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose
The Bible reminds us that we are not in charge:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
In Genesis 50:20 we catch a glimpse of God’s intentions overriding men’s plans:
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Genesis 50:20
Second, our sufferings cause us to focus on the attributes of God.
Are we suffering physically? God the Father who sent His only Son to suffer cross-death on our behalf sympathizes with physical suffering of His children. Are we grieving and mourning the loss of a loved one? There is tender solace and comfort for the bereaved with the Lord. The omniscient, omnipotent creator of the universe knows every detail of each of our lives. He offers peace and mercy and joy and grace in the face of circumstances that buffet and try the soul of the believer. He longs to sustain and succor the child who casts himself on God.
In addition, our sufferings create in us a reflection of these attributes toward others. Once we have experienced death or illness or the spiritual struggles of a loved one, we can be more patient, more loving, more understanding in our ministry to others. When we respond properly to our troubles, others see God in our lives.
Finally, troubles make us understand how much more important it is to focus on the eternal.
An unexpected death shows us the brevity of life.
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Psalm 102:11, James 4:14
Losses suffered through a natural disaster or an economic downturn remind us that we need to invest in the spiritual.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6: 19-21
These losses remind us of the shallowness (vanity) of depending on riches.
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:19-21
Pain and sickness rob our vitality and self-sufficient sense of well-being. They cause us to more clearly think of the time when we will leave this life and go to be with God in heaven.
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8
Will hardships, difficulties, trials, and sufferings come into our lives? Absolutely! Our desire in the face of this truth should be to bring glory to God through our responses to these events. Am I illustrating the attributes of God to a watching world? Are you?
Suggested Reading:
“When Trouble Comes by Christian counselor Jim Berg presents truths to be applied when facing the storms of life. When you are facing a crisis and feeling overwhelmed, moving forward can seem impossible. Whom do you trust? What direction do you take? How do you go on? These truths can work together to act as “spiritual CPR” that will stabilize you in the event of sudden calamity.” (Amazon description)
“Rich with personal experience and examples drawn from the lives of great men, Layton Talbert s exploration of the book of Job deals with the depths of human suffering and the heights of God s supreme purpose. Dr. Talbert s thorough research, detailed examination of each speaker s perspective, and countless cross-references make Beyond Suffering an essential resource for any biblical scholar.” (Amazon description)
“Beneth Peters Jones writes directly to her readers’ hearts with this guidebook to the struggles of The Wilderness Within. Drawing intriguing parallels from the Israelites’ forty years of wilderness wandering, Jones puts the struggles and temptations of today’s Christian women into biblical perspective. Rich in personal testimony, resonant with genuine empathy, and skillful in use of Scripture, The Wilderness Within addresses Christian women’s testings and disappointments with encouraging reminders of the Lord’s uninterrupted care and presence, comforting today as He did long ago.” (Amazon description)
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