Job: When the Righteous Suffer

Suffering, and some insights from Job

Earthquake in Haiti

Tuesday afternoon, January 12th, the worst earthquake in 200 years - 7.0 in magnitude - struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks. It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able.

This very minute, Gordon and I are listening together to one of  John Piper's sermons on "When the Righteous Suffer"  http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByConference/42/

Do we turn a blind eye to the heavy feeling as the anniversary of Michael's death approaches?  No.  Do we nurse the sadness and resent God?  No. There is much more to how to endure hardship, strong in the faith, than these responses:

Who of us ever reach the point where we can claim:  "Right, suffering....... done and dusted -  tick! - been there, done that, let's move on!"

Here are just some of the facets of suffering we would like to understand better and submit to....

• God reigns powerfully as Lord and Sovereign - embrace!  Prefer His sovereignty to my own independence.
• God's justice - He always, without exception, does what is right.
• God's grace - if He dealt with us according to His justice, we would have been "gonners", 
• God is good, righteous, fair  and love and compassion.  Full stop.
• God knows everything, He has the full picture - we know very partially and we need to be humble enough to admit and submit  - and trust our God's purposes, satisfied and secure with Him.
• In this world the wicked and the righteous suffer and perish.
• Prosperity teaching (you sin - you suffer) is a cruel, cruel doctrine.
• The big unexplained questions in nature and science  - should leave us humbled, silenced and in awe of our God.
• What right have we to criticise and challenge and charge God as if we are His equal or even superior - God invites us to reason with Him, not to attack and belittle the Lord of lords and King of kings.
• Etc.

We will make the labels simple, ie:  "Job, suffering"

Who knows, maybe you have a  mountain of ironing, or cooking to do or a car to wash or boring filing, listening to John Piper's sermons will make you forget the chores while getting them done - and our souls and lives will benefit hugely.  So...here a the link to Piper's sermons on the book of Job - AGAIN!  http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByConference/42/

So much for those neatly listed stages of grieving.

My friend's email on her recent loss sparked this off:
Many have rightly said grieving is hard work… we could add:

"So much for those neatly listed stages of grieving!"

Of course book-information spares us the surprise and dismay at our own shock and denial, anger, etc etc. It is equally true that these stages don't arrive on our journey  in a neat, predicted order. CS Lewis was surprised by joy – but  pilgrims are sometimes surprised, even startled,  by an unexpected grief-stage.  We were/are!!

No sooner have we more or less returned to outward normality, and then - bang! - added to the yearning, an overwhelming longing to have the loved person back - and have them back NOW.  We jump backwards and forwards through the different stages of grieving, unplanned.  Sometimes we feel and think that  people haven’t got a clue and have forgotten all about the one we can’t stop thinking about. Other times we don’t even understand ourselves! Or we don’t know if we should be stricter with ourselves or “softer”.   But, you know, there is Compassionate Comforter, just and sovereign and so gracious, who knows and understands100% - His name is Jesus.  And, oh wow! – what comfort and security in being known and understood:

1 Cor 13:12 “…Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, EVEN AS I HAVE BEEN KNOWN FULLY.”

Where to we go with our "Why Questions"?

http://www.boomerinthepew.com/2010/01/esv-study-bible-series-we-are-three-days-from-hearing-gods-reply-to-jobs-pleading.html#comment-6a00e55043abd088340120a7cce647970b

What follows is a comment on a friend's blog on Job - see link above.

In 10 days' time,  it will 4 years since that early morning our family stood around Michael's bed at the very time Jesus fetched him to be with Him.

As we read the Job chapters,  as we look around us,  we realise afresh that suffering is varied and painfully widespread.   So........we realise that our pain is no exception, there is worse suffering, etc etc.   It is not about blogging just our story, it is about seeing how our God works in our lives and it is about having tender hearts for one another and about honouring those we loved and about honouring our Lord Who gave them to us.   We would love this to be about the Lord our Rock,  Who has made the most amazing promises that are sure to be fulfilled:  in the present and in the future.

Gordon and Michael 1st January 2006

While reading Job, we have in mind Michael and  our family's "big suffering": Michael's death and remember that Job lost 10 children and his wealth, health, identity and reputation.  Why? Why? Why did Michael's chromosomes 11 a nd 22 switch before birth? Why did our strong, hard-working, surfing, life-loving son get Ewings Sarcoma when he was 25? Why did he have to suffer through 14 lots of aggressive chemo (5 hospitalised days every third week) and radio treatment in vain?  Why did he have to suffer and die?  Why did we have to go through witnessing him dying before our very eyes in the last 3 months of his life?

Without going into the details here, we can testify that God in His Word has truly given us ample and sufficient information about suffering. Of course there is mystery which is part of the answers. Of course, humanly speaking, we just want our boy back - now!

Please, please it is NOT as if we have arrived and there is now nothing more to learn - to the contrary. We desparately need our God's grace - and, by His grace and in Jesus - it is ours!

But as to these why-questions about our Michael, after wrestling and reading and listenig - we can honestly say that we are not asking them anymore. We are at rest and at peace. And this is good - so we can invest our energies in being in awe of God etc etc etc.

We all  find ourselves at different stages of our journeys, but we can't think that it is a good thing to get STUCK in the why questions forever. Of course, it is not as if the pain is all gone and our personal life carries on as if nothing has happened. But it is a case of resting in your and our Sovereign and simultaneously very, very Good God! He is gracious and He is worthy!
I'm sure we all know that if He had to deal with us - outside of Jesus Christ - we would have been infinitely worse off!

Part 1 One-liners from John Stott's "The Cross of Christ"

At the beginning of 2009,  Gordon and I both had (and still have) this strong desire to really get to know what Jesus has done.  This sounds so basic, but we have discovered, after learning from the gospel of John with out home bible study group, that the good news about Jesus Christ is much much more than first meet the eye!

Part 1 "The Cross of Christ" from John Stott (page 176)

John Stott is now deep in his eighties - last we heard at All Souls is that he has difficulty with walking.  The pastors at All Souls love to refer to him and respect this gift of a godly, single man of God -  to our times.

Here are one-liners from the Classic "The Cross of Christ"  with the hope that these truths will expand our (as in yours and our)  appreciation for "such a great salvation" and "What a Saviour!"  They are not mere bullet points, but realities that the Holy Spirit shows us and  that set us on fire to worship and glorify Father and Son - all by grace - how else!?

• Jesus took my place, bore my sin, became my curse, endured my penalty, died my death.
• 1 Cor 2:8 "..the rulers of that age crucified "The Lord of Glory".
• Jesus' obedience was entirely voluntary.
• Jesus' will and the Father's will were/are always in perfect harmony.
• Jesus bears the penalty so that I may receive the pardon.
• The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man.
• Jesus is altogether man, just as he is altogether God.
• It is the Judge who on the cross, takes the place of the place of those who ought to be judged.
• The Judge Himself became the judged.
• Our proud hearts rebel against the cross.  We cannot bear to acknowledge either the seriousness of our sin and guilt or our utter indebtedness to the cross.  Surely there must be something I can do, or at least contribute to make amends.

And can it be that I should gain

an interest in the Savior's blood!

Died he for me? who caused his pain!

For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be

that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing love! How can it be

that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Part 1: What have we in mind when we pray?

Part 1 

From "A Call to Spiritual Reformation" by Don Carson.

(round about p 60-62)

I took a picture of this prayer request in a Cambridge church in December -

it brought a smile to my face.

What have we in mind when we pray?

Dear God, I wish I do not have to do my piano lessons.

As we pray for others, as I am off to a prayer meeting for "Tots and Toys" this evening:  for mothers and young children who come along on Thursdays - what do we pray for?
(By the way, these looks at prayer are NOT meant to put any of us on another guilt-trip - not one little bit!)

Carson writes:

We are not to think of ourselves as basically independent and on the right track, but occasionally in need of a little input from the Deity, a little blessing called down by an appropriately formulated prayer.

Paul prays for the Thessalonians from a broad vision for them:  definitely not a little of this and a little of that.

2 Thessalonians 1
5All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
11With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.


Carson writes:

Paul has certain specific  things in mind for the Thessalonians:  a vision that stretches from grace received right through to the new heaven and the new earth.  

Okay so it is  all very well to have a grand vision, but a waste of time if it is just "on paper".  Paul's petitions and goals are aligned with this vision.  Added to that he always remembers God's grace....
 
Verse 12:  Paul remembers that we must have this grace of God at every single point of our lives.
12We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Carson writes:

At the heart of our praying must be a vision - a biblical vision.  A vision that embraces who God is, what He has done, who we are, where we are going, what we must value and cherish.

When we pray we need a vision that drives us

• toward increasing conformity with Jesus
• toward lives lived in the light of eternity.

Not common sense, not only the immediate needs, but a biblical vision  must shape our prayers.
Check-question: 
"Are the things that most concern us in prayer, the things that most concern the heart of God?"

Questions we ask ourselves as we pray for each one of our children, including foster children, grandchildren, family, friends, colleagues, church, governments, the suffering...

• Do we pray puny little prayers stunted by a mini vision?
• Do we remember to remember to remember that God's GRACE at every junction in life is not just a sweet word, but a total essential?
• Do we desire our vision and hopes and prayers and intercessioins to be informed and shaped by a biblical vision.

Tonight I want to get closer to praying with a biblical vision for Spicer Street's Tots and Toys - and for our children, grandchildren and all those dear to us - for the world and for enemies.  And........not forget to remember God's grace!

Summary 4 Mistakes about understanding shaping influences in the home.

Summarty 4 Another short summary  from Tedd Tripp's book "Shepherding a Child's Heart"

Originally put together for our grown-up children, with much love and admiration. who, like us, are not perfect parents, but whose hearts are in parenting.


So far....
Part 1 Introductory Lines
Part 2 Aim, not only at changed behaviour in your child, but also a changed heart.
Part 3 Your child’s development: Shaping Influences.
(To refer to any of these parts, go to labels on the left of the page, click on Shepherding a Child's Heart)

And today's summary...Part 4

MISTAKES ABOUT  UNDERSTANDING SHAPING INFLUENCES

Mistake #1: It is an error to assume that your child is a helpless victim of the circumstances in which he or she was raised.
Mistake #2 is the denial that a child is unaffected by early childhood experiences.

Child-rearing is
1) MORE than providing the best possible shaping influences for your children.
2) MORE than giving your children protection and shelter.
3) MORE than always being positive or providing the best possible childhood for your children.

We may believe that if we do the above, then our child will turn out ok, just fine.A proper environment will produce a proper child. Okay? No, not okay.
You may provide the most stable shaping influences – yet it is no guarantee that your child is going to respond positively.Your child may rebel against your best efforts.
But…..your children are responsible for the way they respond to your parenting.
Good shaping influences will NOT automatically produce good children, You could still end up with a troublesome teenager – and it may not be about the home you provided, but about your child’s HEART.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Your child's heart determines how he or she responds to your parenting.
Children can choose sin.
Sobering and a great motivation to provide godly shaping influences and to pray!

Sunday Visit: Family, Laughter and Stories

Much uncertainty about whether to travel from London and Milton Keynes, or not.  Not so much whether it snows or not, but "are the roads slippery?"  Especially those off the free-way.

Dani and Mikkel arrived first, stamped their feet (not in a tantrum!) but to get rid of the snow - we were overjoyed to see Dani again and to meet Danish Mikkel, Dani's boyfriend.  (Is Dani also Danish?!).  It is always pure joy to have visitors that you really like!

Then Michael and Isabelle; Josie and Evie arrived - and soon our little place was bulging at the seams, in the best of ways. Although even with these limitations we still visualise Jason and Liesl and Josh and Jesse being with us!
Our joy had a special flavour, as our visits with our Schmidt family from their UK home, are running out at an alarming speed.  In just a little more than two weeks they will move back to Germany for a few months and then on to Japan - and take our granddaughters with them!   (Of course we would love the Pappa and Mamma to stay too.....)  We have to remind ourselves in deliberate ways to "Count our blessings one by one" and be surprised at what the Lord has done over the last three years and have thankful hearts.

Josie is kissing Dani

So interesting to hear about Dani and Mikkel's travels to all parts of the world:  theirs not a quick stay over, but working in places. And swopping stories about all the countries, and cultures.  For example:  how very polite the Japanese are and if one had to say "there is a little problem" that statement should be magnified to get to the true meaning.   Extra interesting because soon Michael will be working in Tokyo, DV and the German and Japanese cultures could make for an entertaining mix!

Mikkel, Dani and Isabelle

Gordon said grace and we tucked in (Danish!) smoked gammon, grilled chicken, etc and later the wicked Malva Pud.  More important, by many a mile,  are the people!  Dani brought Lindts and Evie had her first chocolate, without us noticing at first.  She was sitting on my lap and we thought she was just playing with it till someone else noticed her  precious half-brown baby-face! Gestures for more of that stuff in the crinkly paper, informed the adults:  Lindt choccies beat all other teething rings.
Josie, dressed in her party dress and at almost three, was formally introduced to Auntie Dani and Uncle Mikkel as you would introduce adults.  We picked that little tip up before our children were born:  it is always fun to do.  Josie took to Dani who is not only creative in her job but also in her interactions - loved seeing that.  By the way Josie also tucked into a round chocolate ending up looking like a little chipmunk!

Togetherness Shabalala (Gordon)

I had plans for party/science tricks spotted on a friend's blog, but all we eventually fitted in was a Hippy hippy shake dance, a few photos and Gordon as Togetherness Shabalala about his first terrifying "flight" as taxi-driver:  not for him, but for his passengers who at one point end up in a warm intimate heap at the front of the "people carrier".  I have laughed at that reading and my hubby in the African mask at least 50 times!  Josie was initially perplexed but soon knew it was Gordon (unlike the time her Gwamps was Father Christmas!)



The time flew much faster than usual - a scientific fact!  All too soon we HAD to  say our goodbyes.  Michael carried a beautiful glass-top table up the steps and it fitted just perfectly.  The fruit-bowl and pot with red miniature roses Dani brought, together with a lit candle looked so good on it.  We are spoiled and blessed!

Dani and Mikkel and us were telling African stories about snakes and sharks; spiders and hippopotami and us changing a flat wheel (hurriedly) while the lions were hunting. And remembering Jonathan on his boogie board in Jeffreys Bay, his first experience of dolphins swimming around him, which should have been just wonderful, but....he thought the fins belonged to sharks!
After a people-day like today, we can understand why hospitality is such an important part of Christianity.