“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob uttered these familiar words as he wrestled all night with the angel of God, refusing to surrender until he received a touch from God. And he did receive a touch – right upon his hip socket so that from that day on he walked with a limp. But, God also assured him of his blessing, saying he would receive it because “he had struggled with God and with men and had overcome.”
Abraham had assurance from God that his offspring would be more numerous than the stars of the sky. And God did bless him with his promised son. But part of that blessing was the trial of waiting upon the fulfillment of it for thirty years as he and Sarah lived like strangers in foreign lands.
As the Israelites were crying out to God for deliverance and blessing while in exile, he assured them that his plans were to “prosper them and not to harm them – to give them hope and a future.” But, in the context of those promises, God also explained that they would go through seventy years of exile before they came to a place of humble submission before him, seeking him with all their hearts.
The prophet Jonah had the great blessing of taking the Good News to the Ninevites, but only at the cost of dying to his own fleshly desires and demands. David, a man after God’s own heart, was told the throne would forever remain with his descendants. However, shortly after receiving God’s anointing as Judah’s king, David was thrown into the intense trial of being hunted down by King Saul. One who might have been sitting on a royal throne was hiding out in caves and pleading with God for his life.
Jeremiah, who was appointed as a “prophet to the nations”, was told by God that he'd been chosen for this job before he was even born. God gave him a weighty task of tearing down and destroying as well as building and planting nations. But, we know that this blessing didn't come without its trails. God reminded him at the start that “they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you.” Jeremiah, who we now know as the weeping prophet, was threatened with treason, thrown into a pit and left to die. He was often times overwhelmed by the difficulties he faced and the daily threats upon his life.
Jeremiah, who was appointed as a “prophet to the nations”, was told by God that he'd been chosen for this job before he was even born. God gave him a weighty task of tearing down and destroying as well as building and planting nations. But, we know that this blessing didn't come without its trails. God reminded him at the start that “they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you.” Jeremiah, who we now know as the weeping prophet, was threatened with treason, thrown into a pit and left to die. He was often times overwhelmed by the difficulties he faced and the daily threats upon his life.
And there are numerous other stories like these. Hebrews gives a brief accounting of them in chapter eleven saying, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.” We read on to find out that some were “destitute, persecuted and mistreated…They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” These men and women of God, mighty leaders in his earthly kingdom, were blessed with his divine presence. They were given the Spirit’s power and wisdom. More than that, they had the sense of knowing that they were called by God for specific tasks in his kingdom. Their lives were purposeful, yet they had to suffer intensely along the way.
Jesus was never one to mince words. In fact, Jesus promised his disciples that for everything they gave up to follow him they would receive back blessings in this life – and along with them persecutions. His own mother was called “highly favored” by the angel of God and considered herself blessed because God had done great things for her. But her life, from the moment of her divine assignment, also included humiliation and eventually a sword piercing her heart. Jesus himself, the very Son of God, did not have a resurrection victory without the shameful and painful death on the cross.
Why does it seem that blessings and suffering are part of the same package or rather different sides of the same coin? Maybe because God means to bless us in a different way than we often perceive. Take a moment to visualize what you consider abundant blessings in your life. I can tell you what I picture: a happy marriage, profitable work, healthy children who love the Lord, faithful friends, family, lots of laughter, vacations, significant savings and investments. But, how does Jesus define blessings? He says in the Beatitudes that we're blessed when we're poor in spirit, when we mourn, when we’re meek, when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, when we're persecuted for righteousness sake. He goes on to say, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you, because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
As much as I have tried over the past twenty-two years as a Christian I still cannot fully comprehend why these are to be considered aspects of the blessed life. I want to ride in a plush car on easy street eating bon bons and whistling happy tunes about Jesus. I am sorry, but I must confess that all this talk of suffering, hardships and trials makes me lose my appetite and, oftentimes, disturbs me. I want so badly to embrace the lie that I was saved only to enjoy abundant life, not to suffer -- that Jesus’ experience on the cross means I don't have to endure pain and difficulty anymore. In fact, much of the time I feel like the creature in Dr. Seuss’s book Green Eggs and Ham when continually confronted with the idea of eating such an atrocity. I want to shout in unison with him about these sufferings and trials, “I tell you I don’t like them!”
And though I often don't enjoy trials, I’m not the one to determine how God runs his kingdom. And, I, like Jonah, am not the one to tell him I’m not going to Ninevah if he calls me to go. His ways are not my ways and his thoughts are not my thoughts. Yet, in his mercy and grace he has revealed his heart to me in his Word and it is there that I get glimpses into his reasons behind the sufferings in life. He reminds me that the goal is not my creaturely comfort, though he promises to abundantly supply all of my needs. But rather, his goal is that I'm conformed to the likeness of Christ that I may receive “eternal pleasures at his right hand”. He speaks words of comfort to me as I endure trials saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
The apostle Paul claimed that in spite of his suffering he didn't lose heart. He said, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” He focused on the goal of pleasing Christ and serving him rather than on what the would could give him.
God reminds us through this passage and others like it that the main purpose of this world is for the advancement of his kingdom and our sanctification. God is merciful and compassionate. He sends sunshine and rain to bless our crops. We often enjoy good health, happiness and circumstances that remind us of his smiling providence. But, his desire is that we have kingdom eyes that are focused upon Christ. One of the ways we learn to develop this focus is through trials and suffering. Difficulties cause us to loosen our grip on worldly treasures that give false security and place our feet firmly upon the Rock of Christ and his unfailing Word. Through suffering we learn perseverance. And James reminds us that “Perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” As we prayerfully look to the Father through life’s difficulties, giving thanks in all things, we begin to fix our gaze on Christ alone. Those things that we once considered treasures we learn with Paul to consider rubbish “compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Remember Christ’s promise? He has gone to prepare a place for us. And one day soon we will be with him joined by a host of angels shouting praises to his name. The moment we come into his presence, in the twinkling of an eye, the once double-sided coin of blessing and trial will be transformed into the spring of eternal blessing. Suffering will become a distant memory as God has promised, “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat...And God will wipe every tear from their eye.”
