When the Valley is Deep

“Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer. God is in this life preparing his people for a better world and part of that process is affected by trial and affliction, so that it frequently happens that the godly are in adversity while the wicked are in prosperity. Our crosses are as continual as our lives; we are seldom long at ease; we are born to sorrow, and certainly it is an inheritance of which we are never deprived; we suffer continually. Will it not reconcile us to our sorrows, that they serve some end?” (Charles Spurgeon).

How can we find hope when we are hurting?

First, by understanding our suffering is not arbitrary. Our trials are not without purpose. The blow that knocks us out, the pain we aren’t sure we can endure, the loss that changes our life forever, none of these happen in spite of God’s plan, but in accordance with His perfect sovereign will.

"For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back"? (Isaiah 14:27)

"Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him". (Psalm 115:3)

"I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please". (Isaiah 46:10)

"All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of Heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: 'What have You done?" (Daniel 4:35)

"When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future". (Ecclesiastes 7:14)

"I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things". (Isaiah 45:7)

"Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?" (Lamentations 3:38)

The hope for the Christian lies not in circumstances, but in the One who ordains each moment of our lives; the One who recorded them in His book before any of them had yet come to be.

Second, we must trust that God has a purpose for our suffering.“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’” (John 9:1-3)

So much of what masquerades as Biblical teaching today revolves around the idea that God wants us to be happy, successful, fulfilled, encouraged, motivated, and generally have our best life now. Yet Scripture tells us “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21). We have come to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was a good man, one we should emulate, but not the Christ, not the Son of God. Even for those of us who have trusted that He is indeed the Christ and our Savior, we often live as though He came to show us the way, rather than coming to be the way. Consequently, we are surprised and feel as though God has slighted us when our “good” lives don’t prevent us from suffering. We are familiar with the God of love, but we forget the words of Isaiah 53:10 that tell us it was the Lord’s will to crush Jesus and cause Him to suffer. How can we possibly love a God who is pleased to crush His own Son?

Because we know the result of that agony.

We know His wounds paid OUR ransom.

It is His death that brings us life, and it was our life of disobedience that made His death necessary.

Jesus suffered, not because He sinned, but to bring glory to God. So too, the grace God gives us to endure our trials is a testimony of His love and mercy. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Suffering has never been unfamiliar to God’s people; the Bible is full of stories of the ridicule, shame, hunger, torture and poverty of God’s people. The Apostle Paul who “five times received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one, three times was beaten with rods, once was stoned, three times was shipwrecked, spent a night and a day in the open sea, was constantly on the move, and in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from his own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers, labored and toiled and often went without sleep; who knew hunger and thirst and often went without food; was cold and naked” knew much about suffering yet he said “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10) and that he even rejoiced in his sufferings because he knew “that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

In all that Paul suffered he counted it a privilege, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).

Third, we must remember that we never suffer alone. God has promised to be with us and sustain us;
to be our strength,
our shield,
our help,
our comforter,
the lifter of our heads
and the lover of our souls.

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart” (Psalm 91:1-4).

“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” (Isaiah 43:2).

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

"I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass… as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” (Isaiah 51:12, 66:13).

Fourth, we must rest in God’s promise that He loves us and is using the suffering for our good. Just as He took the most horrific event in history- the crucifixion of Jesus Christ- and used it to fulfill hundreds of years of prophecy and for the salvation of multitudes of people, He will use whatever hardship He allows into our lives for good.

“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6).

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

While we may never see this side of eternity what our suffering has accomplished, we must trust in the truth of God’s Word and in His unchanging character. “Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).