How to Relieve Suffering

Intro:

Well, as many of you know, I run a counseling ministry, hopefully in the next few years to become a counseling center. And so there's a lot of people that come into the counseling room, we'll say, with suffering, as you can imagine. It's often one of the things that drives people to get help is a certain amount of suffering. So I see suffering a lot. And most recently, the man whose name is Andy, wouldn't mind if I use his name. Andy's a friend of mine that I met. He's one of the founders of Catalyst Missions, which is a mission organization I have traveled the world with. He and I have been to Nigeria together. We've been to Hong Kong together. We've been to Nepal together. We've trained pastors all over the world. He was one of the founding guys of this. has seen hundreds and hundreds of pastors trained to go and recreate that training and teach the Word of God to their people all across the world. Catalyst Missions is now on some five or six continents in about 20 countries recreating trainings about a dozen times a year. But last February, Andy found out that he had stage four colon cancer. And upon getting treatment for it, the treatment actually reversed everything that it was supposed to do and grew all of his tumors, making them metastasize and spread throughout his body. The last year has been rough, so they took him off the first trial and they put him on a second trial. And the second trial seemed to stall everything but not shrink anything. And as of the first of April, Andy was told he has two months left to live. So being a friend of mine that I feel very close to, I flew down to Memphis to spend a few days with him last week to talk to him, to ask him questions and to try to be a comfort to him and also get some comfort from my own soul that he was in a good place and that he had left his family in a good way. and that He was ready to meet the Lord. I say this to you because we should expect suffering on this earth.

Expect Suffering:

We tend to think that we shouldn't. It's one of the first things we work through in a counseling session is the concept that this is not shocking. Getting over the idea that yeah, you might suffer. The Scriptures are filled with warnings that following Christ alone is enough to guarantee your suffering. 1 Peter 1, 6 and 7 says, "In this you rejoiced, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. So the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it It is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter is writing to a persecuted people, so the whole letter is all about suffering. He says in chapter 4, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come upon you to test you." He says, "Don't act like it's something strange that were happening to you, but rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ. James tells us, "Count it all joy." James chapter 1, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." Not if you meet trials of various kinds, when you meet trials of various kinds. Because they produce steadfastness or endurance or patience, that word there is fickle. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Hebrews 12 has more to say on this. This is the last one that I'll read to you. Hebrews 12, 3 through 11. "Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the ones He loves, and He chastises every son whom He receives and daughter." The word there is sons and daughters. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are an illegitimate child and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time, as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may know Him, that we may share in His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." The Bible says you're going to encounter suffering, that it's not going to be pleasant. And if we had a mentality that saw life as a baseline of difficulty, then it would make us much more grateful when things go well. But if you have the mentality that everything should be easy and comfortable, then when When things don't go well, and that is the only guarantee, then it becomes much more devastating. So baseline of suffering. We call this in the theology nerd world, we would call this a Genesis 3 world. What happened in Genesis 3? The fall. Man, sinned against God, and God said, "Everything is now broken. Nothing will work as it's supposed to." You can take it to the bank. Your marriage will be frustrating. Childrearing will be difficult. Your work won't go good. It'll be painful. It'll seem like the world itself is working against you. That's your promise now that sin has entered. So, turn to the book of Job.

Enter - Job

Job chapter one, starting out, you can just scan the text there. We're going to land in Job 19. That's the text we're going to look at. Job chapter 19. But as I sat down in contemplation of suffering and contemplation of my friend Andy and thinking through his situation and thinking through so many others that are suffering and thinking through my own difficulties and trials that I encounter. I had some things that I wrote down that I want to say. Essentially I've titled in this How to Relieve Suffering, how to relieve suffering. Now notice the word choice. They're highly intentional, NOT how to avoid it. Right. Not how to never have suffering. NOT here's five steps to make your life prosperous. That's not what this sermon is. You're going to suffer. That's the fact. But how could you suffer well? Well, that's an interesting question, isn't it? Because if you know, suffering is a guarantee, then it's worth your time to figure out how. How could I do this in a way that would glorify God and would be beneficial to myself and others? Right? That's a decent question to ask. And so I'm going to seek to give a little biblical wisdom from God's word to that idea of how to relieve suffering.

What NOT to do:

The first thing I want to say is what not to do. Okay. And this doesn't come directly from the text just yet. It comes from a plethora of Bible verses. What not to do in how to relieve suffering? There's just a couple things that I jotted down.

#1 do not remove all suffering.

That's not the answer to relieving suffering. If there's nothing with which you have to contend, if there's nothing that challenges you, if there's nothing that you have to overcome, There's no sign God loves you. Think about what I just said. This is based on Hebrews 12. God disciplines those He loves. He will not let you stay as you are if He loves you. So if something's coming up against you, God loves you. If something's difficult in your life because it's not going so smooth, could be that you're stupid. Could be that you're sinful. And also could be that God loves you. And He is going to change you. Learn the lesson. Don't just continue to run into that same wall over and over. Learn what God is putting that wall there for. Grow. Don't remove all the suffering. Based on Scripture in Job 28-28, I'll read it to you, you don't have to turn there. It says, if I can get over here to it, "And he said to man, 'Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'" The removal of all suffering is futile, But perspective on suffering can get you through. And this is called wisdom in Job 28 and Proverbs 1, and other places tells us that wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord. And isn't it interesting that it says that wisdom will be attained through a negative emotion? Fear of the Lord. My wife and I were having this talk last night about the fear of the Lord. And we have both been taught growing up that the fear of the Lord is a reverence for God. That it's a way you react to Him. And I say, "Well, I think it could be that. Also think it's probably also fear." And here's why. The Bible doesn't say the beginning of wisdom is the glory of God. The Bible doesn't say the beginning of wisdom is the joy you get from God. The Bible doesn't say the beginning of wisdom is contentment in God. The Bible says the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. And why then would you fear God or reverence God? I think it's the same thing. Why do you reverence another human being? Because of what their potential is to do to you. So fear and reverence are very, they're semantics in a lot of ways, right? It's a very fine line between fear and reverence. Why would you fear God? Well, because fear is an orienting emotion. Well, if you're afraid of something, you don't rush into it because you don't want what will happen to you if you head that direction. If there's a giant lion on the stage, I'm not getting up here. I don't care if they tell me it's tamed or whatever, right? I'm afraid. Fear is going to orient what I do. I'm not going here because of that thing I'm scared of. If you see a person out in the world, and they seem to be doing crazy things that are just, "Why would you do that?" We often go, "They're foolish." Why do we say they're foolish? Well, because they're not recognizing fear. It seems as though they lack it and therefore dive head deep into things that are foolish, that are harmful. So it says fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It's that if you recognize the very character of God, you recognize His potential of what He's capable of. And the reverence you feel orients you in a certain direction. You're not loosey-goosey with your actions and thoughts. You don't take sin lightly. You care about how you act, how you live, how you treat people. orienting in that way. And so, we want to relieve suffering, don't remove all the suffering. And specifically the fear of God, which is necessary in order to know Him, in order to love Him, in order to act in accordance with what He has said.

#2 Don't complain

The second thing, what not to do to relieve suffering, complain. Don't complain. I cite the entire Old Testament here. Complainers. But New Testament as well. Do everything without complaining Philippians says, Philippians 2. James 5, do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. The judge is standing at the door. Complaining reveals a heart that says, I deserve better than what I'm getting. And that shows a lack of understanding of the gospel itself and of the character of God. You deserve nothing. Everything you get is better than what you deserve.

#3 Do not consider it misery.

James 1 tells us, "Consider it joy." So if you're going through a difficult time, it's tempting to go, this is miserable. This whole thing is miserable. It's always going to be miserable and it's going to end miserable. James says, if you have the right perspective, it will not be. Joy has to do with what your goal is. What you want determines how well you suffer. If you want to be like God, suffering is welcomed. But if you don't know God, then suffering is an obstacle in the way of getting what you want. Let me say that again. Joy, consider it joy when you meet trials of various kinds. Joy has to do with your goal. It has to do with what you want. If you want to be like God, suffering is a welcomed joy because suffering makes you like God. But if you don't want to be like God, suffering is an obstacle in the way of getting what you want or think you deserve. That's hard truth. That's difficult to wrap our minds around. And look how Job responds in Job chapter 1. Everything is taken away from Job. Job's character is all he has left. All of his wealth is gone. All of his help is gone. All of his children are dead. And it says that Job arose. This is chapter 1 verse 20. arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell on the ground, and worshiped." When's the last time you responded to the negative things in your life with worship? He worshiped. And then it says, verse 21, "His declaration, what He said is, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb. I shall return, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." What do you think he thought he deserves? Nothing more than what he was given. Absolute, unthinkable tragedy, trauma, whatever word you want to put on it. You lose everything and not just lose everything but lose the potential for anything else. You are in a hopeless state and yet God was enough for him because he worships and says, "This is not worse than what I deserve." Man oh man.

#4 Do not become a gossip or a slanderer or concentrate on fixing others lives

Lastly about what not to do, do not become a busy body, a gossip or a slanderer. This is just a little anecdote from a counseling experience. It seems as though when people are ignoring or denying something in their own life they should be learning or growing in, what they tend to do is turn their attention towards someone else's life or the world itself and try to fix it. Because if there's something you don't want to deal with in your own life, the easiest thing to do it seems is to feel better about yourself by trying to fix other people's lives. And this is a huge problem for you. It makes a problem for other people too, but it's a big problem for you. Because it means there's a stunted growth in Christ. You're cutting off the Holy Spirit, if you will. You're not growing up. And so, people try to ignore - denying their suffering - through fixing the world. They don't believe in adopting responsibility for themselves. That's why they want to fix everything around them, which is why we feel better when we are fighting for other people rather than ordering our own homes and working on our own problems. And by the way, this is why if you've ever watched the news and you're wondering, "How do all...? Why do all those people...? How are they able to get so upset and angry and riot over things and situations that aren't even applicable to them?" Well, it's because if you just ignore your own life, you can get all riled up about somebody else's and feel really, really good.

Understanding Job in context: What to do

So let's then ask the question, how do we relieve suffering? That's what not to do. What do we need to do? Well, I've already given you a little tidbit of Job. Let me just catch you up so that when we get to chapter 19, when we turn, I want you to Go ahead and turn over to chapter 19. That's what we're gonna look at. I'm just gonna tell you the story just to remind you of some of the details and also of Job's friends. Job is said to be a real person. The way this is laid out, it's wisdom literature, okay?

Genre: Poetry. So it's written in a poetic form. And so it's often hard for English Bibles when we read them and it seems like poetry. It's hard to read it and understand it because poetry has things in it that narrative doesn't have. When I'm telling you a story, you assume it's all factual, but when I'm reading poetry to you, it's facts, but they're veiled in beautiful language. And so when the Psalm says, "God owns a thousand cows on a thousand hills," that's true, but it's also insufficient truth, right? What it's representing in poetry form is that God owns all the cows on all the hills. But it's said beautifully as David looks out on the pasture sees all these rolling hills and cattle on them. And so poetry says things in a beautiful way, but it doesn't say things accurately all the time. So you have to understand when you're reading poetry that this is describing truth, but it's not necessarily literalistic, right? It's literal truth because what it's trying to tell you is absolute truth and true. But the thing, the way it's describing it, may not be literally true. Does God own a thousand cows on a thousand hills? Yes. But is that what he's limited to? No. He owns all of them. They're all his. They own all the cattle, all the hills. And so we have to understand as we're reading wisdom literature, Ecclesiastes, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and then in some ways the book of James, in the New Testament. You have to understand that wisdom literature is written in a way that's supposed to be imparting wisdom. And so it's not written the same way, as say, the book of Genesis which is telling a story starting in chapter 12 about Abraham. It's all very factual and historical. It seems as though Job isn't historical because of the way it's written but in fact the Bible tells us that Job is a real person.

Job was a literal person. In Ezekiel 14 and in James 5 both mention Job as a literal person who lived and who was real and so in James 5 it says we count those blessed to endure. You heard of the endurance of Job. And so there's an example of the fact that the Bible tells us that Job is a real person.

The background is simple: It is the oldest book in the Bible. I don't know if you know that because it's sit in the middle of the Bible we don't always recognize Job is the oldest book we have a record of. It's older than Genesis. And so Job, they say, might have actually been around right at the same time as the Iliad, if you've ever heard of that very ancient book. So it's one of the oldest books that we have. And J. Sidlow Baxter writes about it. Job is about the death, the self-life.

Major theme: Through the fires of afflictions and a new vision of God, Job is brought to the end of himself. He sees himself as God sees him. self-life with itself gods and self reason and self religion and self everything is is laid bare and laid low the man who at first is said to have been the best man on earth is found at last on his face before God exclaiming I abhor myself in dust and in ashes. If you don't know the story Job is considered righteous and wealthy and then we see this very strange picture of Satan appearing with the sons of God, angels, and he requests to test Job, to smite Job. And God brings up to Satan first, have you considered Job? Go back and read in chapter one, read that, wrestle with that, it would be good for you. I haven't got it yet. God brings it up to Satan in the narrative. Have you considered Job? Satan says 'I have and I'd like to take him.' God gives Satan permission almost as a worker of his to smite Job. Satan then does it. Satan so wrecks Job's life that as it begins to describe in chapter 1 one servant is saying 'hey your cattle died' another servant interrupts them to say 'your sheep died, your ox died' and as that one's speaking another one interrupts to say 'your children are dead' and as that one speaking another one interrupts It's just boom boom boom boom in such an unbelievable sequential order. Job loses everything and as I've already told you he then worships. Satan then comes to God again and says of course he'll worship when I take everything but let me take his health and then he will curse you and God says do it.

An imporant Sunderstanding of Scripture: Job doesn't know God and Satan are having this talk nor is there any indication that he ever finds out and Baxter again says this (and I love this), "the scriptures are as wise in their reservations as They are in their revelations." Tuck that away. What that means - what the Bible doesn't tell you is just as purposeful as what it does tell you. Did Job know about God and Satan talking? We don't know. Well, there's a reason you don't know and it's just as purposeful so he lets Satan remove all of this and then Job has three friends that come to his side and three friends come to see him in his incredible affliction and they are very poor in their advice. Very poor. I had a professor, I called him Master Yoda. He was like yay tall and he'd walk around funny. And he had a wonderful way of being very wise. And he said "at one point, more than any trauma, tragedy, was the experience that helped Job know God." And I hope that's true of us. that our sufferings will be the thing like in Job's life that will help us come face to face with who God really is.

#1find meaning in that which cannot be taken from you

The first lesson that I want to say, I have seven of these. There's number one, we're going to run through these. Don't worry. It's not going to take all day. Number one, the first lesson in understanding that Job lost everything is find meaning in that which cannot be taken from you. Okay, find meaning in that which cannot be taken from you. If Job had relished in his wealth, relished in his family, relished in everything that he had and all of that had been taken, he would have been devastated, he wouldn't have worshiped, then he would have committed suicide. Because that's the logical conclusion to that sort of tragedy that he experienced. But if his meaning is not found in those things, but all those things are just a way for him the worship God, than in the tragedy, his response is, "I worship God in this because He's worthy and He was the reason I did it anyway." You see? That's a perspective changer. Okay. So Job's three friends sit down and they give him, boy, they give him some advice, man. Don't be a friend like this. That's not point number two, but just write it down. Do not be a friend like this. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar sit down and they start trying to tell him, Eliphaz, probably oldest, Bill Dad the second oldest. Eliphaz bases his argument on experience and he's trying to rest in the philosophy of his life and his own observations and Bill Dad sits down and tells him based on tradition why this is happening to him and Zophar sits down and bases his arguments on all of his assumptions about Job. And so there's been things said like Eliphaz is a moralist, Bill Dad is a legalist and Zophar is a dogmatist, meaning dogmatic - like - this is the only way you got to do it. Eliphaz is an apologist, meaning he's trying to give a good defense. Bildad is a lecturer and Zophar is sort of bigoted. Eliphaz is like philosophical. Bildad is historical. Zophar is orthodox. Whatever you want to call them, their advice wasn't as stupid as we often want to say. We often talk about how they gave such poor advice. Oh my gosh, they were just terrible. Well, not really. If you read their arguments, essentially what they're saying is that God punishes the wicked. And if Job would repent, maybe God would relinquish his punishment. Now here's the thing. They were wrong, but their arguments were based on what is actually true. God does punish the wicked. He wasn't punishing Job, but he does punish the wicked. They all condemn Job. Baxter again, J. Sidlow Baxter, says, "For on their philosophy they must either justify Job at God's expense or justify God at Job's expense." See what Job's friend didn't know is what you and I do not want to acknowledge about God and that is that the righteous suffer more. I point you to Jesus as the greatest example of this. That's what they didn't want to talk about. That's what they didn't want to say. Well, Job is hopeless. He doesn't know what to do. He is fighting these bad friends. He's fighting all of their terrible advice. And as he's leading up to this, he essentially is arguing with friends who are telling him he's too bad to be redeemed that he deserves the suffering that he's getting.

The gospel: And this is where the gospel is seen so clearly in Job is that we will, based on our thought life alone, based on our thoughts alone, we will stand before God, condemned and judged. And He will be right and just and holy and good to punish the sin in us that is part of us that makes us sin outwardly. We sin because we are sinners. He will be right and just and good and holy to punish us eternally in hell for that.

#2 Remind people not just of God's justice but also of His mercy

But here's point number two. You can relieve suffering by reminding people not just of God's justice, but also of His mercy. You can relieve suffering by reminding people not just of God's justice, but also of His mercy. Job, chapter 19 says this great line, this is where we'll end as I tell you the last few things here. He says, "How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words?" Ten times you have cast reproach upon me. Are you not ashamed to wrong me? And even if it be true that I have erred, my error remains with myself. If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and make my disgrace an argument against me, know then that God has put me in the wrong and closed his net about me. Behold, I cry out, "Violence!" But I am not answered. I call for help, but there is no justice. I'd like to turn your attention specifically to verse 6 of chapter 19 when he says, "Know then that God has put me in the wrong."

#3 Suffering is from the hand of God

A way we can think to help us relieve suffering in number three is that suffering is from the hand of God. Suffering is from the hand of God. That is hard to wrap our minds around, folks, but listen, when Joseph was sold and beaten and put into slavery and falsely accused and put into jail and then forgotten again. All because of what was done against him and then he's had to face those same people that did that against him. What was his response? 'What you meant for evil. God meant for good.' That's a beautiful way to say the suffering I went through was from the hand of God. All of your wickedness, but God accomplished his purposes. Suffering is from the hand of God.

#4 Recognize your boundaries and limitations and what you truly deserve.

Number four, verses 8 through 12. It says, Job says, "He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths. He has stripped me from my glory and taken the crown from my head. He breaks me down every side. I am gone. He has pulled up like a tree has kindled his wrath against me and counts me as adversary his troops come on together They have cast up their siege ramp against me and in camp around me." Point number four based on this text Recognize your boundaries and limitations and what you truly deserve. one of the things that people do when they start to suffer physically is they don't want to recognize what they're actually capable of and try to do way more than what they're physically able to do and then they hurt themselves worse by doing it. We've all seen this we've all seen people we love that needed to be rehabilitated or they needed to wait a little bit longer before they started doing whatever and they don't want to wait. They do whatever they want and they hurt themselves worse and you go 'why'd you do that?' Well, it's just they don't want to accept the limitations and not accepting limitations, not accepting boundaries, not accepting what has been handed to you from the hand of God. Embracing it, saying, "This is what it is right now." Looking the monster in the face, if you will. Not doing that will keep you suffering more. But if you recognize your boundaries and limitations, and you recognize what you truly deserve, which is no better than whatever you're facing, well, then their perspective changes and then your attitude changes and then the way you operate changes.

#5 Find redemption outside of you.

Number five. In verses 13 through 24, Job recounts his own situation. He's talking about how essentially all the relationships in his life have fallen. His brothers don't like him anymore. His relatives have failed him. His friends have forgotten him, his guests in his house, and they've become a stranger. His breath is strange to his wife, it says in verse 17. And then in verse 25, he says this. For I know that my Redeemer lives. And at the last he will stand upon the earth. I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth. Number five is find redemption outside of you. Find redemption outside of you. One of the things we do that makes us suffer unnecessarily is when we relate to God, we think about the answer being inside of us and the problem being outside of us. That is so backward that I mourn those who still feel that way. Your greatest problem is you, and your greatest solution is outside of you in Christ. If you hear nothing else I say today, be blessed by knowing that truth. Your Redeemer is not going to be finding some deep truth inside yourself that's going to unlock everything. The deeper you go in here, the worse it'll get. And the further you go toward Him, the better you'll understand. redemption outside of you in Christ.

#6 Look away from you to Christ

Number six, I'm out of time. Job 19 verse 26. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God. Number six is look away from you to Christ and ask yourself, what would he have you do? What does Christ expect of you? What should your day consist of? Who should you invest in? What sorts of things should you be doing? How does any of it matter the kingdom of God? What you do for the kingdom will last, will matter. I wish I could recall the poem as well as it is. I don't remember the rhyme. It's essentially only what's done for Christ will last. I want you to see the end of the story so in your Bibles just turn over to Job chapter 42 and look at how it ends Job chapter 42 he continues to battle his friends he continues a crying out and a questioning God - asking God "why?" Asking God when will he be relieved and then God comes to Him. And when God does come, God humbles Him because God says, "I'm God and you're not." He gives Him in poetry form in our Bible just unbelievable reasons why Job has no right to say anything. When God's done talking, Job answers the only way anybody can answer. He says, verse 5, chapter 42, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you." Now stop there just one second and realize, how did he see God? Right? Did God come down and stand in front of him and talk to him as he did Moses? No, it doesn't say that. It says that God told him essentially all of the details of creation, right? which reminds us of Romans 1. They know about God because it's made plain to them by that which is made. Mine eyes have now seen you. Verse 6, "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

#7 Take personal responsibility for ourselves before God, submitting to Him totally.

And that's the last point I had for you today in regards to suffering. Job 42 verse 6, "Take personal responsibility for ourselves before God, submitting to Him totally." You want to relieve suffering? That's number 7. Take personal responsibility for ourselves before God, submitting to God totally. Our greatest temptation is to mistrust God's Word and to fight to get out of our suffering. That's a very natural, and I don't think God's angry when we squirm and when we want out of our suffering. There's no indication of that. However, the response is you cover your mouth and you say, "I pour myself in dust and ashes." Repentance, turning from sin, turning toward God, and regular daily, every day, every moment, recognition of my need to turn back to God. Taking personal responsibility for my sin. J. Sidlow Baxter's "Look Into the Book" if you don't have it you can get it on Amazon. It's a great tool - And it says he writes this at the end "Then he is restored to take back responsibility for the earthly things and at the point stewards them as if they are God's and not his. That's how he concludes the life of Job. My person that I told you about whom I love so much Dr. Draper would say "some people have accused Job of having a happy ending..." and he would say this is not a happy ending because "...for the rest of Job's life He would look up on the hill and there would be ten gravestones of his ten dead children."Yes, God restores his fortunes. He gives him back his cattle. He gives him back his farm, He lets him have ten new children, but the ten new children don't replace ten children. If you've ever had children you know, they're not replaceable like that. He's always going to face the reality of that time in that place. But his life is not defined by what happened to him His life will now as Baxter was pointing out will always be defined by how he relates to God and who God is. So as we look into the face of suffering we look to these things

Pray with me. Father, we come before You asking, Lord, knowing. I know in a room like this, Lord, You have Your people here, and there are some who are suffering. There are some who are going through trials. There are some who don't know what direction to go. There are some who are wishing that You would relieve the difficulty, the pain, the frustration, the hurt in their life. There are some listening who wish upon wish, that suffering doesn't define them. But Lord, we know that You are good and right and true and good and merciful despite our experience and our emotions. So we pray even now that You would give us perspective that would help us suffer well, that as believers that want to follow Christ, that you would be our greatest treasure. And being found in you would be our all in all. God, do this work in us, in your people, and in Jesus' name. Amen.