September 20, 2011

• All things (even bad things) work together for good... (from the archives)

  
  Today's post was originally published here, just over three years ago, on September 4, 2008...

  Matthew 13:52  And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
  

  All things (even bad things) work together for good...

  Jesus knew that His disciples would not enter into a tearless life,
  therefore He made an exhibition of their sorrows to come.
  "Ye shall weep and lament . . .have sorrow."
  ...If you follow that blessed Christ of God, the Captain of Salvation, He will never deceive you.
  If He predicts sorrow, you may be assured, you will find it: but he also promised glory,
  "If we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him."
  He makes a complete exhibition of everything you can expect as His follower.[1]

  

  He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
  he will gather the lambs in his arms;
  he will carry them in his bosom,
  and gently lead those that are with young.
  Isaiah 40:11

  Sovereign Ruler of the Skies[2]
  (John Ryland, 1753-1825)
  
  Sovereign Ruler of the skies,
  Ever gracious, ever wise,
  All my times are in thy hand,
  All of events at thy command.
  
  His decree who formed the earth
  Fixed my first and second birth;
  Parents, native place, and time
  All appointed were by him.
  
  He that formed in the womb,
  He shall guide me to the tomb;
  All my times shall ever be
  Ordered by his wise decree.
  
  Times of sickness, times of health,
  Times of penury and wealth;
  Times of trial and of grief,
  Times of triumph and relief;
  
  Times the tempter’s power to prove,
  Times to test the Savior’s love;
  All must come, and last, and end
  As shall please my heavenly friend.
  
  Plagues and death around me fly;
  Till he bids, I cannot die.
  Nor a single shaft can hit,
  Till the love of God sees fit.

  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:28-32.

  
  Sometimes God shakes up His children through loss or pain. In His mysterious, inscrutable, and often unsettling, but always good and perfect Providence, we find ourselves broadsided. Our lives are turned upside down. Everything was going along quite nicely, thank you very much. In fact, things were running on all cylinders. Then a monkey wrench gets thrown into the works. But what we perceive to be the monkey wrench has been put there only under the watching and caring eye of God's loving permissive will for His own children in order to accomplish His purposes to glorify Himself, to form Christ in us and expand His Kingdom in the world. John Piper reminds us that "The pain of our shattered plans is for the purpose of scattered grace."[3]
  
  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace...Ecclesiastes 3:1-7, KJV.

  There are times we will find ourselves weeping and mourning––and not laughing and dancing.
  
  There are times we will find ourselves passing through deep waters and burning fire, and frankly that water can get mighty deep and the fire can be mighty intense...yet our God reminds us:

  But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Isaiah 43:1-3, KJV.

  The redeemed of the LORD are not exempt from the waters or rivers. The Christian is not immune from times in the fire. Jesus reminded us that in the world we will have tribulation...but we can be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world (John 16:33; see also Acts 14:22; II Tim. 3:12; Phil. 2:29; Romans 8:16-17). And oftentimes because after we become children of God, the waters get higher and the fire gets hotter. There is no detour around the waters or the fire. We pass through the waters. We walk through the fire. Yet as we experience sorrow, pain and suffering we can trust that nothing will separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:31-39).

  Alan Redpath writes about suffering and the people of God:

  God has had one Son without sin, but He has never had one child without suffering, never. All the sons and daughters of God are made to feel the chastening of a wise, loving heavenly Father.
  
  ...trouble is an essential part of the experience of the people of God....
  
  ...trouble does not destroy the people of God...
  
  ...No flame matters if I am sure that it can never separate me from Him. If you are facing some of these things right now, you do not have less of Jesus because you might be sick or bedridden....
  
  Your losses and your crosses you will find are places where you realize the presence of Jesus as you never could have done without them. I do not find any promise in the Bible worded like this: "When you lie on soft green grass, or walk on a velvet carpet, I will be with thee. " No, it says, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee" (Isaiah 43:2), and just to meet our doubt, the Lord says, "I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name; thou art mine" (v. 1).

  ...the water and fire do not stop the march of the people of God...

  If our way to glory leads through the flood, then through the flood we will go. If our way to heaven leads us through the fire, through the fire we will pass. Nothing will ever stop the onward march of a soul of whom the Lord says, "Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Romans 8:29-30).

  What a wonderful past tense is that experience––called, justified, glorified! In the mind of God we are in heaven now as though we were already taken there. Yes, he has begun, and He will never cease to perform.[4]

  In the same way, Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that as we face trying circumstances

  The end, the ultimate, is guaranteed, but as we are traveling towards it there are many things which we fail to understand, and we shall often be perplexed in in confusion.
  
  

  Oft in danger, oft in woe,
  Onward, Christians, onward go.

  
  You are not promised exemption from troubles and trials. The devil deludes many into thinking that once you become a Christian you never know any more trouble. That is his lie. "Oft in danger, oft in woe" is to be our lot in this world. But we are to march on and "Face the foe", keeping our eye upon the ultimate. Remember who your Captain is and the absolute certainty of the final outcome. The Apostle's assertion [in Romans 8:28] is that "we know" this with an assured certainty.[5]
  

  And Lloyd-Jones reminds us of the experience of the saints and affliction:
  
  

  They [the saints] are all unanimous in their testimony, saying in their different ways, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted" [Psalm 119:71]. Christian people are generally at their best when they are in the furnace of affliction, and being persecuted and tried. We remember the epic stories of some of the German Christians during the Hitler regime and during the Second World War, and also some of the experiences of the saints in Norway during the time of occupation by the Germans. Go back to the story of the Covenanters 300 years ago in Scotland, and beyond that to the early martyrs and confessors. They all agree in saying that they had never known God as they knew Him when they were in the furnace of affliction. "Testing times", they say, "are healing times, they are growing times." Their trial and tribulation were the means whereby God revealed Himself to them in a newer and a deeper way. So this is not only the clear teaching of the Scripture; it has been supported and confirmed and verified by the experience of the saints of God in the Church through all the running centuries ever since.[6]

  We may not always understand why our heavenly Father allows His children to be afflicted and to suffer, yet no matter what the circumstances, no matter how high the waters or how hot the fire, our God is with us and those high waters and that hot fire are working together for our good. As the waters rise, as the fire burns hotter, we can completely entrust ourselves to His sovereign hands without fear.

  So you say to yourself, "I do not understand fully, but, if it is a part of God's treatment of me, I am content. I am ready to go on even in the dark in this way, as long as I know that it is God who is dealing with me for my good."[7]

  Faith knows that behind the chastening, the suffering, and the trial, behind that restriction of circumstance, there is a great purpose. The great refiner of hearts has a meaning in every degree of heat which He allows the furnace to have.[8]

  We cannot allow our current trials to obscure or twist our view of God. We must continue to keep our eyes on our Forerunner, rather than on our trials. Faith looks beyond what is seen to Him who is invisible. Faith trusts that God's purposes for His children are always for our good (e.g.-Romans 8:31-32). No matter what our lot, our God doeth all things well.

  We will weep.
  We will groan.
  We will grieve.
  We will cry.
  We will be sorrowful.
  We will mourn.

  But while we mourn, let us not mourn like those who do not have hope (I Thessalonians 4:13).

  For we have a sure hope. We have an anchor that holds within the veil. Let us flee to Him for refuge so we

  might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20

  We have a sure hope. Not an doubtful hope.
  We have a steadfast hope. Not a wavering hope.

  Because our hope is built on nothing less than the Lord Jesus Himself. He is our hope. Think of that: God Himself is our hope. He is the sure and steadfast anchor of our souls.

  When we find ourselves in the midst of trials, we often think, "No one has ever gone through this." Yet we must never think our personal trials to be unique or strange (I Cor. 10:13; I Peter 4:12). As we look to Scripture we will find some similar experience and will most certainly find some word to encourage us.  As we read of the lives of saints past and present we will soon see ourselves in their stories. As we seek the face of the man of sorrows, we will find consolation. Our God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction (I Cor. 1:3-4a). Our great High Priest has suffered being tempted, yet without sin; therefore, He is able to help us in all our distress. We have a God who can sympathize with our weaknesses, a Savior who is merciful and compassionate. (For example, see Isaiah 52:14-15; Isaiah 53; Hebrews 2:9-18; 4:14-5:11; I Peter 3:18-4:6, 4:12-19.)

  
  While in this life, there is no doubt that we will weep and mourn, but we can trust that our heavenly Father knows all about it:

  You have kept count of my tossings;
  put my tears in your bottle.
  Are they not in your book?
  Psalm 56:8.

  I imagine in that bottle some of God's tears are mingling with ours and some of the stains on the pages of that book are from tears He's shed...

  Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14, KJV.
  

  
  SOME WAYS GOD USES BAD THINGS FOR OUR GOOD

  I began to look through Scripture to see some ways that God uses losses, hardship and affliction in the lives of His children. (Please note: This is not an all-inclusive list by any means, but just a way to get us to begin to consider the work God may be trying to do in our lives through difficulties and trials.) I find it a huge consolation when God gives me the grace to look beyond my current pain and sadness to see how His hand might be at work in it all.

  So we might wait on Him and come to rest in His strength. Isaiah 40:27-31.

  To bring us to our senses so we would confess our sin and turn back to God after we've played the prodigal. Luke 15.

  So we might remember God so we might return to Him. Psalm 78:34-35.
  
  So we might return to Him with our whole heart and to give us a heart to know Him. Jeremiah 24:7; Deuteronomy 4:27-29.

  So we might return to God and obey His voice. Deuteronomy 4:30-31.
  
  To help us see that God is sovereign over all circumstances. Job 40:1-5; 42:1-6.
  
  To give us a greater vision of the glory of God. Isaiah 6; Job 40:3-4, 42:1-6.
  
  To give us a greater vision of the exceeding sinfulness of our sin. Isaiah 6; Job 40:3-4, 42:1-6.
  
  To open our ears to hear His call to ministry. Isaiah 6.
  
  To show us His power is made perfect in our weakness and His grace is sufficient for us. II Corinthians 11:16-12:10.
  
  To test what is in our hearts. Deuteronomy 8:2.

  To refine us and glorify His Name. Isaiah 48:9-11.
  
  To produce patience, perseverance, character and hope. Romans 5:1-5.
  
  To test and refine our faith. I Peter 1:6-7.
  
  To perfect and complete us. James 1:2-4.
  
  To discipline and chasten us. Hebrews 12:3-11.
  
  To turn us from our sin. Psalm 119:67.

  To learn His Statutes. Psalm 119:71.
  
  To refine our faith so it might be to the praise, honor and glory of God at Christ's appearing. I Peter 1:6-9.
  
  To manifest the life of Jesus in us. II Corinthians 4:8-12.

  To bring life to others. II Corinthians 4:12.

  To help us look beyond what is seen to the far exceeding and eternal weight of glory, the glory that will be revealed in us. II Corinthians 4:16-18; Romans 8:18.

  So we might be glorified with Him. Romans 8:16-17; I Peter 4:12-19.
  
  To save many souls. Genesis 50:20.
  
  To further the Gospel. Philippians 1:12-13.
  
  To spread the Gospel. Acts 8:4.
  
  To encourage others in their Christian witness. Philippians 1:14.
  
  To receive Christ's consolation. II Corinthians 1:3-4a.

  To comfort others with the comfort we have received. II Corinthians 1:3-7.
  
  To know His peace which passes all understanding. Philippians 4:6-7; John 14:27.

  To know His joy in suffering. Colossians 1:24.

  To teach us contentment in all circumstances. Philippians 4:11-13.
  
  To trust in God and not our own sufficiency. II Corinthians 1:8-10; Philippians 4:13.
  
  
  As we read through this list, I think we would have to agree that these are good things. Yet, how often do we pray to escape pain and suffering and hard times? If God answered all those prayers, if God answered all our pleas to be taken out of the water or rescued from the fire, how much blessing might we miss out on?

  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:16-18.

  All through the New Testament we see that glory is linked to suffering and that suffering is a part of God's plan for His children. Frankly, we don't understand that since our human nature does all it can to avoid pain and heartache.

  I recently read this description about some communion cups for sale in a church supply catalog:

  Smooth even lip won't cut or cause discomfort.[9]

  What was that?

  Rather than completely upending the communion table...I must pause a moment...

  Excuse me, but what is communion supposed to be all about anyhow?

  Oh, yes, that's right, we're remembering the Passion of the Son of God, who bore the punishment for the sin of the world by becoming sin for us, the spotless Lamb who was bruised for our iniquities, who died for us while we were yet sinners so we might be reconciled to God––

  ––yet here we are considering on how we might make communing with our God, the act of partaking of His Body and Blood, a bit more comfortable for us while we sit in our padded pews and temperature-controlled sanctuaries...

  I think we all need a reality check here.

  For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. Hebrews 2:10.

  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief...Isaiah 53:3-7, KJV.

  If Jesus had chosen to avoid "discomfort," where would we be today?

  If Jesus had savored the things of men rather than the things of God, where would we be today?

  If Jesus had not willingly gone outside the gate and endured the cross and shed His blood, where would we be today?

  Still dead in transgressions and sins.
  Still children of wrath.
  Still aliens and strangers.
  Still Fatherless.
  Still condemned.

  I confess I don't like hardship, pain, suffering. I don't like discomfort and inconvenience.

  But the Christian life isn't about what we like or what we prefer, it's about walking obediently in Christ's steps. And Christ's steps took Him right to the lowest place, to the basin and towel, to suffer outside the city and give His life on the cross.

  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8, KJV.

  whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:27-28, KJV.
  

  Throned upon the Awful Tree [10]
  John Ellerton, 1875

  1 Throned upon the awful tree,
  King of grief, I watch with thee.
  Darkness veils thine anguished face;
  None its lines of woe can trace.
  None can tell what pangs unknown
  Hold thee silent and alone.

  2 Silent through those three dread hours,
  Wrestling with the evil pow'rs,
  Left alone with human sin,
  Gloom around thee and within,
  Till th'appointed time is nigh,
  Till the Lamb of God may die.

  3 Hark, that cry that peals aloud
  Upward through the whelming cloud!
  Thou, the Father’s only Son,
  Thou, His own anointed One,
  Thou dost ask him–can it be–
  “Why hast Thou forsaken me?”

  4 Lord, should fear and anguish roll,
  Darkly o’er my sinful soul,
  Thou, who once wast thus bereft
  That thine own might ne’er be left,
  Teach me by that bitter cry
  In the gloom to know You nigh.

  
  

  We sing of the wonderful cross, but we don't think it quite so wonderful when our own will is crossed, and we often shrink back at taking up our own cross.

  We like the benefits of being partakers of the divine nature: a clean slate and a ticket to heaven.

  But we sometimes don't like the responsibility, calling and obligation of being partakers of the divine nature: to die to self, take up our cross and follow Him.

  We seek the best places beside our Savior, but we don't like to consider that we must drink the cup Jesus drank and be baptized with the same baptism He was baptized with. We forget that we are called not only to partake of Christ's glory but also to partake of His sufferings (e.g.-Philippians 1:29; I Peter 2:18-25; 4:1-6, 12-19; Hebrews 13:13).

  We hesitate when the call to follow Christ includes suffering...we're no different than our brother Peter:

  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Matthew 16:21-23, KJV.

  American Christianity has grown accustomed to comfort and convenience. We think it's our right to be safe and cozy. We forget that if we are redeemed by Christ, we are no longer our own. And the only right we have is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to our Redeemer who shed His precious blood for us. But too often we shrink away from real sacrifice and from counting the cost.

  Like Aslan, the Lion of Judah is not safe, but He is good.

  We often pray for the waters to subside and the flame to dampen, we beg and plead for the bad times to pass quickly. I know because I find myself doing it all the time. I need God to transform my mind so I might savor the things of God rather than the things of men, so I might set my mind on things above rather than on things on earth, so I might have His power to take up my cross and follow Him without reservation.

  Let us ask God for daily grace and daily power to commit ourselves to Him at all times, including the hard times. To trust that His timing is perfect. To know that the waters and the fire will remain only so long as He says and no longer. Our God is trustworthy. Our Father is good and our Father loves us. Our King is sovereign and He is still on the throne and in control. No matter how high the water or how hot the flame, He is still with us and will never leave us or forsake us. If God allows high waters and scorching hot fire, we must trust by faith that is part of His good and perfect plan for us.

  When we experience difficulties and hardship, as we walk through the dark times––for indeed we will do so––we must not doubt in the darkness what we have learned about God in the light–no matter how dark those days may get.

  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. Psalm 139:11-12.

  Whenever it looks like he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in the dark.[11]

  Lord, should fear and anguish roll,
  Darkly o’er my sinful soul,
  Thou, who once wast thus bereft
  That thine own might ne’er be left,
  Teach me by that bitter cry
  In the gloom to know You nigh.

  While weep and mourn (for we surely will), we need not grieve as others do who have no hope for we know He is nigh .

  Let us continue to pray that we might

  ...come to recognize that only our God and Saviour Jesus Christ is omnipotent, and He displays His power not necessarily by changing our circumstances or relieving our sufferings, but by displaying the glow and glory of His indwelling presence in the the lives of His people who are able to say, "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38,39)[12]

  ...and let us resolve and remember:

  I still purpose to go on, with this one great assurance, that God is really God, sovereign, in complete control, and will complete the warp and woof of his perfect design, always, and in spite of appearances, I repeat, in full control. Andy other consideration is amusing to Him: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.[13]

  ...and let us sing of our God's mysterious ways:

  God Moves in a Mysterious Way
  (William Cowper, 1774)
  I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.
  Isaiah 42:16

  God moves in a mysterious way
  His wonders to perform;
  He plants his footsteps in the sea,
  And rides upon the storm.

  Deep in unfathomable mines
  Of never-failing skill,
  He treasures up his bright designs,
  And works his sovereign will.

  Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
  The clouds ye so much dread
  Are big with mercy, and shall break
  In blessings on your head.

  

  Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
  But trust him for his grace:
  Behind a frowning providence
  He hides a smiling face.

  His purposes will ripen fast,
  Unfolding every hour;
  The bud may have a bitter taste,
  But sweet will be the flower.

  

  Blind unbelief is sure to err,
  And scan his work in vain:
  God is his own interpreter,
  And he will make it plain.

  Lam. 3:20-27; Hab. 3:17-19; Rom. 8:18-39 [14]

  For surely when the Day comes, there will be a time to laugh and a time to dance...

  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true....there will be no night there. Revelation 21:4-5, 25b.

  You may also be interested in reading:

  • Are Clouds Covering Your Sun Today?
  • When We Think the LORD Has Forsaken and Forgotten Us
  • Bible Reading: Isaiah 53:3-A Prayer to the Man of Sorrows, Acquainted with Grief
  • The Often Unwanted but Necessary Gift: The Gift of the Broken Heart
  • A Hymn for "Shelf" Times..."Lord, We Know That Thou Art Near Us"
  • Charles H. Spurgeon's August 5 Morning devotion on Romans 8:28 from "Morning and Evening."
  • John Piper's "When I Don't Desire God" (free online book)

  ---

  Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

  [1] Louis Paul Lehman, "Tears of the Bible" (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958), 13-14.

  [2] John Ryland, "Sovereign Ruler of the Skies." I've seen parts of this hymn quoted various places but the only place I could find the complete hymn was at  DOCTRINE MATTERS: Perfect, Complete, Sovereign Providence. I'd read portions of this hymn in various places, but this is one place I've been able to locate a full text of it.

  [3] John Piper, "Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions" (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 102. I would recommend the entire book, but re: suffering, please read Chapter 3: The Supremacy of God in Missions through Suffering. As you read, you'll quickly gain a greater perspective (God's perspective) on suffering.

  [4] Alan Redpath, "Faith for the Times: Studies in the Prophecy of Isaiah, Chapters 40 to 66: Part I: The Promise of Deliverance" (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1972), 65-67.

  [5] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "Romans: The Final Perseverance of the Saints, an Exposition of the Book of Romans 8:17-39" (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 178-179.

  [6] Lloyd-Jones, 182.

  [7] Lloyd-Jones, 176-177.

  [8] Redpath, 45.

  [9] Granted, we should not be negligent and buy products that might cause harm to those in our congregations, and we certainly shouldn't be seeking to suffer or feel pain, nonetheless I see a great irony here...

  [10] "Trinity Hymnal" (Atlanta: Great Commission Publications, 1990), # 250.

  [11] I believe this quote is from Piper's "Let the Nations Be Glad!" but I couldn't find it when I looked back through the book.

  [12] Redpath, 46-47.

  [13] Tom Carson's Monday, Feb. 16, 1987  journal entry as quoted in D.A. Carson's "Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson" (Wheaton, Il: Crossway, 2008), 127. At this point in his life Carson's wife Marg is experiencing a deterioration in health due to Alzheimer's disease.

  [14] The Isaiah 42:16 reference is found with the hymn in the "Trinity Hymnal;" the other verses are found with the hymn in "The Olney Hymns."

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