I Know My Redeemer Lives.

For I know that my Redeemer lives.
And he shall stand at last on the earth.
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God.

Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold,
and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

Job 19:25-27

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
"...yet in my flesh shall I see God": he believed, that though he should die and molder into dust in the grave, yet he should rise again, and that in true flesh, not in an aerial celestial body, but in a true body, consisting of flesh, blood, and bones, which spirits have not, and in the same flesh or body he then had, his own flesh and body, and not another's; and so with his fleshly or corporeal eyes see God, even his living Redeemer, in human nature; who, as he would stand upon the earth in that nature, in the fulness of time, and obtain redemption for him, so he would in the latter day appear again, raise him from the dead, and take him to himself, to behold his glory to all eternity: or "out of my flesh" (f), out of my fleshly eyes; from thence and with those shall I behold God manifest in the flesh, my incarnate God; and if Job was one of those saints that rose when Christ did, as some say (g), he saw him in the flesh and with his fleshly eyes. 

"But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 
My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 
I have not departed from the command of His lips; 
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."
Job 23:10-12

I admire Job. In reading his words, you can see a real person who is suffering terribly and not understanding why. He pours out how he feels; how he wishes he could talk with God and ask him why this is happening to him. He seems to come close to unbelief, but he always recovers and speaks of how he longs to be with God in heaven.

God never does explain to Job why he is suffering. He simply shows Himself to Job and Job says, " "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes."

I think if we knew how wise, loving and majestic God is, we would not bother to ask why, we would just accept whatever came from his hand and trust him. I remember someone asking me why God let all these bad things happen to them and I said, "It happens to people all over the world. Why should we be exempt?" I've always known I was just one person in a world full of pain. Still, I've been angry, depressed and despairing about my sufferings.

But I bring all these feelings to God now and he strengthens me to live my life in friendship with him. When I feel unloved and misunderstood by people, I know now that God is my friend. I can spend the whole day with him and share all I think and feel. Sometimes I ask him, "What should we do next?" Whatever I'm doing, I try to remember Jesus is right beside me. 

Sometimes I feel so alone. But Jesus is here, right here with me in this room. He takes me as I am; no harsh judgement, nothing but love. There is a song I listen to that says something like, "How could I face the day if you were not by my side." That's how I feel about God.

A Suffering Man.

Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53

Abundant Suffering.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer."  2 Corinthians 1: 3-6

"We share abundantly in Christ's sufferings..." I've been through suffering this past week. When I read these verses this morning I felt comforted, partly because I do feel God comforting but also because Paul says it is natural to share sufferings with Christ. 

The Bible speaks about suffering a lot. Yet, when I was growing up going to church and later in my adult life, preachers didn't dwell on suffering. It was all about how with Christ in your life all will be well. So, this is what I grew up with and honestly, this is no help when you are going through hard times.

Everyone goes through hard times, Christian and non-Christian but the difference for the Christian is we go to God for help and comfort. I am so happy to be a Christian - so very happy to talk with God about everything. I pray that those of you who don't know God yet will give him a chance.

Psalm 44 - Why Have You Left Us?

Psalm 44 by the Sons of Korah - What it means to me.

You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads at us.

I live in disgrace all day long,
and my face is covered with shame
at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
Our hearts had not turned back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;

you covered us over with deep darkness.  
Verses 13-19

Commentators don't agree on when this Psalm was written. Some say it could have been during the time of Eli the priest. Most agree it is not speaking of the deportation to Babylon. Some say it was during David's reign. They all agree it was written during a time of persecution towards Israel and that God had allowed their enemies to triumph over them.

This Psalm brings up the question of why God allows his children to suffer persecution when they have been following God and not doing any great wrong. Of course, this happened in the early church when there arose persecution, first from the Jews and then by the Roman Empire.

I just read about a woman who was in an F4 tornado. She had been a Christian since she was ten and loved the Lord. During the tornado, her baby was torn from her arms and was killed. She was angry at God at first. She could not understand why this happened to her. But, eventually she accepted what happened and turned to God for comfort which he gave to her.

God has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 We may feel he has left us but that is not true. He is there right beside us always. We may never understand our suffering in this world but will know why it happened later when we are in heaven. Suffering does make us more compassionate. We can then understand those who have suffered and comfort them. Suffering comes to every human being; it only differs when and how. God will give us strength to bear it.

But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!"  Matthew 14:27

"Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Matthew 28:20

A Broken Heart: A Curse or a Blessing?

I've been reading, "Life of the Beloved," by Henri J.M. Nouwen. He says everyone on earth has a broken heart. I believe this to be true. We all get a broken heart from people who are unkind to us, suffering through a war, going through an illness or many other negative things. No one's life is perfect although some suffer more than others. Each of our sufferings is unique to us. No one knows exactly what we feel and go through.

Nouwen says many people look upon their brokenness as a curse when it is actually a blessing. I had to read that chapter twice because although I have read the same thing in other books it is extremely hard for me to grasp. How on earth can pain, whether mental or physical be put under the heading of "blessing"?

So I re-read the chapter underlining words so I could make some sense of it and I came to this conclusion

1. If we look on suffering as a curse it deepens our feeling of worthlessness.

2. If we put suffering under the heading of blessings then it becomes a challenge to see it as a purification, pruning and a deeper communion with God.

3. It can lead to a total surrender to God along with deeper communion.

When I was reading this, I looked up on my wall and noticed the picture my sister gave me of Jesus on the cross. Jesus said about his suffering, "I tell you the truth, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned to joy." John 16:20 while the Old Testament says it is a curse, "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse." Deuteronomy 21:23 But of course the curse came to be a blessing.

I remembered reading once of Solzhenitsyn, who changed after he was thrown in prison. Prison became a blessing to him.

“Bless you, prison!” by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

“It was granted to me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience: how a human being becomes evil and how good. In the intoxication of youthful successes I had felt myself to be infallible, and I was therefore cruel. In the surfeit of power I was a murderer and an oppressor.

In my most evil moments I was convinced that I was doing good, and I was well supplied with systematic arguments. It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts…

That is why I turn back to the years of my imprisonment and say, sometimes to the astonishment of those about me: ‘Bless you, prison!’ I…have served enough time there. I nourished my soul there, and I say without hesitation: ‘Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!’”

–Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956, Vol. 2 (New York: Harper & Row, 1973), 615-17.

So, now I understand a bit more of how our suffering can help us get closer to God.

Sharing in God's Suffering.

The fellowship of His sufferings.—PHI.3:10.

It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.

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.—In the world ye shall have tribulation.—Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

I looked for some to take pity, but there was none.—At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me.

The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.—Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Matt.10:25.Isa.53:3.--John 16:33. -John 15:19.Psa.69:20. -II Tim.4:16.Matt.8:20. -Heb.13:14.Heb.12:1,2.

This is an excerpt from the book, Jesus Did it Anyway, by Kent M. Keith.

"We know there is beauty and goodness in the world, but sometimes it is hard to see. Instead, we see only conflict and suffering. Every day, the newspapers report the beatings, the killings, the sickness and starvation, the inhumanity of human beings toward each other...Does anybody understand what we are going through?"

"Jesus suffered. He experienced cruelty and pain and hate. But he did more than that; he showed us how to triumph over the cruelty and pain and hate. He showed us that even in a world in which evil is strong, we can be who we are meant to be, and do what we are meant to do. He showed us how to rise above our fear and despair. He showed us how to live our faith and find meaning and deep happiness."

As I think about the suffering in Japan right now, and the suffering all over the world, I need God to help me rise above my fear and despair. There was the same kind of suffering in Jesus time. There has been suffering from the beginning of sin in heaven. How God and Jesus must have suffered when they lost their child Lucifer! How them must suffer still as they see all he has caused.

Yet Jesus never despaired or was fearful when he was here as a man. Although, perhaps in the Garden of Gethsemane he came close to that. But as God does for us, he did for Jesus, in sending an angel to strengthen him. I wonder how I would react if I were in the midst of a terrible earthquake and lost everything. Would I trust in God? Would I have peace and patience? Or would I be angry and depressed? Having never gone through such a thing, I don't know.

I pray for the people of Japan and all the countries where there is great suffering. May God help them. May God help us all.

God Questions Job.

The book of Job tells the story of a man who endures terrible psychological and physical suffering. God shows us in the first chapter how Satan tells God Job only loves God because he has given him many gifts: children, money, lands, animals, and servants.

Satan tells God if he lets him take away all Job has then Job will curse God and leave him. God tells Satan he can touch everything of Job's but cannot take his life.

When Job loses everything and everyone but his wife, he cannot understand why he is suffering. Job's three friends tell him he must have sinned greatly for God to punish him in this way, but Job can think of nothing he has done. He wishes he had never been born and wishes he could talk with God and question Him.

God appears to talk with Job. He never explains why Job has had these tragedies. Instead, he asks him a long list of questions which I won't quote since there are too many. I will quote four of them.

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?"

"Will the fault-finder contend with the Almighty?"

"Will you really annul my judgement?"

"Will you condemn me that you may be justified?"

God explains his great wisdom and power by pointing to all creation. He is trying to tell Job he knows what he is doing.

Job answers God, "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted...Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know..."

"But now my eye sees you; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes."

Suffering

This is an excerpt from the book, "Where is God When it Hurts?" by Philip Yancey.

"It seems to me that suffering involves two main issues: 1) whoever caused my discomfort, and 2) my response. Most of us expend our energy trying to figure out the cause of our pain before we'll decide how to respond...

In the book of Job, the portion of the Bible which most vividly poses the question "Who causes pain?" God deliberately sidesteps the issue. He never explained the cause to Job. All the way through, the Bible steers from the issue of cause to the issue of response. Pain and suffering have happened - now what will you do? The great discussers of cause, Job's three friends, are dismissed with a scowl. The Bible is so clear on this point that I must conclude the real issue before Christians is not "Is God responsible?" but "How should I react now that this terrible thing has happened?"

I remember reading a book by Viktor Frankl who was in a concentration camp in Germany during World War II. He said that his captors could take everything away from him (and they killed his wife and parents) but his attitude.

My attitude during suffering is that I want to just die. Yet God doesn't answer this prayer, he keeps my heart beating. Therefore, I now try to have the right attitude towards suffering - that God is with me, he suffers with me, and he loves me. This makes all suffering bearable for me.

Don't Be Discouraged

11Corinthians 4:16-18

Don't lose heart, even though we age and our bodies may become sick. Our inner life is being made new every day!

This transitory suffering that we go through is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison.

Don't look at the things which are seen with your eyes, for they will not last. But look at the things that are unseen, for these things are eternal.