Suffering in the Lord

Jody showed me a video a few years ago, and I have thought of it often in the difficult seasons that the Lord has led us through. The speaker is a man called John Piper, who is a pastor and theologian. Right now he is the Pastor of Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. To find out a little more about him, visit here.

The reason this video and the message it contains are so compelling to me is because it is so TRUE. When I find myself struggling with situations I find myself in - when God doesn't seem present, or He doesn't seem to be consistent with what I think He should be - I realize that what I'm dealing with wrong expectations of the Lord and His Word. And when I read more closely, I see that pain and suffering are exactly what we should expect as followers of Jesus Christ in this life. Ugh. Not the kind of message that makes you want to skip home from church and tell your friends about. Nonetheless, it is the truth.

As I was doing some Scripture verses on the truth of the Word of God vs. the message that is often preached in churches around America, these are some Scripture verses that I happened upon.

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. - Hebrews 5:7-9

In all 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 the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. - 1 Peter 1:6-7

But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  - 1 Peter 2:20b-22

Jody shared this video in his sermon today, and I'm so glad he did. It has been a message brewing in our hearts for the past few years. I pray the Lord continues to work out in us a love for the unadulterated, pure Gospel of Jesus Christ, where we are undistracted by the false messages around us. 

To dig in a little deeper into why John Piper feels the way he does about the prosperity gospel, see the following video. While it's a bit longer (~11 minutes), I think it will be worthwhile in challenging you to evaluate your expectations of the life that following Christ entails.