“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 may 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. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
2 Corinthians 1:3–11 ESV
The first thing to gather from this excellent passage is that there’s a significant difference between affliction and the consequences of sin. God’s judgment against sin and “fiery trials” are absolutely not the same thing and mature Christians should and must know the difference. Here’s what Scripture has to say about this subject specifically (and remember the rule: always let Scripture interpret Scripture):
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?”
1 Peter 4:12–17 NLT
So, the point is plain to see. If our trial is the result of our sin it’s not actually a trial but the consequential wrath of God meant to lead us to repentance. Think of the Prodigal Son starving and lying in the pigpen. The answer is to repent and turn to God who, like the wayward son’s father, rejoices in mercy and will dress us in the robes of righteousness.
No. Matter. What. We’ve. Done.
Imagine Uriah’s joy when he saw David, his murderer, enter the Kingdom! Yes, joy. Do you think it possible to hold animosity in our hearts against the sins of others when once we know the true measure of God’s mercy to us? It’s simply impossible for a Christian to hold a grudge for the very fact that to have God’s love poured into our hearts will and must change us. Can a man forgiven a $1 billion debt shake down a neighbor for a measly $10 (Matthew 18:21-35)?
If we’re committing crimes or being a busybody, we must repent. Period. End of story. Let’s be busy praising the Lord for the amazing privilege of being His son or daughter.
Beyond that, though, there’s the seemingly endless array of life’s challenges. Ah, yes…and these are what Paul and Peter refer to and for which we learn to comfort others and rely on the Lord. All manner of trials will set upon us in this age. There’s no escaping this plain fact of Scripture.
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT
These trials, Paul tells us, help us to comfort others along the way. What a blessing it is to have another Christian at our side who has suffered as we have! And our trials produce not only compassion for others, but humility too. Sweet, precious humility! Pride is our great enemy; self-reliance and the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality rob us of the deep and abiding joy of resting in our Savior’s presence when we truly learn to rely on Him. Trials of various kinds are, in the logic and economy of God, a blessing to His people for the simplest reason that they bring us to Him. R.C. Sproul once said that we often want delivery from our trials and misery but not our sin. Let us all take care to soberly assess ourselves – in prayerful Scripture reading especially – lest we be more concerned with our circumstances (comfort) than our sin.
It’s best to remind ourselves that we serve a personal and loving God, not an aloof, fault-finding tyrant. Our God not only saved us but did so at extreme personal cost. We can sometimes make the mistake of making light of what’s really happened in our salvation. If you have repented of your sin and placed your trust in Jesus Christ, you must no longer walk through your days as if you’re barely gonna make it. A good many reformed Christians play total depravity as if it’s weightier than God’s grace. Yes, our sin is real…and terrible…but God’s mercy is that much greater. It’s the greatest thing of all, in fact. It’s the big thing. The only thing. We’re saved by a personal God and welcomed into a true and deep relationship with Him. The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t some kind of divine DMV…it’s the presence of the thrice holy God who intimately loves and knows you. The true you.
If you’ve been walking around, dragging your feet, plugging away joylessly, always feeling like a failure, the distant shame of a long past sin still on your mind, you’re missing the reality of Christ. Truly, you are. If you’ve repented – think on this – it’s gone. Gone, gone. As far as east is from west. Many of us have had gravely flawed parents – fault-finders or even abusive – and we carry this impression into our thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. But He’s the perfect and personal Savior who will never despise your broken and contrite heart, nor hold you up for shame. A lot of difficulty with trials is because many of us are still carrying around heavy baggage that the Lord would have us leave at the cross.
Going through trials that we think are judgments will make what’s already hard nearly impossible. The good news is that it’s not too late to turn that guilt into the joy of your salvation by simply focusing on our great Lord Jesus Christ and seeing Him for who He truly is.
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