November 25, 2013
SUFFERING: PROOF THAT GOD IS NOT GOOD?
Hebrews 5
Rachel Lawrence
Central Truth
Suffering was a part of life even for the Son of God. While it may seem countercultural, our call is to embrace or lean into our suffering as a means through which we learn obedience and are brought closer to sanctification.
Key Verse | Hebrews 5:7–8
In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. (Hebrews 5:7-8)
Hebrews 5
1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
6 as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus 1 5:7 Greek he offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Warning Against Apostasy
11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Dive Deeper | Hebrews 5
In our pleasure-driven, pain-avoidance culture, suffering is pretty much a four-letter word. I don't think there exists a single person who doesn't struggle with the idea of suffering and question how God could allow so much pain to exist in the world.
In searching for answers, we have to look no further than Jesus Christ and the cross. We do not worship a distant, disconnected God who cannot empathize with humans. Our Savior, the Son of God, became flesh, suffered, and learned obedience to God through His very human suffering. He had a population turn against Him and one of His best friends betray Him; He was mocked, beaten, crucified, and forsaken by God as He took on ALL the sin of humanity. His response in the Garden of Gethsemane was honest and ultimately submissive: "[Y]et not My will, but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42)
We see throughout the Bible where God's people experience suffering (see Joseph, Moses, Job, David) and often as the result of following Christ (see Stephen, James, Paul, Timothy, and many others). So why do I find suffering in this life to be so surprising? Why do I think it's proof that God is not in control, or worse, that He is not good? Why do I question His plan, convinced that my circumstances cannot be redeemed? Why is my prayer first and foremost that He remove my suffering?
And it's in those moments, when my faith is being exercised and I'm embarrassingly winded, flailing about, wondering what is going on, that the light bulb switches on. Isn't the very basis of faith having a reason/need to trust?
The fundamental truth is that suffering provides us an opportunity to exercise our faith, experience growth by submitting to God's will, and trust that Jesus has gone before us and has personally experienced the totality of human suffering. Christ came that we might have abundant life (John 10:10), but He did not call us to a life of ease. Our discomfort and lack of control call us back to Christ and serve as imperative reminders that we desperately need a Savior in this fallen world, and He promises to sustain us when everything falls apart.
Discussion Questions
1. Where are you on your journey to learn obedience through suffering? What is your typical response to trials such as job loss, financial difficulties, broken relationships, etc.?
2. Has there been a specific trial/suffering in the past that has made you question the goodness of God or caused you to drift in your relationship with the Lord?
3. Has there been a particular time of suffering that has taught you obedience to God's will as you walked through it?
4. Is there a current situation in your life that you have been asking God to remove rather than asking God what He is trying to teach you? If so, will you ask the Lord to help you learn obedience and submit to His will? Will you ask the Holy Sprit to create in you a willing heart to receive His teaching?