PREMSWAROOP MINISTRIES

Recently I wasinvited to speak at an Indonesian church an hour outside of Jakarta.

The senior pastor was diagnosed withliver cancer a year earlier. The doctors attending to him explored thepossibility of a liver transplant. After much effort, the money needed for theoperation was raised and a liver donor was found. On the eve of the surgery, asthe doctors were doing a final pre-op examination, they discovered that thecancer had spread throughout his body. It was now too late to do a livertransplant and the procedure was called off. The pastor and his family weredevastated by this unexpected turn of events. Upon hearing the news, theassistant pastor was so grief-stricken that the next day, he suddenly collapsedin the middle of the church service and died. Forty days later, the seniorpastor passed away. Without any clergy in this fledgling church, thehousewifely widow of the senior pastor had to conduct the funeral service onher own. Some finger-pointing members started questioning if the untimelydeaths of the top leadership were due to divine retribution, or whether thechurch was cursed. Over the next few months, attendance began to dwindle. As Iministered in the church, I could sense an unspoken question in the air—whydo bad things happen to good people?

There are manywonderful blessings that come with belonging to the Faith/Charismatic circle:the belief in signs and wonders, divine healing and health, success andfinancial prosperity, living a life of influence and purpose, et cetera.However, one area that most Charismatics do not handle too well is the issue ofsuffering. The prevalent reasoning is that if God is a good, healing,delivering God, whose desire is only to protect and bless His children, then aChristian should not have to suffer. And if a believer does suffer, then theremust be something wrong with his/her life or faith. As such, it is not uncommonto hear prominent Faith/Charismatic ministers making rhetorical statementslike, “Our heavenly Father will never allow Christians to suffer. I rejectsufferings and claim only God’s blessings!”

When this kind of simplistic thinking is embraced, it can make a person judgmentaland mean-spirited. If one is faced with an incurable disease or experiences atragic accident, it must be the result of an unconfessed sin, a generationalcurse, or that God is giving up on that person. It is a judgment from God, adivine retribution.

Years ago, one of my Bible college classmates died unexpectedly. Instead ofconsoling and comforting her father, who was a minister in the Assemblies ofGod, some Christians wrote accusatory letters condemning him of being the causeof his daughter’s untimely death. They speculated the existence of secret,unconfessed sins that had resulted in this “divine punishment.” Otherwise, itmust have been his “lack of faith” that failed to raise that girl from thedead.

Shortly after Seow-How and Cecilia co-founded Heart of God Church in 1999,there was a terrible accident that took place outside of their church premisesone Sunday. Two teenage members were walking across the road when a sleepy busdriver rammed into them. One of them died on the spot, the other died in thehospital hours later. It was a heart-wrenching tragedy for this very youngchurch and its congregation. One lady from a local Charismatic church beratedSeow-How and Cecilia, saying that the church had been divinely cursed. How elsecould they explain the unexpected death of the two teenagers? If God’s blessingwas on the congregation, there should never have been any form of suffering.

In an overly simplistic view on suffering, the logic usually goes like this:

If you are good, there will be nosuffering for you.

If you are bad, you will suffer.

So if there is suffering, then you must be bad, cursed and judged!

If this line of reasoning is true, then what about Jesus Christ, the apostlesand all the heroes of faith? They all suffered greatly for the gospel.Obviously the “suffering-means-accursed” logic espoused by many is greatlyflawed. I feel strongly that we need to re-look the whole concept of suffering,especially through the life of Job, a man who went through an unparalleledmagnitude of suffering.

The Scripture introduces Job as someone who was “blameless and upright, andone who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). In fact, Job’s moralitywas so legendary that he was listed twice as one of the three most righteousmen in the Old Testament (Ezek. 14:14, 20). He was a spiritually mature man,not a novice in the things of God.

Job was blessed with seven sons and three daughters, all grown up with theirown families and homes. He was incredibly wealthy with thousands of livestock.His ownership of 3,000 camels meant that he ran the largest transportationbusiness in the region during his time. The sheer number of his sheep, camels,oxen and donkeys meant that Job also owned a lot of farmlands for the animalsto graze on. Without a doubt, he “was the greatest of all the people of theEast” (1:3), a man professionally respected by all.

Beyond his material success, Job was a caring father to his children. Like thepatriarchs, he functioned as a priest over his family. He took his sacrificialobligation seriously, viewing it as expiation for sin. To Job this includedeven sins of the heart, for he made special offerings just in case his sons hadsecretly cursed God (1:5). Even God Himself acknowledged that there was not abetter man than Job in his day (1:8). If ever there was an outstanding man, itwas Job. Yet, very bad things happened to him.

In one day, severe calamities befell him and his household. Out of nowherebandits came and pillaged all his oxen and donkeys, murdering all his farmhandsin the process (1:15). Then a lightning bolt came out of the sky causing aforest fire, and all his 7,000 sheep and herdsmen were burned alive (1:16). Atthe same time, robbers came in three raids and took away his 3,000 camels andslew all their handlers (1:17). And before the dust could settle, a freak stormstruck the house wherein his ten children were dining. The roof fell on themand they all died instantly (1:19). Within 24 hours, Job lost his entirebusiness and family. Without anyone to help him, this 70-year-old elderly manhad to bury all his children by himself.

As if what happened was not bad enough, Job now became very sick. His body wasinflamed with ulcerous sores (2:7). Bible scholars believe that he had a severecase of elephantiasis, an illness that causes swelling and the disfiguration offace, causing him to be unrecognizable (2:12). He began to lose appetite andspiraled into depression (3:24-25). His body was covered with scabs oozing outpus and there were worms crawling all over him (7:5). He developed difficultybreathing (9:18), darkening of the eyelid (16:16), severe weight loss (19:20)as well as continual pain and anxiety (30:27). The high fever and blackenedskin (30:30) indicated that he was probably having some form of kidney or liverfailure. For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.

Because he was totally bankrupt, Job was now living at the city dump where theyburned garbage and human excrements. He was the absolute personification ofmisery. The richest man in the East was reduced to nothing. He was now a socialoutcast—shamed, disgraced, rejected and despised by all. Very bad thingshappened to this very good man!

It is never easy for anyone to go through difficult times and tough situations.However, when terrible things happen to us, here are a few things we need tobear in mind:

1. Know that God is not angry with you. Jobwas an extremely righteous man, yet he suffered like no one else. Psalm 34:19says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers himout of them all.” The apostle Paul, who himself is no stranger tosuffering, says, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will sufferpersecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). You could be going through a hard time becauseyou have been righteous and godly. So do not condemn yourself or think that Godis displeased with you.

By the way, the word “afflictions” also means physical suffering and mentalanguish. With all my heart, I fully believe in divine healing (Mark 16:17-18).However, I also submit to the sovereignty of God in any given situation. LikeJob, many great men of faith (with strong healing ministries) have themselvesbeen afflicted with terrible illnesses. Elisha the miracle worker died of aterminal sickness (2 Kin. 13:14). The apostle Paul was said to have had anincurable disease (2 Cor. 12:7). Epaphroditus was so sick he almost died (Phil.2:27). Billy Graham and Yonggi Cho are both diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.Reinhard Bonkke struggled with prostate cancer a few years ago. Casey Treat wasdiagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2003. A week ago, on November 22, megachurchpastor Billy Joe Daughterty succumbed to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and passedaway. All these ministers are godly men of faith, with impeccable integrity, buthave themselves been suffering with severe illnesses. The next time you seesomeone who is sick, please do not be quick to judge him/her for having littlefaith. We do live in a fallen world with imperfect bodies.

2. Realize that you are in a spiritual warfare. TheBible makes it very clear that the source of Job’s suffering was Satan thedevil. He has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Through tragediesand calamities, Satan constantly seeks to tempt us to reject God, to “curse Himto His face” (Job 1:11). When you are faced with hard times, do not get madwith God. It is not His fault.

3. Believe that God is ultimately in control. Totouch Job’s possessions, family and health, Satan needed permission from God(1:12; 2:6). We can be assured of this one thing: nothing can ever happen to uswithout His permission. As a good God, He never enjoys seeing His peoplesuffer. Yet sometimes, He allows bad things to happen to bring about adeeper change in us. In the case of Job, Satan may have thought that he wasprovoking God; but really, God was simply using Satan to complete His ownperfecting work in Job.

4. Offer up the sacrifice of praise. Despitebeing grief-stricken, Job “fell to the ground and worshiped,” acknowledgingGod’s sovereignty over his life to give and take away (1:20-21). Even when hewas made bankrupt and saw the irrational death of his ten children, never oncedid he “sin nor charge God with wrong” (1:22). Job’s trust in God’sgoodness was astounding.

5. Understand that God is seeking to make you better. Godis more interested in our character than our comfort. He is a very purposefulGod and never arbitrary in His treatment concerning us. That is why when we donot see His hand, we must learn to trust His heart. If not, we will becomeconfused, resentful and bitter. That is precisely why we need faith in our walkwith Him. The silence of God will make you wonder if He even cares, but Hedoes. The silence of God will make you wonder if He is even there, but He is.Faith is never for the good times, it is always for the difficult times.

One cannot appreciate Job’s love for God unless one understands Job 29, whichis a description of Job’s life before the tragedies befell him. Way back then,the counsel of God was already a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path(29:1-3; Ps. 119:105). He was walking in revelation. By Job’s own admission, heconsidered himself as one who had already “arrived” at advanced spiritualgrowth and maturity: “I was in the days of my prime” (Job 29:4). Hewas living with great material abundance and God’s presence (29:6).

When he spoke, everybody listened. Job was the “eyes to the blind,” the“feet to the lame,” the “father to the poor,” the provider towidows, and the defender of justice. The people loved, admired and looked up tohim. He was their guide, commander and king. Really, there was nothing more forJob to achieve. He had done it all! He was living the dream!

I know that for most Christian businesspeople or “kingdom professionals,” thisis the kind of life we all aspire to live—blessed with wealth, a great familylife, and status in society. We desire to be the head and not the tail, aboveand not beneath, and at the same time, a spiritual leader that everyone looksup to in the church and community. Yet as far as God was concerned, Job was notcompletely mature. There were many inner struggles he had that nobodyknew of. For one, Job never felt safe or secure in life in spite of all

hisachievements. He had a lot of restlessness and anxieties in his soul (3:25-26).

Here was a man who knew and sensed God, but never had real, deep, life-changingencounters with God. He had heard from God, but had never seen the Lord (42:5).Although he loved God with all his heart, he had not yet reached the point of totalabandonment toward Him. Job is like the Christian who has not come toa place where he can say, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die isgain” (Phil. 1:21), or “I have been crucified with Christ; it is nolonger I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Job was successful, spiritual and blameless, but he was not broken unto theLord. He felt he had “arrived” (materially, parentally, socially, spiritually),but he was terribly deceived—a victim of his own illusion. God wanted to changethat in him. In His sovereign wisdom, the only way to break Job was to take himthrough a period of abject suffering.

6. Develop the capacity to obediently endure.This is the key purpose of all God-ordained sufferings. James 5:11 exhorts usto experience and learn the “perseverance of Job.” Perseverance is the“capacity to endure,” which is critical to our maturity and destiny. Veryoften, when we are exposed to certain viral sicknesses (for example, chickenpox), our body develops immunity against it thereafter. Similarly, whilesuffering does not originate from God, He allows it to build in us thespiritual capacity to handle intense pain and stress, and an immunity towarddiscouragement and depression.

Romans 5:3-4 says that “we also glory in tribulations, knowing thattribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character,hope.” No one in the right mind will ever wish for suffering.We do notrejoice in suffering unless we know there is something greater that God haspurposed in our lives. God’s ultimate purpose of putting us through crisis,heartbreaks, misunderstanding and persecution is so that we developperseverance (the capacity to endure), character (moral strength) and hope (apositive outlook of life).

How great a life do you want to live? Well, how much pressure are you able totake? When Job lost all his wealth and ten children, and his resentful wifeblamed God, he was able to keep on worshiping Him. When his physical body wassuffering from sores, swellings and multiple organ failures, and when hispsychological state of mind was in severe depression, Job was able to keeptrusting God. His capacity for pressure was amazing. Job said, “Though Heslay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Trusting God is when you donot need an explanation from Him for whatever is happening in your life.

When his three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) turned against him andpersecuted him, telling him that his predicament was a punishment from God forhis sin, Job held on to his faith: “But He knows the way that I take; whenHe has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

Even Jesus Christ went through sufferings to “learn obedience” as a Son (Heb.5:8). Obedient endurance is the crowning mark of maturity.When you can obey the will of God even in the midst of crisis, heartbreaks,misunderstanding and persecution, you have become truly mature.

Sufferings refine our faith in God like nothing else will. That is why theScripture encourages us to “count it all joy when you fall into varioustrials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James1:2-3). As your capacity for endurance grows, and you can keep on obeying thewill of God in spite of stress, hardships, criticisms and pain, you will become“perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (1:4).

7. Get ready for the double portion.Suffering is a prerequisite for sonship. Only true sons inherit theFather’s estate. Jesus was willing to suffer and become “obedient to thepoint of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highlyexalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the nameof Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, andof those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that JesusChrist is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11). JesusChrist, the true Son of God, became the heir of all things and inherited HisFather’s estate. It is the same for us: “If we endure, we shall also reignwith Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). This is what obedient endurance does: giving usthe sonship to inherit the double portion.

Ultimately, God’s purpose of Job’s suffering was to qualify him for the doubleportion. True enough, God doubled all his possessions. He was blessed with14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, and 1,000 donkeys (42:10-12). He wasblessed with ten other children (42:13-14). God then doubled his length of daysby adding another 140 years (70 x 2) to his life. Moreover, Job became God’sexample of obedient perseverance for all eternity.

Like Job, it is one thing to be blameless but quite another to be broken untothe Lord. True maturity is the absolute abandonment to God and His will. Whenthere is no capacity for obedient endurance, we are not yet ready for the doubleportion. If you are going through a period of intense suffering, wisely doeverything you possibly can to overcome it. And having done all, hold on steadyand stand before the Lord in faith (Eph. 6:13). Obediently endure through thefire, trial, pain, disappointment, sickness, financial lack and persecution byfaith. God is working out something beautiful in your life.