As they [Jesus and his disciples] were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed (Matt 17:22-23). Whoa, talk about getting bad news! This guy was their messiah, the guy that the prophets had been talking about for many generations. All their lives they had heard about the promise of his coming, he was finally in front of them, and now he’s telling them that he’s going to be killed. This just cannot be! This must be some kind of bad humor; surely God doesn’t work like this, does he?
It strikes me that we tend to think in victories and good times and blessings when it comes to our imagining of spiritual progress. Our fantasies of God’s purposes moving forward don’t usually include a lot of pain or suffering or bad news; at least not for us personally. We like to think that when we’re right in the middle of God’s will then things will be apple pie and ice cream for us. Bad things usually indicate to us that either we’re suffering an attack from the enemy or we’re straying from God’s path. And yet, from this text in Matthew neither of these things are true. In fact they were right in the middle of God’s will and it was God that was orchestrating this set of events and not the enemy.
God’s plans aren’t always all about good times, at least not as we would define them. In the progressive agenda of God’s purposes there will be suffering, birthing pains, and even death. Some of what we value and hold very dear will be affected in these ways and this will cause us great distress. I am reminded that in the birthing of a child there is great pain and suffering involved. It could even feel like a death of sorts but something beautiful and wondrous is birthed as a result. Even in the taking of traditional wedding vows there is a pledging of loyalty in good times as well as in bad times. It’s like admitting right up front that life will not always fit our fantasies.
“In this world you will have trouble,” was Jesus promise to us in John 16:33. The continuation of this promise was: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We must not lose sight of the sovereignty of God; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). It is important that we realize that the “good” that God is working is what He has orchestrated in moving His redemptive plan forward.
We are in the midst of some challenging and, for some, very distressing times at this present time. Many face the prospect of losing their homes and/or their livelihood. For some, health issues have become more and more distressing. Although I believe that God is able to heal and deliver from any and all of our distresses, I also know that our timetable and our picture of deliverance can differ drastically from God’s.
This is my hope for me as well as for you: that we would be more prone to faith and trust and hope rather than distress in the face of bad news. I remind myself even as I sit here in this wheelchair that my God who still heals and is not helpless to deliver me is also in control and knows what is best; and especially what is best for the redemption of this whole world. If we stick with God in hope and do not forsake serving His purposes rather than our own, I believe that we will see all of the provision that we have need of because “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3a).
-Tom Maus
Amen! Like the title, too. It is in the amidst of adversity that we grow stronger spiritually and in our faith; assuming we are not giving up and calling it quits. To build muscles stronger you have to tear down the current muscle. Only then can the muscle repair itself, and when it does it is stronger for doing so. So it is with God when He let’s us go through adversity, it is usually for our benefit, not to keep us down.