By Andrea Guachalla
When had we endured times like these? When had we seen death approaching our very households so intrepidly and unashamedly? When had we been so shaken by something so little? When had we feared for our lives and others’ so desperately?
We have seen documentaries about natural phenomena destroying entire cities in Japan and China, we have read about the Second World War and the 6 million Jews that lost their lives to appease the evil desires of men. Nowadays, we see disaster, war and conflict all over the world on the news. But it seems so impersonal and abstract, almost like a story that is not real.
But now disaster is knocking each door and shaking our once predictable reality, our comfortableness, our plans for a bright future, and our desire for some stability. When disaster knocks we become aware that we are powerless, that we are not in control of anything, and that suffering, loss, and grief are real.
When had we gone through such a trying time simultaneously in the whole world? When had it been a better time to be discouraged in the face of death and sickness? When had it been a better time to be sorrowful and numb? Or sorrowful and angry?
Probably never before. However, these are the realities of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. But still, although we might be tempted to do all those things and spend our days grieving and being confused, God didn’t call us to do that. Moreover, despite external factors and circumstances, no matter how harsh and grave they may be, He calls us to:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
James 1:2-4
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking in nothing.”
We are not only called to endure difficulties and trials in a God-honoring way, but we are also called to count it as joy. We are called to be content with whatever circumstance we are enduring, we are even called to be thankful (Phil 4:4-6). That brings us to the first reason I believe it’s hard for us to be content in the midst of trials:
We think too poorly of trials
We have our eyes and hearts set on worldly things: wealth, recognition, health, achievements. Those are the things that we mistakenly think will bring us joy, and will make us feel content, and satisfied. We feel good when we are blessed in worldly ways because those things make us feel complete. But when it comes to trials we avoid them if possible, because of how unpleasant and unsettling they are, we don’t see the point in enduring them, let alone being thankful for them.
In a world that praises material wealth more than spiritual wisdom we too set our eyes on worldly things, and don’t realize that God warned us and assured us that we would go through pain in this life, just like Joseph, David, Jeremiah, Paul, the Apostles, and Christ himself. We forget that we are not above our Master and that we will suffer too, and still be called to set our eyes on our heavenly Father and our Savior and be content, regardless of the circumstances.
This poor view of what going through trials means could come from our lack of understanding of who God is:
We think too lowly of God
We read what the Bible says about enduring suffering and being shaped in the likeness of Christ, and we seem to understand the point, we seem to understand God’s ways. However when the trials come, we turn to God in anger and question His goodness and mercy, we are unable to realize that disaster, pain and suffering are all ordained by God according to His sovereign will, and in light of His gracious purposes. When trials come, we pray earnestly that God will end them as soon as possible, whereas we should be praying that He would help us endure them and work in us by the Holy Spirit to respond in praise like the Lord’s servant Job cried in the midst of his grief, “Even if he kills me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15). We refuse to see what God is teaching us through the pain, and chaos, and focus only on our current feelings and losses.
When something we love is taken from us, we easily turn away from God and call Him tyrannic, cruel, or unjust. We stop seeing Him as what He actually is, we feel free to think He is not in control. We don’t take the opportunity to examine our idols, repent before God and ask Him for forgiveness, for how easily we waver when in the face of disappointment and loss.
We don’t understand God’s character, and…
We don’t realize how sinful discontentment is
Discontentment, as Darrell and Virgil from “Just Thinking Podcast” put it, is the root of every sin. Adam and Eve sinned because they were discontented and wanted more of what they had. David committed adultery because he was discontented, and wanted to fulfill his own selfish desires. Judas stole from the treasury because he was greedy, he was not content with what he had.
In the same way, when you reflect on your sins, you will realize that everything comes from not being content with what the Lord has given you in the present. No matter how much you have now, you will always want more. Being discontent is the reason we idolize creation over the Creator and material wealth over heavenly treasure.
“Discontentment is a sin and it leads to sinful behavior.”
Darrell M.
So what do we do when we find ourselves grumbling and angry for the suffering and losses we are undergoing? How can we be content when we are facing death and chaos every day? Is it even possible to be trapped in this chaos and see suffering the way God sees it and be content with it?
Here are 5 ways that this is possible through Christ:
1. Contentment comes from a relationship with our Savior
Joy, peace, contentment, endurance, and all good things come from knowing Christ (2 Peter 3:18) and being reconciled with God. Spending time in prayer, studying God’s Word and praising Him for his plan of salvation that allows us to be in a relationship with Him should allow us to see the biggest blessing of all – one that overshadows any suffering that we might endure in this life – Christ. He is the one and only Son of God who lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and was resurrected and glorified for the glory of God and our salvation.
Christ himself is the source of life as He said to the Samaritan woman, knowing Him through God’s Word and prayer is the only source of true joy, and true peace. Whether we find ourselves in difficult or good circumstances, knowing Him should be enough for us to be content and endure pain by following His example.
Contentment comes from a heart that loves and honors God, not from external factors. That’s the reason we can have our health at risk, and even fear that our families will be exposed to the virus that has shaken our lives, and still be content and trust the Lord.
2. Contentment allows us to understand and endure suffering
When we can accept suffering as God-given means of sanctification, despite not being able to understand it completely, we are able to understand suffering the way God intended us to understand it. We can see that only God is all-knowing, and whereas we can only see while being prisoners of time, God is not constrained to a temporal dimension. He sees everything from beginning to end; He is gracious regardless of our limited and flawed understanding.
Now, it is true that sometimes understanding suffering seems very hard, even impossible. Recently I attended a memorial service for a friend’s son who sadly passed away in his early twenties. Something that impacted my heart to the core was when my friend humbly admitted that he didn’t understand why God allowed that to happen. However, regardless of his inability to understand the loss and the suffering, he trusted the Lord’s timing, and his gracious character.
There are times when it’s hard to understand why God would allow us to go through the pain that we, in our own strength, could barely stand. But as my friend said, we can still trust God is gracious and good, even if it seems we will not understand certain events in our lifetime. We can trust in God’s timing, and that nothing falls out of His decree. Our only job as Christians is to be faithful to Him, to know Him, and love Him. If we ask the Lord with a humble heart to help us endure trials, He strengthens us (Phil. 4:13).
3. Understanding suffering leads to thankfulness and growth
Seeing suffering through a Christian point of view allows us to see the blessings that come from trials. We can at last “count it all joy when we meet trials” (James 1:2), and be glad that enduring difficulties will shape us in the likeness of Christ. It is God who, through trials, works in our character and reveals the deepest motivations and desires of our hearts whether they are God-honoring, or sinful.
As John MacArthur says in a sermon: if we should react in any way to trials it should be in thankfulness. “Why?” You might ask, and the answer would be: How else can you be assured of your salvation if it not be for the fruits of the Spirit that are displayed when you go through trials? If not by trials, difficulties, and suffering how would you get your faith tested and your most hidden sins revealed? Our reaction to trials reveals where your heart is, in which material things our joy lies on, and how unprepared we are to trust God.
Having our faith tested, may help us to get closer to God in dependence and humility. We can be sure that trials will bring spiritual growth ultimately, and for that, we should be eternally grateful.
4. Being content in the midst of suffering leads to action
Discontentment puts you in danger not only of sinning actively, but also passively. If you have ever been in a depressive state due to discontentment you didn’t deal with, you know that some days it is hard to get things done, you feel paralyzed. The same happens when you are anxious or frightened, the shock and troubled state of your heart prevents you from even thinking objectively and reflecting. It all prevents you from taking wise action.
However, thanks to the Lord we have an alternative, and we don’t need to drown along with all that is troubling us.
“A joyful heart is good medicine,
Proverbs 17: 22
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Says the Lord: “a joyful heart is good medicine.” Having a joyful heart despite the difficulties is about setting our eyes on Christ, and trusting God’s timing and His ways. This means that as we grow in love for God and we rely more on Him, we learn to be content with whichever circumstance we are enduring, and we learn to be thankful. Ultimately, this leads to selfless action towards the object of our love.
When we achieve contentment and thankfulness we are able to focus on serving God and those around us genuinely and wholeheartedly. And we do this because there is no room for complaining and grumbling in a thankful heart, there is no room for wasting time when we love the Lord. There is one option only: to honor God by being of service to others considering their needs and circumstances instead of focusing so much on ours.
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.“
2 Corinthians 9:8
5. Learn the lessons God is giving you through suffering
Nothing comes to pass that is not in God’s plans. If you are enduring pain and suffering you can be sure God wants to teach you something through it. Whether it be that He wants you to learn to depend more on Him, or that you learn what’s truly in your heart and where you find your treasure, there is something to learn. If you pray to the Lord that He will reveal those things to you, and you spend time studying your Bible and seeking counsel from your brothers and sisters in Christ, be sure that He will bring you to a closer understanding of His sovereign will and character. He might even answer you when you ask about the reason for certain events that caused you suffering: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” as He did with Job. And He would have all the right to do so. Wouldn’t He?
In the context of a pandemic that is affecting the entire world, we can be sure that is a time to learn, reflect and be grateful. Through the difficulties we learn humility, and we reflect on God’s grace and holiness, and how it is so opposed to our sinful nature and habits. We’ve seen that through all the rioting, corruption, and apathy that is taking place around the world in the middle of chaos. There are countless lessons to learn, but we ought to pay attention.
As Spurgeon wrote when London was slandered by a Cholera epidemic (link): we learn that disaster happens for a reason, and we can reflect and think about that reason. And even in the midst of it, we can thank God that by being exposed to sickness and death people are shaken and humbled, and we can thank the Lord that He can graciously use such a thing as an epidemic to draw people to Him.
By all this we know that discontentment leads to destruction, whereas contentment leads and flows from God’s wisdom.
Although now the biggest worldwide problem seems to be the COVID-19 pandemic, we know as Christians that there is a bigger issue on stake, and that is: the sin that separates us from God, for which man would be justly punished. That’s our real problem, and let me say this: If there would be a reason that could justify discontentment, it would be: to know that we are sinners doomed to eternal judgment, with no way of being reconciled with God. And even then we would have to accept the punishment quietly.
However, thanks to our loving, gracious Father, this is not the case. The only thing that could justify discontentment has been remediated by the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. We are sinners, we will be judged. However, by the grace of God, we can be saved by believing in Jesus Christ – the one who became afflicted in our stead. We can be reconciled with God if we put our trust in Jesus.
Isn’t this more than enough to endure trials with a peaceful heart knowing that your biggest problem has been solved? And isn’t this enough to serve God and your neighbor joyfully and selflessly?
It should be. No matter in which circumstances you are.
From now on let’s pray that God will help us find contentment in Christ, let’s pray that the Lord shapes us in the likeness of His Son through the hardships of life. Let’s pray that before focusing on our own needs and suffering, we will focus on that of others and respond in love and kindness.
References:
- Just Thinking Podcast. (2020). Christian Contentment. Episode 096.
- Kai Soltau. (2020). Spurgeon and “The Voice of Cholera. English version.
- Marissa Henley. (2019). Gratefulness and Complaining. Ligonier, Tabletalk Magazine, Vol. 43, No. 11
- Sean Michael Lucas. (2013). Contentment in Christ. Ligonier, Tabletalk Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 10.
- Joe Thorn. (2016). Cultivating Contentment. Ligonier, Tabletalk Magazine, Vol. 40, No. 10.
