First, I need to start with an apology. I have been busy with school, and I have neglected this blog. So, let me start by apologizing! I have intentions, at least for the next six months, to post regularly here. We will see if that blesses you all, or if I just prove that I can do it and bring an end to the 14 years God has allowed me to write to all who read this blog or even just stumble upon it from time to time. Nonetheless, out of love for you, whomever you be, I want to say that I am sorry for not regularly contributing here.

This week’s post comes from a theme God has had me ruminating on: faithfulness. While this topic has been covered a couple times on this blog, this post explores a difference nuance: His faithfulness even during pain/suffering.

Recently, there has been a recurring subject of suffering/pain in the Scriptures and books I’ve been reading. It’s often a bad idea to compare suffering between people, except as the saying goes, “everyone you meet is fighting a battle…” That sentence ends with a claim that “you know nothing about”, supposing that another person knows nothing of fighting a similar battle. First, this notion that one knows nothing about another’s battle is false, as it pertains to the body of Christ, because Jesus Himself knows; even if a believer doesn’t specifically know one’s battle, Jesus can still speak through him/her. Second, just because two people cannot read each other’s minds does not negate the second person from understanding the battle of the first. As an example, a reformed drug addict may actually understand the battle with drug addiction better than the addict who is dealing with a relatively young addiction while the other experienced years of self-destruction and damage from their addiction.

Now, even if one disagrees with the arguments above, set that disagreement aside for a moment and take up the intention of this post, that everyone is fighting some battle, dealing with some pain or enduring some suffering. For the purposes of this post, consider a single parent who has been single for 16 years, and who struggles, deeply and grievously, with the pain of being not only single but a single parent. Many single parents have co-parenting situations; some of these are quite amiable, while others situations are quite contentious. For the purposes of this discussion, consider a single parent situation where the other parent is largely uninvolved, occasionally contentious when involved, and is the diametric opposite of the single parent in this example. Furthermore, the single parent of this example is neurodivergent and, while he/she no longer bears romantic feelings for the ex-spouse, she/he still cares deeply for the best of the ex-spouse. Hence, this example presents a single parent who despises his/her singleness, single parent status (knowing that her/his children deserve to have both parents present and unified), and also grieves the situation of his/her ex-spouse, desiring better for the ex-spouse than the life she/he has chosen.

Perhaps it is presumptuous, but this example appears to be clearly someone who wrestles with pain and, to whatever degree one will agree to, suffers in his/her present situation. With this context then, is God still faithful? Isn’t it cruel of God to withhold this blessing? If He cared, wouldn’t He provide this person with a spouse and her/his children with a second parent in the mix?

First question, is God still faithful? The simplest answer is, “Yes.” While that may not settle well with some readers, the truth remains that Scripture tells us multiple times that God is faithful; better yet, Scripture shows us, in several instances, how God was faithful despite how it may have looked to others. Example of this faithfulness include Jospeh’s captivity which blessed the whole region when the famine came and led to Israel coming out of Egypt to take ownership of the promised land (Genesis 27, 29-Exodus 15), Abraham and Sarah to whom was given Isaac even when both had doubted several times (Genesis 12-21), or David who made many mistakes and yet God still blessed him (1 Samuel 16-1 Kings 1, specifically having multiple wives, ignoring sinful behavior in his children, adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uzziah, among other offenses) and brought the Messiah through his line (Matthew 1:5-8, Luke 3:331-32). In all these examples, God was faithful to His promises and the only thing these people did was trust and put their faith in God accomplishing His word.

So then, we can see that God is still faithful because He has an impeccable track record of being faithful, and unlike mankind, God is not One to change who He is. But isn’t it cruel of God to withhold this blessing? A careful examination of the Scripture shows God is a precise God; He is never late, never early, never cruel, and always loving. One might argue that God is not always loving because He sometimes does or says things that are harsh. But is it truly loving to allow someone to seek out harm? Is one loving when he/she lets a friend get hooked on drugs or speed into a wall? Moreover, isn’t it amazingly patient to allow someone decades to repent of her/his sinful deeds before enacting judgment?

In the Old Testament, God gave the Amorites 400 years to turn away from their evil deed before He led the Israelites to battle them and end their sinful behavior. As an example, America started as a nation under Biblical influence whose leaders were largely Christians. It has been a country for just 250 years and it has become a nation where some state leaders and some city residents are battling against law enforcement, where people are condoning abject sin, and where those in various places of power are seeking to control what people can say, do, or whether they can even defend themselves from evil-doers. Imagine how far an unrepentant society could fall in 400 years? Or one could point to Rome and its fall under rampant sinful behavior. John L. Cooper, in his book Awake and Alive to Truth, says “Jesus was not shy about his thoughts concerning wickedness and the wicket. And yes, they are radical [words]. Without these radical words, we would not have known the truth of our sin and its consequences. Sin kills. Sin hurts. Sin is slavery. God wants to free you from sin and raise you to new life, both in this world and in the life to come.” (pg 94). Thus, it seems clear that God is not being cruel; somehow, being denied the blessing of a spouse, being called to a season (or the rest of one’s life) of singleness must be for this person’s best, even if it is not obvious to the person or anyone around them. God is not cruel.

Well, if God cared, wouldn’t He provide this person with a spouse and her/his children with a second parent in the mix? This question was intentionally saved for last because the answer has already been written above, but there’s an aspect to this question that bears uniquely addressing it. “If God cared…” Scripture paints a clear picture, if one reads it well, of a God who cares quite deeply. The triune God of the Bible (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; three Persons, one God) makes it well known that He cares. Whether one looks at the less obvious examples, some of which are noted above, or the most obvious one of all, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the God/Man, God’s love for mankind becomes clear.

However, as fallen mankind, emotions often cloud our understanding. Whether one is stoic (for the Star Trek fans, think of the Vulcans) or a passion-driven, the view of what is good is often muddled with what one desires. As John Calvin put it in A Little Book on the Christian Life, “For the plague of submitting to our own rule leads us straight to ruin, but the surest way to safety is to neither know nor to want anything on our own, but simply to follow the leading of the Lord.” (pg 23) Some may get stuck on the “neither to know nor to want anything on our own”, but it is worthy to read to the end, for in that is our calling, as Christians: “simply to follow the leading of our Lord.” The Christian’s aim in life is nothing of this earth, save for the hope to lead others to the Lord or encourage fellow believers in the Lord. Hence, the question above takes on a new perspective; if He has not provided this person with a spouse and her/his children with a second parent in the mix, does this person trust He cares or choose to deny the truth for his/her own desires?

Jesus doesn’t ask us to follow Him if we feel so inclined. In fact, He says “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his lifewill lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9: 23-24, ESV) Jesus calls us to a radical life of self-denial. To quote Cooper again, “It’s not because He doesn’t want you to have fun. He knows thatt when you taste of His goodness, it will be more pleasurable to you than everything else! God wants you to turn away from your lesser lovers, abandon your idols, and find your greatest fulfillment in Him!” (pg 115)

When one finds himself/herself in a place of questioning God’s faithfulness, in a place of pain or suffering, wondering why God doesn’t meet a need, that person should lay the need before God, acknowledge His faithfulness, and allow Him to speak to whether it is really a need or whether He wants to do something different than was envisioned by said person. God is never cruel, and He never fails us, but sometimes, we get the wrong idea and launch into expectations that He never intended. But even then, He is such a good God that He looks on us like a loving parent, picks us up, dries our tears, and gently comforts us in our pain/suffering.

Remember, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, ESV). Jesus felt what we feel. Whether as God the Son or as the Son of Man, He has experienced everything we go through, yet without sin. As Maximus the Confessor pointed out in his response to Pyrrhus (paraphrased), by being tempted but never sinning, Jesus endured temptation like we will never know, for temptation ends where sin begins, but Jesus never sinned.

Dear Reader, if you are in pain or suffering now, take heart! Jesus knows, He understands you battle like no one ever could, and He cares deeply for you! Turn to Him, let Him be Lord/Ruler of your life, and enjoy the rest, peace, and fulfillment/satisfaction that comes from His sacrifice and Lordship, peace with God and, consequently, in all things.

Godspeed – 1 Corinthians 15:10

*Links in this post are for the reader’s benefit, if one desires any of the books mentioned for further reading or study. Feel free to follow the link, take the book’s information, and purchase from a different source. I make no money, commissions, or otherwise from someone clicking on these links nor from making a purchase. If that changes in the future, I will make a note, but for now, these are here exclusively for your benefit, reader. Godspeed!