"Are Any Suffering"

Scripture Text: James 5:7-11

The issue of suffering seems to permeate the scriptures.
What could God’s plan possibly be that it so much pain is involved in following Him? Interesting question! We know that the Christ was constantly under attack – from the moment that He was baptized and went into the desert to be tormented by Satan, until He breathed His last on Calvary. His message was of healing and salvation, but those who opposed His Way only wanted to get Him out of the way, even by death if necessary. And yet, through it all, He remained focused on His task, and never gave up. And that mind-set must be ours, too – we can never give up, no matter what may come our way!
If we are to believe Romans 5:3, we discover that “we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;” It is through our suffering for Christ that we are able to persevere, that we might never give up.

Read James 5:7-9

James uses the word “patience”, but it amounts to the same thing.
Why is patience so important when we are discussing what God will do, and what He won’t do? Don’t we have Jesus’ word on this subject - “And I will do whatever you ask in my name”? (John 14:13-14) Why not just ask Him to take away the pain and suffering, and have done with it? But it doesn’t seem to work that way, does it?
Maybe the point that many biblical writers, including James, are making is that whatever we have asked for in His Name (and that’s an important distinction – in His Name!) will come, but not on our schedule!
- Psalm 27:13-14 tells us to be confident in the LORD, and to wait for Him to act.
- Isaiah 8:17 says that we will wait for the LORD, even though it may appear that He has turned His back on us!
- The books of Job and Habakkuk are about trusting and waiting until the time for the LORD to act arrives.
- Romans 8:23-24 encourage us to wait expectantly and eagerly for the LORD’s Day of Hope to come.
- And isn’t Revelation about waiting, even in great tribulation, for the LORD’s judgment?
But it isn’t human nature to be content in waiting! We want it our way, and we want it now! Can’t you just imagine Christians taking to the street chanting:
“What do we want?” “SALVATION!”
“When do we want it?” “NOW!”
That would make for an interesting demonstration of faith, wouldn’t it?

In one of Charlie Chaplin's great silent films, he plays a prisoner being transported to jail, but his boat has been shipwrecked. At the film's beginning, Chaplin is sitting on a beach looking at the clasp around his leg attaching him to a ball and chain. The whole film shows him relating to this ball and chain and attempting to escape its weight.

First, he thinks to humor it. “When its guard is down, I will dash away.”[, he thinks] So he makes little jokes to accomplish this purpose. He then walks the length of the chain and falls into the sand.

Scratching his head, wondering what to do next, he decides that he can outsmart it. He gets up and, nonchalantly, tries to walk away -- and again falls into the sand. Now, he becomes more thoughtful. His next strategy is one of reason. I know. I will talk to it! I will reason with it! But, as I’m sure you know, the result is no different, and down he goes again into the sand.

Now at the end of his patience, he pretends the ball and chain are not there. He kicks sand over it, and for a while it looks as if his problem has vanished. Thinking he has solved his dilemma, he strides to the end of the chain. And you know what happens.

At this point, understanding finally dawns. Like a light turning on in Chaplin's head, he realizes that he cannot solve the problem alone. If he is going to gain his freedom, it has to come from the outside. In the last scene, he is seen looking upward in hope of a rescue.

Even though we may think that we can reduce, or even eliminate the burdens of our lives, the truth is that, most of the time, we can’t. Some think that psychiatrists are the answer, but they’re not. Others turn to drugs to blur the pain, but it only causes more pain. Some will use distractions – work, family, busyness, perversions – in the hope that they will be able to overcome the effects of their suffering. The truth is, though, that these things merely keep our lives too busy to think about our burdens, but “burying them in the sand” fools no one except us!
Our only hope is to follow Charlie Chapman’s example, and turn our hearts and thoughts to heaven. We need to quit thinking that we can “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps”, and look to the Lord for our rescue. Sometime He relieves our pain, and sometimes He simply gives us the courage and wisdom and peace to endure it. Either way, our only Hope is in the Lord.

If I can take an analogy from my previous life in engineering, consider Newton’s First Law of Motion – “In the absence of a net external force, a body either is at rest or moves with constant velocity.” We may know this as “A body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
To put this in the context of our reading today, “whatever is going on will continue to happen until something that is able to change it is allowed to come into the picture.”

Read James 5:10-11

Suffering abounds! Israel suffered in both captivity and in freedom. Jesus suffered in ministry and in life, on behalf of each of us. The apostles suffered in the name of Jesus. Even Paul, the great persecutor of the church, eventually had to suffer for Christ. The history of the early church seemed to see very little except suffering. And the church, even today, continues to be oppressed, and it suffers nearly as much as the first Christians did.

And who did Jesus seem to spend the most time with? Those who both needed and wanted His touch. He spent more time among the beggars than with the rulers, with the sick rather than the healthy, the women and children than the conquerors, the prostitutes and lepers and tax collectors and all of the other sinners, than the holy people

And just as Jesus was with the people of the ages - Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua & Caleb, Job, Esther, Naomi & Ruth, The 12, His Church that has been persecuted throughout the centuries - He is also with His oppressed, suffering, lonely, set upon, and demeaned people of 2009, and He is the only one who can help us with our less than satisfactory life.

Are you suffering? Do you know of someone else who is struggling with a particular torment? Assure them that their Christ loves them, and is with them, and invite them to come with you next week for a time of healing during worship.