Forged in the Furnace of Life

Date: April 21, 2017

Audio Sermon: Click on the play button below.

We all look at suffering as something undesirable, unwanted, and evil. While suffering might not be what God had in mind when he created Adam and Eve, their mistake has caused suffering to be an inherent component of human life. In this sermon, I talk about how suffering is tough, temporary, and transformational. Suffering is hard; it often pushes us to our limits. No one wants to go through it, but suffering is a natural part of living in this broken world with the power of sin and Satan at work. Strikingly, the NT writers had quite a positive outlook on suffering, especially when it was on account of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter have important things to say about how the believer is to view suffering because it can actually lead to something profitable (Rom 5:3-5; 1 Pet. 6-7; 4:12-14). The point is not that suffering is inherently good but that God can use suffering to strengthen us, change us, and teach us. Ultimately, we are to rejoice in our suffering because suffering produces endurance, character, and hope. And hope gives a person confidence in the love of God, and the testing of one’s faith proves its genuineness.

Furthermore, I quote from the poetry of Annie Johnson Flint (“What God Hath Not Promised” and “He Giveth More Grace”), and I recount the story of Horatio Spafford who wrote the classic hymn “It is Well with My Soul” in 1873. Both individuals were well acquainted with suffering, but they allowed God to carry them through and to use the pain for his glory.

~JW