Tag: submit

The Example To Follow (1 Peter 2:19-25)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Crucifixion, by John Kohan

For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

“He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (New International Version)

The reality of this life, for every one of us, is that we will suffer in some way. It’s not a matter of if we will suffer, but when and why. What’s more, my suffering is really not about me; it’s about him.

Therefore, let’s ensure that when the suffering comes, we know why – that it isn’t because of our own stupidity and poor choices, but because we are in solidarity with the One who suffered on our behalf and are living for him.

And in the midst of such suffering, let’s make sure that we face it and deal with it according to the example of Christ. Let’s imitate him.

Let’s also be honest from the start: We don’t like pain and suffering, and we often spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to avoid pain. 

Yet, in reality, our own suffering weans us away from the temporal things we tend to find consolation in, and drives us to the permanent source of comfort, strength, help, and encouragement. Our consolation is ultimately found solely in him.

When the athlete goes into the weight-room, they purposely go there to suffer. There is grunting and straining and difficulty. There is a tearing-down of muscle fibers. There is pain. 

That’s because strength-training needs commitment which suffers, and the pain that comes with growth. One cannot simply go into a weight-room, sit and watch other people lift weights, and believe they will then get in shape by only observing. 

God will put us in unwanted circumstances we did not ask for, and would not choose for ourselves, in order to position us to know him, to know Jesus. 

Crucifixion, by John Kohan

There are things in our lives that need to experience the suffering of death, in order for new life and growth to occur. For example, fire is an important part of Yellowstone National Park, because it brings environmental growth. According to ecology experts:

“Fire promotes habitat diversity by removing the forest overstory, allowing different plant communities to become established, and preventing trees from becoming established in grassland. Fire increases the rate that nutrients become available to plants by rapidly releasing them from wood and forest litter and by hastening the weathering of soil minerals.”

Concerning Christianity: Suffering is a necessary part of the Christian life because it creates the conditions for new life and growth and releases fresh sources of God’s grace into the church and world. 

We are to put to death anger, rage, malice, slander, lying, and useless language. They are to be replaced with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, forgiveness, and love. (Colossians 3:7-14) 

More pointedly: Quit fighting against your suffering. Stop kicking and screaming long enough to look your suffering square in the face and learn from it.

Your suffering is trying to tell you something. But if you keep taking the stance of a pugilist trying to punch the pain away, suffering will just keep moving forward at you and never topple. 

You and I cannot beat suffering. We can only learn from it. In order to learn from it, we must embrace it.

So, here’s the counter-intuitive, counter-cultural practice that you might not like, and might think I’m off my rocker for suggesting: Submit to suffering. Yes, because in doing so you are submitting to him.

Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I am, in no way, trying to sanitize troubles, adverse circumstances, or even terrible trauma. Evil is evil, bad is bad, and no amount of saying otherwise will change the leopard’s spots. 

However, only through submitting to the process of what suffering teaches us will we ever have power over it.

Fighting against suffering is about as useful as taking on a bear. Bears, like suffering, can be dangerous. We don’t blame bears if they act like bears. Likewise, we ought not to be surprised when suffering hurts.

I suggest we treat suffering like facing a bear in the wilderness of trouble: 

  1. Calmly talk in low tones to your suffering. Speak to it. Remember who you are. You belong to God. Treat suffering as if it is curious about you. Stay calm. Doing the big freak-out only encourages suffering to do damage.
  2. Walk with others through suffering. Both yours and theirs. Christian community is one of the best practices of the Christian life. Suffering becomes connection within a community of persons who discern its purpose. 
  3. Keep your eye on suffering.  Don’t ignore it, or pretend it isn’t there. Don’t run. Face suffering. Keep it in front of you. It will pass, but you must be patient and calm. Once it is gone, then you can reflect on what happened and debrief with others about the experience.

For anything to change, we must stop something, and start something else. When it comes to suffering:

  • Stop fighting. Start accepting. 
  • Stop going it alone. Start living in vital and vulnerable community. 
  • Stop being a martyr. Start letting the martyrdom of Christ be your center of life. 
  • Stop talking. Start listening. 
  • Stop treating your suffering as an adversary. Start relating to suffering as a companion to learn from.

Lord Jesus Christ, by your patience in suffering you hallowed earthly pain, and gave us the example of obedience to your Father’s will. Be near me in my time of weakness and pain. Sustain me by your grace, so that my strength and courage may not fail. Heal me according to you will. And help me always to believe that what happens to me here in this life is of little account, if you hold me in eternal life, my Lord and my God. Amen.

God, the Jilted Lover (James 4:4-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. (The Message)

Quite apparent is the fact that the Apostle James was not trying to win friends in the world. However, he was trying to influence the people within the churches in his care. Specifically, he was confronting the proud and arrogant.

So, please understand, up front, that James was going after the haughty persons because it takes a hammer to break a hard heart. And so, his approach ought only to be emulated in the unique context of handling persons stuck in their own destructive hubris. Nevertheless, there is much instruction in these verses to help us all.

Throughout Holy Scripture, we find a marriage metaphor, likening the relationship of God to the people, much like a lover. God’s covenant relationship is at the heart of understanding the whole of Scripture. Whenever people stray from divine promises, God is offended and hurt. 

Yes, God feels pain. God is an emotional Being, which is why we have emotions as God’s image-bearers. One way to view the Bible is that it is a book about God, the jilted lover. The Lord set affection and love upon people, yet many people have spurned their Lover’s advance. And this situation pains God. 

When Adam and Eve, decided to find satisfaction outside of God, the Lord was hurt. After them, when people had children and raised them, they did so largely apart from the God who loved them:

The Lord saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. (Genesis 6:5-6, NCV)

Yet, God was gracious. The Lord took a group of Noah’s descendants, Abraham’s family, and set a covenant of affection on them. God hoped to restore the world to right relationship through the Israelites. However, they too, came to set their affections on others. So, nearly half of the Old Testament is devoted to communicating the Lord’s hurt and disappointment. 

Like a jilted lover, God longed for Israel to remain faithful. For example, the prophet Hosea had an unfaithful wife, Gomer, and their relationship mirrored the relationship between God and Israel. Just as Hosea did not give up on his wife, even though she was brazenly unfaithful, so God looked at Israel as a spouse and could not bear to give her up.

Israel spurned their lover’s grace and kindness and actively sought other lovers, causing God anger and agony. God recounted the history of unfaithfulness:

“At every crossroad you built your platform and degraded your beauty by spreading your legs to all comers. And so, you encouraged even more promiscuity. You prostituted yourself with the Egyptians, your neighbors with the large sexual organs, and as you added to your seductions, you provoked me to anger…. 

Still not satisfied, you prostituted yourself to the Assyrians, but they were not enough for you either. So, you prostituted yourself with the Babylonians, the land of traders, but again you were not satisfied. How sick was your heart that you could do all these things, the deeds of a hardened prostitute?…

You are like an adulterous wife: you take in strangers instead of your husband. Ordinary prostitutes are given gifts, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers. From every direction you even bribed them to come to you for your sexual favors. As a prostitute, you were more perverse than other women. No one approached you for sexual favors, but you yourself gave gifts instead of receiving them.” (Ezekiel 16:25-34, CEB)

Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, God extended grace to the beloved spouse:

“I am taking you back!
I rejected you for a while,
but with love and tenderness
    I will embrace you again.
For a while, I turned away
    in furious anger.
Now I will have mercy
    and love you forever!
I, your protector and Lord,
    make this promise.” (Isaiah 54:6-8, CEV)

The Old Testament ends with God still longing for return:

The Lord proclaims: “I care passionately about Zion; I burn with passion for her.” (Zechariah 8:2, CEB)

All of this theological awareness was in the heart of the Apostle James when he wrote his letter to the hard-hearted. He knew they were flirting with the world. He wanted them to stop and return to the God who longed to show them grace, if only they would humble themselves.

God yearns, passionately, for us to find our needs met, and enjoyment found, in the loving divine embrace. Spiritual adultery hurts God deeply, like it would any jilted lover. God awaits with loving patience to show grace and compassion to wayward people. 

Only the stance and attitude of humility can receive grace. Sinful pride prevents people from receiving God’s good gift. So, James rattled-off ten quick staccato commands to remain connected in a love relationship with God. They are resolutions to live by. 

Submit to God

Humble folk willingly place themselves under God’s authority because they are convinced God has their best interests at mind. One temptation when facing adversity is to entertain the belief that no one is going to look out for you except yourself. So, to avoid getting hurt too badly, we might become cynical, arrogant, and callous – self-protective strategies designed to keep the hurt away. This only creates hardness of heart. The alternative is faithful submission to God – knowing that God’s Spirit will protect and living with the conviction that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

Resist the devil

Satan is a bully. The way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them. We face down the temptation by submitting to God and resisting the devil. Don’t be deceived into flipping it around by listening to Satan and avoiding submission to God.

Come near to God

Like a loving parent, the Lord longingly looks out the window waiting for prodigals to return. Coming to God is the first thing we ought to do. When my daughter was young her bike was stolen. So, we sat down together in the backyard and came to God in prayer. I barely finished praying when a police cruiser pulled up in the alley behind our house. The policeman rolled down his window and said, “Hey, are you missing a bike?”  We hopped in and he took us to where someone had ditched the bike. It was a tremendous lesson that when we come to God, God comes to us. I realize life does not always work that way, yet we can be assured that God listens, hears, and will respond.

Wash your hands

We cannot approach God with blood on our hands, but must come squarely facing our sin and disobedience.  We must deal with the wrong we have done without sweeping it under the rug. God wants us to admit our sin, receive grace, and deal with matters of restitution and reconciliation, without trying to save face when found out in a concern for “optics.”

Purify your heart

Whereas the previous resolution is mostly external, this one addresses the inner person, the heart. Not only do our actions need to be cleaned up through washing our hands, but our attitudes must also be purged of pollution. Our hearts cannot handle two masters; we are to be single-minded without mixed motives.

“The man who tries to walk two roads will split his pants.”

African proverb

The next four resolutions describe important emotional responses to sin:

“The Crying Giant,” Wilmington, Delaware

Grieve

Trying to move on without grieving and lamenting is called denial. Grief is not only an event; it is a process which takes time. Grieving is biblical. Sharing our stories with each other, giving testimony to God’s grace, and expressing ourselves is important. A loving God knows there cannot be healing apart from grief and lament.

Mourn

Blessed are those who mourn with an emotional response to the devastation of sin. Mourning sees sin in all its foulness and degradation. People who do not mourn become hard-hearted and need deep spiritual transformation. Jesus offers the remedy: By his wounds we are healed.

Wail

We are to more than cry – we need to wail.  Whereas mourning might be more personal, wailing has a much more public dimension to it. I believe the great tragedy in many modern churches is an inordinate focus on victory and triumphalism. The result: Far too many Christians cry alone. No one should ever have to cry by themselves. We must weep with those who weep. If there ever was an appropriate place for crying, it should be amongst fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Change

We cannot turn the clock back to some bygone idyllic era. We are to grasp the type of change which occurs in living for Jesus Christ and above sin – with no casual cavalier attitudes toward sin. I once had a conversation with a young woman about heaven and hell. When we began the discussion, she expressed a desire to be wherever the better party was going on. By the time we finished our conversation she was grieving and crying. I never knew what became of her. But once she got just a glimpse of the gravity of sin, it undid her.

Be humble

Humility sums up all these resolutions. The paradox is that through grieving, mourning, and wailing we become joyful and satisfied; through suffering there is glory; becoming last is to become first; entering the narrow gate leads to the broad open space of God’s eternal life.

Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen

Submission Is an Attitude (1 Peter 2:13-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

For the sake of the Lord submit yourselves to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority, and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good. For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do. Live as free people; do not, however, use your freedom to cover up any evil, but live as God’s slaves. Respect everyone, love other believers, honor God, and respect the Emperor. (Good News Translation)

Submission is a word a lot of people would like to do without. And that’s understandable. We’ve all likely had the experience of being under the authority of someone who either didn’t know what they were doing, or who gaslighted us, took advantage of us, and maybe was even downright mean and nasty toward us. What’s more, it’s hard to obey someone or some institution who we aren’t quite sure has our best interests at mind.

And then there’s an association with the word “submission” as being forced to do something you don’t want to do. That sort of understanding of submission is actually slavery and oppression, not submission.

Simply put, to submit is the informed and willing choice to place oneself under the authority of another. If it isn’t a willing and informed choice, then it’s either manipulation or coercion by another.

The Apostle Peter was referring to submitting to human authority by a volitional choice of our will. And what he was encouraging believers to do was no small thing.

The Roman Empire was an ancient behemoth. At the time of Peter’s writing, the Romans were firmly in charge of Palestine – Gentile rule in a Jewish land – and they did not take kindly to any ideas of rebellion. The Jews wanted their own autonomy and rule. To be subject to the Romans was, for many, humiliating and unacceptable.

So, why in the world should anyone willingly choose to submit to an empire that doesn’t align with their values, aspirations, and goals in life?

Peter made it clear why: Submission helps clear away the obstacles to freedom (both personal and corporate) and doesn’t give the persons in authority a reason to speak or act foolishly.

It’s hard to submit; it’s not an easy thing to do. Yet, if we will continually connect submission with why we are doing it, this helps us persevere, especially under leadership which is less than stellar.

The real issue is how we deal with unwanted circumstances in our lives. Although we didn’t ask for many of the unfortunate situations in life, our response to them is critical, and makes all the difference.

“Evil is changed into good when it is received in patience through the love of God; while good is changed into evil when we become attached to it through the love of self. True good lies only in detachment, and abandonment to God. You are now in the trial; put yourself confidently and without reserve into his hand.”

François Fénelon, Let Go: To Get Peace and Real Joy

Admittedly, it is maddening when an injustice is done to us, or we observe someone else experiencing something they don’t deserve. Unjust actions and words perpetrated against us are out of our control. What is, however, within our control is our response. We can choose how to react in each and every situation we face.

“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

We, indeed, have a range of responses we may choose from: We can react in passive-aggressive anger, become sullen and morose, stuff all our emotions down and ignore them, lash out and verbally attack; or we can choose to accept the situation for what it is (and not what we want it to be) and submit ourselves to God.

All of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time. 7 Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:5-7, GNT)

Submission to God often comes in the form of submitting to the human authorities in our lives – even when those persons and institutions over us are imperfect. Systemic evil isn’t changed by our response of perpetrating even more evil back upon them. Rather, unjust structures are transformed through godly persons choosing to work within the system to do good, not harm, and to love, not hate.

Christian freedom is never a matter of simply doing whatever the heck you want to do, regardless of how it impacts anyone else. Our freedom is in the ability to make choices about what sort of attitude we are going to have in all the circumstances of life we encounter.

Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own. The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:

He always had the nature of God,
    but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God.
Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had,
    and took the nature of a servant.
He became like a human being
    and appeared in human likeness.
He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death—
    his death on the cross. (Philippians 2:3-8, GNT)

Therefore, what we’re left with is the willing choice to alter our own life, instead of continually trying to make everyone else change. It comes down to showing respect for all humanity, honoring God with our attitudes, and loving our sisters and brothers in the faith who face the same sorts of challenges we do.

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

Viktor Frankl

Be safe. Be strong. Be spiritual. We are all in this life together.

Overwhelming Victory in Overcoming Suffering (Romans 8:31-39)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (New Living Translation)

There is a way to overcome suffering; there’s a path you can follow, leading to the overcoming of your struggle.

That struggle with suffering comes in many forms:

  • Wrestling with guilt and shame;
  • Dealing with the meanness of others
  • Chronic physical pain
  • Continual financial trouble
  • Ongoing estranged relationships
  • Past bad decisions that keep coming up to bite you in the present
  • Constant feelings of angst about the state of the world’s great needs and problems
  • A crippling Anfechtung (spiritual oppression and depression)

These and a hundred other reasons for suffering in this broken old world can discourage and debilitate us.

I invite you to consider that the road ahead will likely be counter-intuitive to how you may currently be thinking about overcoming suffering. In fact, it might be so far off your radar that you might simply discard what I’m about to say to you.

But before I get to that, I’ll say first, that suffering is endemic to the human condition. Everyone suffers. Since we live in a fallen world, there is not one person who hasn’t suffered in some way, whether it is physical, spiritual, mental, or emotional. 

None of us will ever be immune to affliction. There is no way to insulate yourself from pain. If you are not currently suffering in some way, it means that you are either coming off a time of hardship or are about to enter a new period of distress.

Holiness and godliness don’t keep suffering at bay. Just the opposite. The Lord Jesus promised us that following him will involve suffering: 

“While you are in this world, you will have to suffer.” (John 16:33)

The Apostle Peter, who was part of Christ’s inner circle of followers, came to understand the reality of suffering. Peter understood that all Christians are not above their Lord.  If Christ suffered, his followers shall suffer, as well.

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire. Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered.” (1 Peter 4:12-13, CEV) 

James, the Lord’s brother, wisely discerned that suffering could become a teacher for the Christian; all the adversity the believer faces are the means of producing maturity, strengthening faith, and developing patience.

“My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested.” (James 1:2-3, CEV) 

The Apostle Paul was more acquainted with suffering than any follower of Jesus; he continually faced terrible circumstances. His reflections on the matter are sage and true:

“Anyone who belongs to Christ Jesus and wants to live right will have trouble from others.” (2 Timothy 3:12, CEV) 

“Suffering helps us to endure. And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope that will never disappoint us.” (Romans 5:3-5, CEV)

“It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.” (Philippians 1:29, NIV)

The New Testament writers have a perspective on suffering which is very different than how we typically think of it. Although suffering is a part of being in the world, yet Jesus said:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV)

Now, let’s wheel back around to the overcoming of suffering. Here is the truth and the practice we must adopt when it comes to suffering: 

The truth about overcoming suffering comes not from us, but through Christ; and the practice of overcoming suffering doesn’t come from fighting against it but by sitting with it and learning from it.

Stated a different way: Jesus has overcome the world through his death, resurrection, and ascension. On the cross, he absorbed all the sin and suffering of everyone. Your suffering, then, may hurt and it might be senseless; yet no matter it’s source, that suffering will always rule over you unless you invite it to take a seat with you and have a conversation with it.

More pointedly: Quit fighting against your suffering. Stop kicking and screaming long enough to look your suffering square in the face and learn from it.

Your suffering is trying to tell you something. 

If you keep taking the stance of a pugilist trying to punch it away, it will just keep moving forward at you. You can’t beat suffering. You can only learn from it. And you’ll only learn from it, even overcome it, when you embrace it. 

So, here’s the counter-intuitive, counter-cultural practice that you might not like and might think I’m off my rocker for suggesting: Submit to suffering.

Don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not trying to sanitize your troubles or trauma. Evil is evil, and no amount of saying otherwise will change the leopard’s spots. However, only through submitting to the process of what suffering teaches us will we ever have power over it.

Perhaps an illustration is in order. Let’s liken suffering to encountering a bear in the wilderness. The National Park Service gives us this advice if facing a bear while out hiking:

“Once a bear has noticed you and is paying attention to you, these strategies can help prevent the situation from escalating:”

  • Identify yourself by talking calmly so the bear knows you are a human and not a prey animal. Remain still; stand your ground but slowly wave your arms. Help the bear recognize you as a human. It may come closer or stand on its hind legs to get a better look or smell. A standing bear is usually curious, not threatening.
  • Stay calm and remember that most bears do not want to attack you; they usually just want to be left alone. Bears may bluff their way out of an encounter by charging and then turning away at the last second. Bears may also react defensively by woofing, yawning, salivating, growling, snapping their jaws, and laying their ears back. Continue to talk to the bear in low tones; this will help you stay calmer, and it won’t be threatening to the bear. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack. Never imitate bear sounds or make a high-pitched squeal.
  • Hike and travel in groups. Groups of people are usually noisier and smellier than a single person. Therefore, bears often become aware of groups of people at greater distances, and because of their cumulative size, groups are also intimidating to bears.
  • If the bear is stationary, move away slowly and sideways; this allows you to keep an eye on the bear and avoid tripping. Moving sideways is also non-threatening to bears. Do not run, but if the bear follows, stop and hold your ground. Bears can run as fast as a racehorse both uphill and down. Like dogs, they will chase fleeing animals. Do not climb a tree. Both grizzlies and black bears can climb trees.

Fighting suffering is about as useful as taking on a bear. Both bears and suffering can be dangerous. We don’t blame bears if they act like bears. Likewise, we ought not be surprised when suffering hurts. But we can learn a lot about suffering and even come to the point of oddly admiring it for its large ability to teach us things we would not learn otherwise.

Face suffering like facing a bear in the wilderness of trouble. Calmly identify yourself. Talk in low tones to your suffering. Speak to it. Remember who you are. You belong to God. Treat suffering as if it is curious about you. Stay calm. Freaking-out only encourages suffering to attack. 

If you’re alone, that’s not good. Walking with others in Christian community is one of the best practices of the Christian life. Suffering is intimidated by groups of people encouraging one another and showing hospitality to each other. Keep your eye on suffering. Don’t ignore it, or pretend it isn’t there. 

Don’t run. The Lord is with you. Face suffering. Keep it in front of you. It will pass, but you must be patient and calm. Once it is gone, then you can reflect on what happened and debrief with others about the experience.

The path to overcoming suffering is to acknowledge it, respect it, submit to it, and let it pass. Then, you will be able to consider it joy whenever you face various struggles, knowing that your faith is being exercised, and perseverance developed. (James 1:2-4)

Stop fighting. Stop going it alone. Don’t be a martyr. Be silent. Listen. Change suffering from an adversary to fight to a companion to learn from.

You and I have nothing to lose. For nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.