The Art of Suffering

"Trials always come. You have yours; I have mine. They tempt us to believe that the Gospel is not ours, that Scripture is not true, that God does not really love us, that He might even hate us & want to punish us, if He exists at all. The art of being a Christian is, in large measure, believing in God against God. We believe the clear Word of the Gospel of free forgiveness & trust in Baptism, Absolution & Christ's body & blood in the Supper for forgiveness. We trust His promises against the pain, death, spiritual struggles & disappointments we so often experience in this life & which God allows & even brings upon us. Does God will suffering? Contemplate Jesus' prayer in the garden for the answer:  "Father if you are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). The art of being a Christian is to experience suffering, yet to trust that it is sent for good, not harm. It is to pray with Job:  "Though (God) slay me, I will hope in him" (Job 13:15). --Rev. Matthew Harrison, The Lutheran Witness, Aug. 2019