Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am Won KIM, voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom. Today, we’ll carry on with Lesson 15, “The Root of Sufferings”.

We have said before that suffering is a mystery; it is no simple job to understand it. Therefore, don’t keep asking the “why” questions, like: why do I have to face such problems? Why am I facing sufferings like these when I love God so much ?… Rather than asking “why”, we are to ask “how”, as in, how am I to handle and face sufferings that pop up in my life.

To begin with, let us seek out the root of these sufferings.  In our earlier sessions, we mentioned King David went on to face sufferings brought about by his own sinful deeds. We also talked about how personal greed can drive men into ruin and destruction as they pierce themselves with many griefs. We also spoke on the sufferings brought upon ourselves by others. Some ingrates or enemies may also set up snares for us to fall into. We have been there too.

Today, we shall carry on talking about other situations that could turn into the root of our sufferings. The fourth one is recorded in the Bible in the book of Job chapter 1 verses 6-12 in the Old Testament.

(4) Attacks from Satan

It says

“6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from? “Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

From these verses can you tell who attacked Job and brought great sufferings to him? It is obvious that Satan was behind all of these. Satan did not like just people, or anyone who relied and put his focus on the LORD. So, he went to see the LORD and spoke evil of Job with an eye to destroying this just man who relied on the LORD. We see in Satan a slanderer who opposes God all the way and wants Man to do likewise, which is to abandon God. Hence, he attacked Job and took away all his possessions, thinking that this will cause Job to no longer live in awe of God.

Dear brothers and sisters: true enough, Job soon found out that he had become a victim of one disaster after another. All his sheep, camels and other livestock were plundered or killed overnight. This was followed by the destruction of all his property; even all of his ten children died in a string of disasters. Of course, this brought about great anguish to Job, who had to buy ten coffins to bury his dead children. That was beyond his comprehension. Indeed, these sufferings were obviously brought upon by the evil Satan.

(5）God’s Test

Let us turn to a different place in the Bible, the book of Zechariah chapter 13 verse 9.

“9 This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

Who was it who brought these tests on the Israelites? Obviously, they came from none other than God Himself, who said, “I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.” Where does the silver and gold come from? Obviously, these came from the refinement process. Likewise, our lives can grow into maturity and with depth, evolve from a featureless figure into someone who can sing praises to God; we are able to come so far because our lives have gone through a process of refinement by fire. Thus, God wants to truly refine us to become His children who can bring Him glory so as to increase experiencing Him all the more – a baptism of fire, as it were, that one needs to go through.  

Dear brothers and sisters, difficulties are there to spur us on to success and maturity. He who has never gone through tough times is like the little plant in the greenhouse that has never weathered any storm before. Such plants will never send roots below nor bear fruits above. So it is with our own lives. Neither do we want to let this one-off sojourn in this world go to waste! If we truly wish to flower and bear fruit, glorify God and become a blessing for many, there is no other way but to go through sufferings!

(6) The Great Mystery

Finally, let’s visit the book of John chapter 9 verses 1-3 in the New Testament that relates the root of suffering.

It says:

“9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

What has caused this man to be born blind? The disciples of Jesus asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus gave a clear answer, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” What a mysterious answer that leaves us more astounded than ever!  How are we going to unpack this mystery? Why was this man born blind?

Dear brothers and sisters, at this point Jesus shifts our focus away from the framework of traditional ethics that claims blindness only befalls on sinners. Such causal effect relationships often crop up in discussions amongst our folks. However, we see how Jesus moves beyond such a narrative when He says, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus gives His authoritative answer to this mystery, saying “…this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

We are not to put the blame on God if something happens in our lives, such as being born with some disability. Instead, we are to place it at the feet of our Almighty God. We have read about Hellen Keller who was afflicted at the age of 19 months with an illness that left her blind and deaf. Hellen Keller saw God as she went through indelible experiences of His mysteries in her world of darkness. She went on to write many songs in praise of GOD. What a great blessing that turned out to be. This shows that no one should try to blame others when caught in a dire situation. Some sufferings are mysteries; they take place through no fault of yours, nor that of your parents. The core takeaway is this: we should know how to face them, and let our lives bring glory to God.

How true is this saying: good rewards await the benevolent; penalty befalls the evil?

Dear brothers and sisters, we have just spoken about the origins of some sufferings that may confound our journey of life. Let’s now move on to see what Job, Paul and Stephen went through. Now, let me ask you this: do you endorse this ethical view, viz., “good rewards await the benevolent; penalty befalls the evil”?

Chapter One of the Book of Job describes Job as a man who was “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Nonetheless, he suffered as he went through serious disasters. On the other hand, we see Paul finally being killed, not that he did evil, but for the sake of the Gospel. Moving on, we have Stephen who was stoned to death as he spoke to the Jews about their past history and shared the power of the Gospel with them. The claim that “what goes around comes around” does not seem to apply where these three giant figures in the bible are concerned. I am afraid we need to straighten out how we view sufferings using other paradigms rather than looking through the lens of traditional ethics.

In the case of Job, three friends came to visit him; they sat there for seven days and seven nights without saying a word. Job said it was good of them to come and accompany him and bring him comfort. After seven days, however, his three friends began to comment on him quoting from traditional ethical principles.  They said that Job’s present condition was brought about by his past sins. Such remarks only served to deepen Job’s bitterness: for not only have his friends misjudged him altogether, they have trumped up charges against him since. Job put across his own innocence clearly, as was acknowledged by God later. He was not spared of these sufferings, nonetheless.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us start to move away from some of these traditional ideas of how we judge others. By the same token, we should not be viewing our own sufferings through similar lenses, either. In short, let me reiterate this: it is more critical for us to realize that knowing how to handle these tough situations is far more important than getting grumpy over them.

So how did Job handle these tough episodes in his life?

What ideas were going on in his mind when he was facing such calamities?

First, we see Job tore his robe and shaved his head. (in Job chapter 1 verse 20). Tearing one’s robe is an expression of grief, as robes symbolize one’s noble social standing. In other words, his personal glory and position are now no more. He then “shaved his head” -- another show of deep grief. There are times we sometimes do this too, even in this day and age.

Then he fell to the ground in worship, in a show of obedience to God, instead of blaming heaven and all men under it (this is also in Job chapter 1 verse 20). That is a great move. He added, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. (Job 1:21)

When Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb” he affirmed that he came into the world without a stitch on, to wit, empty handed, bringing nothing good along with him either. He had no achievements to talk about, and hence continued, “... naked I will depart (Job 1:21). With these words, he acknowledged that he would be leaving this world empty handed as well. In short, this is no place for me to talk of gains and losses. Neither would I need to be so fixated about all that I have. When these are no more, they would be similar to my coming with empty hands and going in my naked self. Now we see Job speaking words of wisdom!

Job moved on, announcing that “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away...” (in Job chapter 1 verse 21). Job acknowledged that everything he possessed was but gifts from God. Hence, they are not ours to possess for eternity. We were only conferred the right to manage them. Yes, everything we see around us belongs to God, and He has the absolute right to take any item back at His pleasure. Hence, Job totally submits to and leans on the sovereignty of God. Indeed, God has sovereignty to give me the benefits; similarly, he can withdraw them at will. So, what is there for me to complain about? The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

Later in Job chapter 2 verse 10, Job went further and asked, “…. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” He affirms that be the goings smooth or rough, all these originate from God; such experiences form part of our lives. When situations go awry, that is also from God, and similarly makes up yet another segment as well. Thus, whether an experience is pleasant or otherwise, God has his best intentions for letting things happen. It is not something for Man to cast doubts on. That would speak of a virtue of the highest order!

He closed by stating that the Name of Jehovah is to be praised. He affirms that no one should put the blame on God, but is to praise and sing to His Holy Name instead, irrespective of what circumstances he is in. Now, that is Job!

So how do you face sufferings? Let’s learn from Job! Dear brothers and sisters, I say: never, never give up!

Let’s pray

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank you for your overflowing grace. You did not abandon us even when were in deep suffering. Even if these sufferings are the result of our own sins, or from attacks from the devil, we shall never give up. We will steadfastly look up to you, because you are filled with power and immeasurable blessings. You provide us with renewed support at each twist and turn, just as you held Job through his life of suffering. We pray to you, Lord, to look after those of us who are in sickness or pain, are weak, facing tremendous sufferings but have yet to understand, but nonetheless look up to You, GOD. May your Light shine over their paths. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.

In particular, these are suitable if you  

1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,

2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,

3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,

4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.

If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address.：  [email protected]