Where is God at hard times?

| Sermon Summary by Robbins Jesuraj |

It’s a question many of us ask, especially when we go through suffering and pain either by ourselves, by our loved ones or people around us.

We approach this question as if we have all the intellectual faculty to understand the reasons behind it. Tim Keller challenges us to think that there is certainly a reason behind all human sufferings which were either allowed or orchestrated by God. However, our human minds may not be fully able to comprehend all of that and the Scriptures do not give us easy answers either.

But the Scriptures help us to create a framework through which we can visualize and walk through all our sufferings. As narrated by John in chapter 11 where Lazarus becoming ill unto death, we understand that the sufferings are inevitable, unexpected and they can evoke extreme emotions in us. Here, Jesus was able to give us a glimpse of why Lazarus became sick. There was a divine plan at work to shape the faith of the family of Lazarus, Martha and Mary as well as the onlooking disciples and relatives. The event established the faith of a group of people whose witness would transform the whole world.

In this context, is the pain and suffering of the family a worth investment?

It might dawn on us over a period of time that some of our sufferings are worthy or we might grasp it in eternity. Jesus who allowed the sufferings to shape their faith, did not walk away from the situation. He directly enters the lives of those who are mourning. Though He knew that He is going to raise Lazarus from the dead, the grief of His loved ones would move Him into tears. Here, we see a God who not only shapes us, but also suffers with us in our pain and hard times. Paul is delighted to share with us in Romans 8:26 that the Spirit of God Himself groans along with His suffering creations.

God not only shapes us and suffers with us, but also transforms our suffering into a joyful hope. The suffering family of Lazarus was comforted and tears were wiped as the sisters saw their brother alive and walking out the tomb in his burial linen stripes. True to this, Paul exclaims in Romans 8:18 – “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

May God help us to fix this Scriptural framework as we walk through our hard times!