5 Suffering Principles: Lament IV

It’s not pretty

from our point of view.

Watch our Truth in Two video (full text below) to find out why Heaven’s view is the proper view.

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Picture Credit: Josh Collingwood, Snappy Goat

FULL TEXT

One picture I drew on the board in classes to explain God’s sovereignty – the biblical doctrine that teaches God controls all things – is a tapestry. I drew both sides of the tapestry. The bottom side represents our earthly view. The top side represents Heaven’s view. To us, what we see of God’s sovereignty is knots, loose threads, and a pattern-less mess. God’s plan, a view from the top, shows a perfect weaving. I then explain that chapters 1 and 2 in Job give us a snapshot of Heaven’s view. Take a few moments to read those chapters. If it were not for Job 1 and 2, we would have no assurance of someone in charge. We would only have random, chaotic suffering. Job 1 and 2 give credence to a Heaven-centered view of pain. As a human, I am not pleased by the hurt I bear. But I can live with an earth-view of the tapestry when I am assured Heaven’s view is a perfect pattern.

In The First Testament pagan peoples believed in fate, luck, chance, and accident much like unbelieving people do today. Impersonal forces are in charge. Humans are left to deal with the psychological aftershocks. But a God-centered view of the tapestry gives us at least five principles that may help us live with pain.

1. Answers to the “why” questions are not our domain.

 

2. We are justifiably outraged by suffering but should remember God’s presence in suffering.

 

3. Human sin created suffering; suffering cannot be prevented.

 

4. Lamenting our pain before God is a godly response.

 

5. If there is a beginning there will always be an end. If there is doubt, there is hope. If there is darkness, there is light. If there is pain, there is release from pain. If there is an underside to the suffering tapestry, be assured the top side is being woven by God.

My Truth in Two series during Fall 2022 is a tribute to our son Tyler Micah. We lament his death while desiring to give voice to all who suffer in any way.

[This material is drawn from a sermon I preached on Job 3 at Zionsville Fellowship (Indiana) the spring of 2008. A number of articles have used the same words and ideas since and can be found by searching for “lament” at MarkEckel.com where you can also find a tribute to my son.]