Backache. Stomach ache. Headache. Toothache. Heartache. Bellyache. Wherever we ache we sigh with a chorus of groans.
St. Paul tells of how we groan. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18). He relates to the groans of our trials, and yet, makes light of it. Whatever we suffer here pales in comparison to the joy and peace we will celebrate in the glory of heaven.
This other worldly view of things helps. Not that any one of us claims to be a Trojan in the face of any suffering, we just need to be reminded of who is for us, and not what is against us, so that we do not get consumed in our pain and grief.
Imagine this setting in a rural area in any of our western provinces. Two cattlemen are grieving their sorry state of affairs. One says to the other, “What shall I do in all my troubles?” They both stood by a cow looking over a fence. The man’s neighbor said, “Maybe we need to look at life like this cow.” The troubled rancher spotted the cow and asked: “Why is she looking over the fence?” His friend answered, “Because she can’t look through it.”
Does this not apply to our trials? Look over them and up to God, because we can’t look through them – to find the sense we’re searching for.
How about a moment of honesty. Are we glad God says “no” to what we want and “yes” to what we need? Not always. If we ask for healing, and He says “grow through the pain,” we aren’t happy. If we ask for a new marriage, and He says “honor the one you got,” we aren’t happy. If we ask for riches, and He says “treasure the unseen,” we aren’t happy.
When God doesn’t do what we want, it’s not easy. Never has been. Never will be. But the faith worked in our hearts is about resting in our salvation now, knowing that God will lead us through the suffering of this present age. God then sows within us the hope for the joy and celebration of the glory of heaven. This counters our ill-perceived unmet expectations.
A fellow went to a pet store in search of a singing parakeet. Seems he was a bachelor and his house was too quiet. The storeowner had just the bird for him, so the man bought it. The next day the bachelor came home to a house full of birdsong. He went to the cage to marvel at what he heard, but then noticed the parakeet had only one leg. He felt cheated. He’d been sold a one-legged bird. He called and complained. “What do you want,” the pet shop owner responded, “a bird who can sing or a bird who can dance?”
“What do you want?” isn’t as important as: “What do you need?” You need healing to your soul. You need to see all the self-destructive behavior which is everything but pure, chaste, and honorable. You need to throw all that toxic garbage upon your conscience before your loving Savior. You need to know (and receive) how Jesus groaned in agony to free you from sin, death and hell. You need to be cleansed by the forgiveness that only Jesus can give by His precious sacrifice. You need a Savior who’s here to grab you by the heart and lead you by the hand.
By that, you are given what you need when you groan. God, in Christ Jesus, is giving you His everpresent promise – to wait eagerly for your adoption as a child of God, by the redemption of your body (Rom 8:23). It is a groan of waiting for the fulfillment, the consummation, and the glorious end at Jesus’ return.
Groan with such confidence in the hope to come, because you have been given the “firstfruits of the Spirit” (Rom 8:23). The Spirit given you in baptism, the Spirit that works upon your heart through God’s Word, assures you of the blessing of being resurrected to live with God forever. All the while you are enabled to live mightily before Him now. Or, as St. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor 1:21-22).
Furthermore, St. Paul wrote, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom 8:26). The ‘Spirit of truth’ attends to our weakness. The ‘Spirit of truth’ prays through our pain and confusion. The ‘Spirit of truth’ brings clarity and fortitude in following Jesus. And, this is what we need as children of God. •
— By Pastor Neil Stern
Grace Lutheran Church,
Edmonton, AB