and give thanks to God for his grace in your life.
We're going to be looking at our title this morning,
God Has Designed My Suffering.
And you'll see on the inside of your new sheet,
there's two books that are available this morning.
I've mentioned them before.
And the first one is Invest Your Suffering,
Unexpected Intimacy with a Loving God.
So this red one here by Paul Millard.
So he shares throughout the book his experience of his wife's long-term illness
to which there's no known cure,
and his openness as he wrestles with scripture
and yet trusts in God, him and his family.
So that's at the back there.
You mightn't have heard of him, but I'm sure you will have heard of Joni.
Erickson Tadda, her book, A Place of Healing,
Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain and God's Sovereignty.
So it tells of her story through life.
She's wheelchair bound,
and yet God has used her amazingly through her suffering
to reach many people with the good news of Christ across the world.
And in many nations, people have been helped through her story.
So these are two books that I've read.
They're specifically written out of experience
and the context of walking through suffering.
So they're both very helpful for that reason.
And they're 10 euro each,
so they're available.
There's a few copies of each this morning.
Let's pray together.
Father, thank you for this story of grace
and your goodness to Mary in the midst of her life
and going through the storms and struggles that she has.
Thank you, Father, that you have been her father,
a rock, one in whom she can trust.
We pray now, Father, as we look together at your word,
as we listen to what you have to say to us,
that for each one of us, you would be that rock
in whom we can trust.
So help us now, Father, we pray.
Amen.
Well, you heard Mary's story,
and I wonder, how do you respond
when you go through times of suffering?
If it's an unexpected illness,
a relationship breakdown,
a disappointment in life,
what do you do when you suffer?
Well, I think there's one or two ways
in which we often respond.
First, when suffering comes,
we can run from God.
You see, for many,
personal suffering has no rhyme or reason.
God isn't in control,
and he can't do anything to make it stop.
The things we go through are just random events,
tragic circumstances that invade our happy lives.
It's just the way that life is.
So suffering can cause us to run from God.
It can all be flight.
Or sometimes we can fight with God.
We get angry and we get bitter
and we blame God for the things that happen.
And we shout at him,
you can't let this happen to me.
If you really cared for me,
if you really loved me,
you would make it all go away.
And so suffering can cause us
to fight with God.
But there is another way,
the way of faith.
We can trust God.
Have a look with me, please,
at Psalm 139, verse 13.
Psalm 139, verse 13.
Let's pick it up in verse 13.
For you created my inmost being.
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful.
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together
in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God.
How vast is the sum of them.
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I am awake,
I am still with you.
Did you see verse 16?
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Our life is in God's hands.
God ordains the day we are born
and God ordains the day that we die.
He is the one who gives us
our very first breath
and He is the one who takes
our last breath.
And if God controls the beginning
and the end,
then He controls every circumstance
and every event in between.
God knows all things.
God rules all things.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing happens in your life
without God's permission.
In fact, the message of the Bible is this.
God has designed my suffering,
so trust Him.
God has designed my suffering,
so trust Him.
You see, some people think
that the Christian life
is a blissful journey
from earth to heaven.
God's plan for your life
is to be healthy and wealthy.
No trials and no troubles.
But if you should suffer in some way,
you have somehow moved outside
of God's plan for your life.
No.
Everything that happens in your life
is ordained by God.
God has designed the suffering in our life
so that I can trust Him.
Now, to help us see this,
we're going to look at the lives
of four characters
in the Scriptures,
four people who suffered,
and how we see God's design
over it.
So the first one we're going to look at
is Joseph
in the place of God.
Have a look back at Genesis chapter 45.
Genesis chapter 45.
Joseph, if you know anything about him,
was the youngest of 12 brothers.
The problem was,
his father Jacob treated him
as the favorite.
And while his brothers were out working,
providing,
slogging away,
Joseph stayed at home.
In fact, his father treasured him so much,
he made him a very expensive coat,
the famous coat of many colors.
If you like,
it was a one-off designer item.
And one day,
while his brothers were out in the fields,
Jacob sent Joseph out
to see how they were getting on.
And as they saw him approach,
they were filled with rage and jealousy,
and they plotted amongst themselves
how they were going to kill him.
But instead,
they sold Joseph
as a slave
to some passing travelers.
They covered his coat in blood,
and told his father
he was killed by a wild animal.
Joseph suffered.
He became a slave.
Not only that,
later on in his life,
he ended up being sent to prison
for a crime that he never committed.
And after 17 years
of one trial and struggle after another,
Joseph found himself
in better times.
He became second in command
to Pharaoh,
ruler of Egypt.
Now,
at the same time,
his brothers
were facing a severe famine.
So,
they traveled to Egypt
in search of food.
And who did they meet?
Well,
Joseph.
But look carefully
at what Joseph says
to his brothers
when they come
face to face.
Chapter 45,
verse 4.
Then Joseph said
to his brothers,
come close to me.
When they had done so,
he said,
I am your brother Joseph,
the one who sold you
into Egypt.
The one you sold
into Egypt.
And now,
do not be distressed
and do not be angry
with yourselves
for selling me here
because it was to save lives
that God sent me
ahead of you.
For two years now,
there has been a famine
in the land
and for the next five years,
there will be no plowing
and reaping.
But God sent me
ahead of you
to preserve for you
a remnant on earth
and to save your lives
by a great deliverance.
Yes,
the brothers
sold him as a slave.
They plotted it out.
They planned it.
They got money
for the sale.
But Joseph knew
that God
was ultimately
in control.
Look at verse 7.
But God
sent me
ahead of you.
You see,
suffering is not
a random
event.
It is not a mistake
or a plan
that has gone wrong.
God not only
allows these things
to happen,
he purposes
them to happen.
Flick on
a couple of chapters
to chapter 50,
verse 19.
Chapter 50,
verse 19.
Again,
Joseph is speaking
to his brothers.
verse 19.
But Joseph
said to them,
don't be afraid.
Am I
in the place
of God?
You intended
to harm me,
but God
intended it
for good
to accomplish
what is now
being done,
the saving
of many lives.
In my suffering,
says Joseph,
I am in the place
of God.
And in our
suffering,
we are in the
place of God.
God has designed
our suffering
so we can
trust him.
Second,
let's look at
Job.
Job chapter 1
comes before,
just before
Psalms.
Job chapter 1.
We've met
Job before
in our studies
on this subject.
We've seen
his sufferings.
He lost
his livelihood.
All his
animals and
servants
were taken
away.
His ten
children and
their husbands
and wives
were killed
in a tornado.
And then
Job suffered
a terrible
skin disease,
a flesh-eating
disease that
left him
in absolute
agony.
But look
at how
Job sees
all these
trials and
struggles.
Verse 20.
At this,
Job got up
and tore
his robe
and shaved
his head.
Then he
fell to the
ground in
worship and
said,
Naked I
came from
my mother's
womb,
and naked
I shall
depart.
The Lord
gave,
and the
Lord is
taken away.
May the
name of
the Lord
be praised.
In all
this, Job
did not
sin by
charging God
with
wrongdoing.
Everything
that happened
in his
life was
not some
terrible twist
of fate.
This is not
the result of
a God who
is absent
and powerless.
Look at
verse 21.
The Lord
gave,
and the
Lord has
taken away.
And even
when Job's
wife begins
to question
him over
his ideas
and his
thinking,
look what
she says
in verse 9,
chapter 2,
verse 9.
His wife
said to
him,
Are you
still
maintaining
your
integrity?
Curse God
and die.
He replied,
You are
talking like
a foolish
woman.
Shall we
accept good
from God
and not
trouble?
in all
this,
Job did
not sin
in what
he said.
He
recognizes
that God
brings
good
and that
God
brings
troubles.
John
Piper,
reflecting on
these verses,
put it
like this.
Follow
along as I
read.
it will
not do
to say
that God
only uses
our
suffering
but does
not
design
it.
What God
permits,
he permits
for a
reason.
And that
reason is
his design.
If God
foresees
suffering,
he can
stop it
or not.
If he
does not,
then he
has purposes.
purposes.
And since
he is
infinitely
wise,
it is
right to
call this
purpose
a design.
You see,
Job saw
his suffering
as purposed,
planned and
designed by
God.
Of course,
that doesn't
mean that
Job didn't
struggle or
that he
didn't have
questions.
the whole
book of
Job is
full of
questions and
his shoutings
at God.
However,
knowing that
God ordains
all things
leads him
to trust
God.
Look at
the conclusion
of the
book,
chapter 42.
The very
end,
chapter 42,
verse 1.
Look at
how Job
responds to
all that
has happened
in his
life.
Then Job
replied to
the Lord,
I know
that you
can do
all things.
No
purpose of
yours can
be thwarted.
Nothing
that happens
in our
life is
outside of
God's
plan for
your life.
Nothing
can disrupt
what God
has designed,
so we
trust him.
So
Joseph was
in the
place of
God.
Job
could say
no purpose
of yours
can be
thwarted.
Jeremiah,
all J's,
so it's
easy to
follow and
remember.
He was
one who
trusted the
Lord.
Have a
look at
Jeremiah
chapter 17.
Jeremiah
was a
prophet
called by
God to
speak a
message to
the people.
It wasn't
an easy
message,
it was a
message of
judgment.
His message
was simply
this because
the people
had persisted
in their
sin and
rebelled
against God.
God was
going to
take them
by way of
discipline
into exile.
That was
his message.
It's not a
nice message
to tell,
it certainly
wasn't a nice
message for the
people to
hear,
and Jeremiah
suffered for
it.
No need to
look up the
references,
I'll just
refer to them.
In chapter
12,
verse 6,
we read
about his
own family
who betrayed
him and
turned against
him,
left on
his own.
In chapter
20,
verse 2,
we read
that the
priest in
charge of
the temple
had beaten
him up and
then put him
into stocks
for everybody
to see at
the entrance
of the
gates.
In chapter
26,
verse 16,
he endured
continuous
death threats
of the
people planned
to try and
kill him.
Chapter 37,
verse 18,
he was thrown
into prison
and punished
by the
king.
And following
that event,
no sooner
was he
released than
he was thrown
into a
disused
well.
And this
is what it
says,
it had no
water in it,
only mud,
water in it,
and Jeremiah
sank down
into the
mud.
I think
it's fair
to say
that Jeremiah
suffered
terribly.
His whole
adult life
was marked
with one
trial after
another.
He had
done nothing
wrong.
He was only
doing what
God had
called him
to do.
Yet through
it all,
Jeremiah
didn't fight
God and
he didn't
flee from
God.
He trusted
that God
was over
all things.
You see,
in times
of suffering,
he looked
to God
in faith.
Look at
what God
says to
Jeremiah
in chapter
17,
verse 5.
So he's
already gone
through suffering,
he will go
through more
suffering,
and in the
midst of it
all,
this is what
God says.
this is
what the
Lord says.
Cursed
is the
one who
trusts in
man,
who draws
strength from
mere flesh
and whose
heart turns
away from
the Lord.
That person
will be like
a bush in
the wastelands.
They will
not see
prosperity when
it comes.
They will
dwell in
the parched
places of
the desert,
in a salt
land where
no one
lives.
But,
blessed is
the one
who trusts
in the
Lord,
whose
confidence
is in
him.
They will
be like a
tree planted
by water
that sends
out its
roots by
the stream.
It does
not fear
when heat
comes.
So no
matter what
the storm
or the
struggle,
he does
not fear.
It leaves
are always
green.
It has
no worries
in a year
of drought.
And never
fails to
bear fruit.
Trust me
with your
life,
God says.
Whatever you
are going
through,
don't run
to other
things and
to other
people.
Trust me.
And look at
Jeremiah's
response,
verse 14.
Heal me,
Lord,
and I
shall be
healed.
Save me,
and I
shall be
saved.
For you
are the
one I
praise.
Jeremiah
would go
on to
suffer much
more after
he said
that,
but it
was a
mark of
his life.
We
mightn't
understand
everything.
We
mightn't
make sense
of what's
going on
in our
life.
Our
suffering
may
continue
through
all of
our
prayers,
yet we
trust
that God
is in
control
of all
that
happens.
God
has
designed
our
suffering
so we
can
trust
him.
So
Joseph
understood
that he
was in
the place
of God.
Job
came to
see that
no plan
of God's
could be
thwarted,
and Jeremiah
knew what
it was
to trust
the Lord
in the
midst of
his
suffering.
This
has
changed
slightly
the title.
Well,
Jesus
is still
right,
but the
next bit
is
into
your
hands
I
commit
my
spirit.
Turn
to
Acts
chapter
2
with
me.
Acts
chapter
2.
Jesus
is the
supreme
example
for us
that we
can trust
God
in the
midst
of our
suffering.
Jesus
was one
who did
suffer.
Isaiah
the prophet
reminds us
he was
despised
and rejected
by mankind,
a man of
suffering and
familiar with
pain.
Jesus
knew what
it was
to be a
refugee.
He
experienced
hunger,
sleepless
nights,
he faced
opposition
and
rejection,
and
primarily
and most
of all
he suffered
the judgment
of God
on the
cross for
us.
He
suffered
the reality
of hell
for you
and for
me.
But all
this
suffering
that took
place
was all
designed
by God.
Peter
tells us
that Jesus
was chosen
before the
creation of
the world,
before this
universe
existed.
Jesus
was chosen.
The plan
was in
place.
The plan
was in
place.
Peter is
preaching,
preaching about
Jesus.
It's after the
death and
resurrection of
Jesus.
And look what he
says, verse 22.
fellow
Israelites,
listen to
this.
Jesus of
Nazareth was
a man
accredited by
God to
you by
miracles,
wonders,
and signs,
which God
did among
you through
him as
you yourselves
know.
This man
was handed
over to
you by
God's
deliberate
plan and
foreknowledge,
and you
with the
help of
wicked men
put him
to death
by nailing
him to
the cross.
But God
raised him
from the
dead,
freeing him
from the
agony of
death because
it was
impossible for
death to
keep its
hold on
him.
So who
is responsible
for the
death of
Jesus?
Well, we
could say
the people
and the
Roman
soldiers,
and we
would be
right,
wouldn't
we?
But, look
what it
says in
verse 23.
This man,
Jesus,
was handed
over to
you by
God's
deliberate
plan and
foreknowledge.
Before the
creation of
the world,
God planned
and ordained
and designed
the death
of Jesus.
Have a look
at Acts
chapter 4.
Peter has
just been
released from
prison.
He's been
put in
prison for
teaching about
Jesus,
and the
disciples are
now facing
great
opposition.
Peter's
just come
out of
prison and
they begin
to pray
in verse
24,
Acts 4,
verse 24.
When they
heard this,
that is,
when Peter's,
when they'd
heard of
Peter's
release from
prison,
they raised
their voices
together in
prayer to
God,
sovereign
Lord,
they said,
you made
the heavens
and the
earth and
the sea and
everything in
them.
In other
words,
you're in
control of
all things.
And you
spoke by
the Holy
Spirit through
the mouth
of your
servant,
our father
David.
He spoke
about the
opposition that
there would
be towards
Jesus.
And he
quotes,
why do
the nations
rage and
the people's
plot in
vain?
The kings
of the
earth rise
up and
the rulers
band together
against the
Lord and
against his
anointed one.
And it
did come to
pass,
verse 27,
indeed Herod
and Pontius
Pilate met
together with
the Gentiles
and the
people of
Israel in
the city to
conspire against
your holy
servant Jesus
whom you
anointed.
They did
what your
power and
will had
decided
beforehand
should
happen.
So again,
who is
responsible for
the suffering
of Jesus?
Well, we
could say,
verse 27,
that it's
Herod and
his little
chat with
Pontius
Pilate,
the religious
authorities,
they put
Jesus to
death.
And we
would be
right.
But look
at verse
28.
They only
did what
your power
and will
had decided
beforehand
should
happen.
God
designed
the
suffering
of
Jesus.
The
lash
on his
back,
the
thorns
on his
head,
the spit
on his
cheek,
the bruises
on his
face,
the nails
in his
hands,
the spear
in his
side,
the scorn
of rulers,
the betrayal
of his
friends,
the desertion
by his
disciples.
These were
all the
results of
sin,
and all
designed
by God
to destroy
the power
of sin.
You see,
in Jesus,
we see
the true
Joseph,
the better
Joseph,
who was
sent by
God,
planned
by God,
designed
by God,
to come
and save
many people
through his
sufferings.
Jesus is
our better
Job,
isn't he?
The one
who is
ultimately
innocent,
and suffered
the ultimate
suffering for
us,
judgment
and hell,
so that
we don't
have to.
Jesus is
the true
and better
Jeremiah,
the one
who trusted
the Lord
with his
life,
when nothing
seemed to
make sense.
He committed
his life
to God.
You see,
knowing his
suffering,
knowing that
his way
to the
cross
was all
designed
by God,
Jesus
prayed.
Do you
remember what
he prayed
in the
garden?
Father,
if you
are willing,
take this
cup,
take this
cup of
suffering
from me,
yet not
my will,
but yours
be done.
Jesus,
as he
faces into
his suffering,
entrusts his
life to
the Father.
And when
he is on
the cross,
having gone
through all
the suffering
that he
endured,
Jesus called
out in a
loud voice,
Father,
into your
hands,
I commit
my spirit.
And when
he said
this,
he breathed
his last.
Because God
has planned
and designed
his
sufferings,
Jesus
could
entrust
his life
to the
Father.
You see,
as Jesus
prays,
he's
praying for
us.
Jesus
is standing
in for
us,
entrusting
our lives
into the
Father's
sovereign
hands.
He
prays the
prayer for
our eternal
salvation,
so that
we can
trust him
with our
life.
He
entrusts us
into the
Father's
care,
so that
when
suffering
comes into
our
life,
we too
can pray,
Father,
not my
will,
but your
will be
done.
Father,
into your
hands,
I
commit
my
spirit.
If God
willed and
decided all
that should
happen to
his son
would be
for our
good and
for our
ultimate
salvation,
how much
more then
can we
trust him
with the
sufferings in
our life?
In the
coming weeks,
we're going
to be
seeing how
God uses
our
suffering
for our
good and
the many
benefits and
blessings that
come through
that.
But as we
close, I'd
like us to
listen to the
testimony of
Joni Erickson
Tada.
It comes from
the book that I
mentioned earlier.
Joni suffered a
terrible injury as
a teenager that
left her
paralyzed from
the neck
down.
Joni trusts
God who
has designed
her suffering.
Listen to
what she
says.
These are
her words.
So many
have tried to
get me to
say that my
accident of
43 years
ago was
never part of
God's plan,
that my
paralysis was
never his
intention,
that quadriplegia
was never
necessary,
that chronic
pain didn't
have to be,
that suffering
was never part
of his plan,
that the many
tears and
groans and
struggles and
sleepless nights
were needless and
a waste of my
energy and my
life.
But I know
differently.
It was all
planned long
ago and God
brought it about
in his perfect
faithfulness.
And because he
allowed it and
permitted it,
because he has
walked with me
through every
moment of it,
his plan has
been marvellous
for Joni
Erickson
Tadda.
God has
designed my
suffering.
God has
designed your
suffering.
And we can
trust him.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Father, we
look in
your
heart.
Amen.