When things are going well for the Christian it’s pretty easy to be satisfied with God. But what about the times when trials and suffering hit you – are you still satisfied with your relationship with Jesus? I know in my own life as a Christian, I can honestly say that the more I spend time in the Bible the more satisfied I am with the Lord; regardless of the circumstances, whether good or bad, that I am going through.
A number of years back, Philip Yancey, wrote one of my favorite books called, Disappointment with God. In the book, Yancey shares real life stories of why many Christians, when hit with severe trials, get disappointed in God. Back in 2005-2006, when I went through an 18-month long trial of severe clinical depression, my faith was really tested. While I couldn’t understand why I was hit with such severe depression, I knew in my heart that God is a good God, and must have a great reason for allowing me to have to suffer so much. As a result, I never got angry or disappointed in God but learned to hold on to my faith in Jesus and stay satisfied in God. I somehow knew that God would eventually pull me through and use this depression for His glory. I have now been depression free for 17 years and God has used me in many wonderful ways to minister to people with depression over the years.
While going through my depression I had a choice to make. I could either be satisfied in God or disappointed in Him. I chose to stay satisfied in Jesus and my friends this is what pulled me through my darkest times. I chose not to get bitter at God but get better by staying close to Jesus. I chose not to confuse life with God and as a result never once did I blame God for my depression or get bitter at Him. Yancey in his book, Disappointment with God, made one of the most insightful statements on this whole area of not getting bitter at God when heavy trials come our way. For Yancey says: “We tend to think, ‘Life should be fair because God is fair.’ But God is not life. And if I confuse God with the physical reality of life – by expecting constant good health for example – then I set myself up for crashing disappointment.”1
And not only do we set ourselves up for “crashing disappointment” but by not being satisfied in God we will find ourselves living in sin. I think Pastor John Piper said it well when he commended: “Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God.”2 Satisfaction in God is not just a feeling we get when things are going well, but it’s also a choice we make during the difficult times of life. And when we understand that life is in reality training grounds for eternity, and that God will use our tragedies for His glory, if we let Him, then I believe we can always be satisfied in our wonderful God. In my opinion nothing can be more satisfying in life than to know that God is using me, through trials, to bring Him glory!
While Jesus died to take the penalty of our sins away, He chose to leave us in our broken and fallen world to use us to bring glory to His name and reach others with the life-changing message of the gospel. I think that apologist Lee Strobel said it best when he shared: “The universe is a soul making machine, and part of that process is learning, maturing, and growing through difficult and challenging and painful experiences. The point of our lives in this world isn’t comfort, but training and preparation for eternity.”3
For the Christian, sadly, without understanding that God always has a divine purpose in suffering, he or she can become bitter at God, especially if tragedy strikes when we believe we are doing the will of God. And that’s why it is so important to become familiar with verses like the following:
(John 16:33): “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
(1 Peter 4:12): “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”
(Romans 8:28): “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
(Psalm 119:71): “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”
(Romans 8:18): “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
(2 Corinthians 4:16-17): “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
I pray that this devotion helps you to better cope with the sufferings that God often will use in your life, as His vehicle, to bring glory to His name.
1 Disappointment with God Quotes by Philip Yancey (goodreads.com)
2 TOP 25 QUOTES BY JOHN PIPER (of 464) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
3 Lee Strobel quote: The universe is a soul making machine, and part of… (azquotes.com)