Prayer in the Garden of Pressing

“From the magazine of the US Naval Institute, Frank Koch shares a story of a battleship assigned to a training squadron. They had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. Frank said, I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. 

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow."

"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.

The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.

The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: 'We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.'"

Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees."

The captain said, "Send: "I'm a captain, change course twenty degrees.'"

"I'm a seaman second-class," came the reply. "You had better change course twenty degrees."

By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: 'I'm a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.'"

Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."

We changed course."
-Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, p. 153.

Today as we talk about praying through suffering, I think we’re going to discover that as much as we want God to change the situation, often God is like the lighthouse, saying to us, I want you to change your course, or perhaps more so, your perspective.

We as believers go through various forms of suffering here on Earth, such as chronic pain, mental anguish, grieving a loss, traumatic changes in life, and sickness, to name a few.

We are going to learn today from Jesus, how to pray through those sufferings in a way that we will not give up.

We come to a moment in Jesus’ life when he knew darkness was approaching, like the moment before a storm.

Jesus takes his disciples to a garden in Jerusalem, at night, to prepare himself and them for the ordeal ahead.

We look at Matthew 26:36-46.

Verse 36 says, “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Into the prayer garden, the garden of gethsemane. It was an olive grove. The word gethsemane actually means “oil press.”

It still exists in Jerusalem today, and the olive trees there are ancient, and mysterious looking. Though probably not the same olive trees as the time of Jesus, they give us a picture of what it might’ve looked like that fateful night when Jesus went there to pray.

Gethsemane was an oil press. Do you know how the olive oil was extracted from olives in ancient times? The olives were crushed into a paste, by a large vertical millstone, the crushed olives were then placed in woven baskets and placed under heavy wooden beam, pressed down with large stones on top of them, to squeeze out the oil.

It’s fitting that Jesus would pray in such a place, where he would be so pressed and crushed by thoughts of the ordeal ahead of him.

We too are called by God into the prayer garden, when we suffer. The pressing in our lives is real. So, let us travel together with Jesus, as he heads into the depths of that mysterious garden.

First point today, when you find yourself suffering, enter the "garden of prayer" as Jesus did. 

Next, verse 37: "He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled."

These are the same 3 that went with Jesus to the mountain, Peter, James, and John. He leaves the other disciples at the entrance, and they head in among the dark trees. It probably would’ve been bright that night, because it was a full moon, due to the fact that Passover always occurs on a full moon. If these events did occur in AD 33, on April 3rd, as some have speculated, NASA has indicated that there was a partial lunar eclipse that night over Jerusalem, which would’ve made the moon appear reddish.

But Jesus gathers his three closest friends, and begins to experience deep anguish and despair. He doesn’t avoid the emotions. He doesn’t pretend they aren’t there. He doesn’t stuff them underneath. He doesn’t try to have a few drinks to make them go away. Jesus simply allows the emotions to flow out of him.

We must learn to do the same, when we’re facing suffering, we have to let ourselves feel it. We can have a positive attitude, we can hope for the best, we can declare the scriptures, but at the end of the day, we have to let the tears flow, express the pain, and let it out.

Second point, once you enter the garden of prayer, let the real emotions flow from your soul, don’t hide them, or ignore them.

Next, verse 38: Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Jesus doesn’t say, “I’m fine.” He tells them exactly what he’s feeling. Jesus is overwhelmed in his soul. Have you felt that yourself? You can’t cry hard enough. It’s overwhelming. You can’t stand how you feel. But it just won’t stop.

So he tells his friends. And he asks them to stay and watch with Him.

Third point today, bring your friends with you into the garden of prayer. If I’m struggling I’m asking my friends to pray!

Next, verse 39: Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus is going to enter a time of wrestling with His Father, on the topic of suffering. Jesus is so upset, he falls on his face, and he prays a prayer many of us I’m sure have prayed, “take this from me.”

Often suffering or judgment in scripture is pictured as a cup being drank from. Jesus knows he has this cup of suffering sitting on the table in front of him, and he is so overwhelmed, with what he knows is coming next, he asks that the cup be taken from him.

This is a very human moment for Jesus. We know Jesus is the son of God, the Lord, but sometimes we forget he was also fully human. And Jesus longs to be delivered from this suffering.

I think we can all relate to that. That’s often the first thing we do, we begin to pray, and ask God, please Lord heal this, change this, remove this, take this away.

There is nothing wrong with initially praying and praying for God to take the suffering away. Many times God will take it away, he removes the suffering, he heals us, he changes the situation suddenly, and the suffering is over. Though I think that's the exception, not the rule. 

But for Jesus we know, this cup he will have to drink. He does ask for the cup to be removed from him, but he also says, yet not what I will, but your will be done Father.

That is a great way to pray, make your request, but include the heartfelt statement, 'not my will, but yours be done God.' We aren’t in control, God is. When we pray in this way, we surrender control to God.

Jesus is wrestling and the wrestling is occurring in His heart. His heart longs for the situation to change, but if it can’t, he declares: God’s will be done.

Begin to wrestle with God about your situation, and about the suffering you’re experiencing. Pray, and pray again, be honest, be real, lay it all before the Father, seek His face, weep and mourn before Him, and just bring it to Him. Maybe its as simple as praying: Father help me! Cry it out, let your heart declare it to God!

Next, verses 40-41 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I want to hone in on this topic of watch and pray. What does that mean exactly? He wanted the disciples to watch and pray for one hour.

I don’t think Jesus was telling them to watch for Roman guards or something. He was referring to a different kind of watching.

I’m going to get a little deep, but I think we’ve all experienced this sort of thing before.

The Lord prompts us to pray for someone. Seemingly out of nowhere, even in the middle of the night. Someone comes to mind, and you start to pray. And honestly, you’ll begin to pray things out that you shouldn’t even know, yet something inside tells you, “pray this.”

So we go into the prayer realm, and receive data from the Spirit, and we pray out that reality into the real world.

Particularly if I’m fasting, these realities will be strong, and I will know, something is going on in the spiritual realm for this person and I need to pray, right now. And then I begin to pray, and the Lord will eventually say, OK, good, that reality has been dealt with in prayer.

That’s deep, but it’s the idea of fighting for someone in prayer, when we feel prompted to, and really running with that, until we sense the victory in the Spirit.

Notice, also, the classic phrase “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

As we pray out these suffering prayers, we will face the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. The flesh doesn’t want to pray, the flesh wants to be entertained, but when we push into prayer ,even in suffering, we begin to feed the Spirit within, and the flesh begins to submit to the Spirit.

Notice Jesus says, watch and pray so that you won’t fall into temptation. Temptation is connected with the flesh, and if we pray, we strengthen our Spirit to be in control, instead of the flesh.

When we allow the flesh to lead us when we suffer and not the Spirit, our flesh reacts selfishly. But if we can learn to suffer in the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can bear up under the suffering with steadfastness, calmness, and strength. And the flesh will submit to the Spirit. 

So next point today, praying strengthens your spirit, and helps your flesh submit to the Spirit.

Next, verse 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Many times I try and try to pray for the suffering to stop. But, at some point, the Lord will make it clear, like Paul’s thorn in the flesh, this suffering isn’t going to stop immediately. It is going to continue for a season.

We’ve tried to escape it, but now face a new reality. We must accept the situation as it is now.

Jesus in this prayer, he accepts the cup of suffering offered to him. He says alright Father, if it’s not possible for this cup to be taken away, then may your will be done.

And as we pray through our suffering season, we wrestle with God toward the moment of acceptance. We wrestle in prayer, until finally one day, we say, Lord, I finally accept this suffering, as my reality right now.

We see the cup sitting before us, we realize it’s not going to be instantly removed, and we take the cup in our hand, and submit to God, and drink from it.

Often times, simple acceptance of the reality of the situation, can alleviate a lot of the confusion and frustration around it.

Now, if God is prompting you to keep seeking a solution, please do, if he’s telling you don’t accept this, fight it, listen to God. But, I think God often says to us, accept this as it is right now, as you work on a solution.

Now, this is not to accept defeat. 

It’s not to get depressed and say well I lost.

But it is to accept the reality of the season you’re in, til it passes.

God’s will be done, not mine. I will glorify Him through this suffering. 

He will see me through it.

This point is simple: Accept the situation as it is right now. Simple, not easy.

Next, verses 43-44: "43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing."

These trials become harder and harder when we lack prayer. And for the disciples, their lack of prayer during these key moments will have real world results. As we know from history, the disciples fled, and went into hiding, and Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. I believe, if the disciples had been diligently praying that night the outcome might’ve been very different.

But even if we do fail to pray like we should, in suffering, the disciples were restored, by Jesus, Peter was forgiven for denying Jesus, the story didn’t end there, there is grace even if we fall in our time of trial.

So Jesus leaves the disciples, and goes and prays again, the same thing, Lord your will be done, not mine. He submits to God’s will completely. He accepts what is about to come. His heart has been shaped in prayer to a place of acceptance, and submission to God’s purpose.

Lastly, verses 45-46: Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

The time has come. The moment has arrived. The son of man, Jesus, will be betrayed and crucified.

Jesus says let’s go, we’re going to meet it head on.

This last point is simple: Face it. Don’t ignore it, don’t pretend it’s not there, march toward it boldly.

Just like Jesus, he knew he would suffer. He got his heart ready in the garden of Gethsemane, the garden of pressing, so he would be able to endure everything he would face. He was in submission to the Father’s will. Jesus was ready, he endured ultimate suffering, he even walked through death. Yet he rose from the dead. He won the victory.

Thankfully, our season of suffering does not often lead to death. It’s almost always a season with a time limit on it, a season where we endure, die to self by submitting to God, drink our cup of suffering, and then rise from the ashes, a new person. You’ll find yourself a new, better version of yourself, and that’s the whole reason why God allows it.

He allows it, so it will mold our character into something holy and beautiful, humble, and lovely. There is nothing like coming out the other side of suffering, still hot like iron fresh from a forge, molded and shaped, into a stronger, better version of ourselves. And the way through is simple:

Pray, and then accept your time in the garden of pressing.

The Dark Night of the Soul in the Christian Life

I was talking to a friend of mine from a previous area, on the phone. He’s someone I sponsored and mentored during my time at the Salvation Army in that city.

He had called to let me know that he had gotten into trouble. He had gotten into a car accident, while drinking, and received a third DUI. And that he was most likely going to have to spend about a year in prison. 

I myself am recovered from a drinking problem, many years ago, so I can see what he’s going through from a unique perspective.

What do you say to someone in that circumstance? He knows he did something wrong. He takes responsibility for it. He didn’t try to make excuses. So I told him something I’ve come to believe very deeply, that often these things that we experience, though they seem to be taking us downward, and deeper into darkness, it may actually be creating a scenario in which your ego is so thoroughly humbled, that you are finally ready and able to give yourself entirely to God.

Can walking through a time of great darkness actually lead to an even greater light?

St. John of the Cross wrote on this topic in his work “The Dark Night of the Soul.” St. John of the Cross was born in 1542 and served as a Spanish roman catholic priest.

St. John went through many difficult experiences in his life, and wrote about the dark night of the soul, as a poem, that he later wrote commentary on, that became the book we have today.

I want to share some of the poem with you, it’s pretty brief, but powerful. I’m going to share it in modern English, the old English is kind of hard to follow.

It says this: “The Dark Night of the Soul
by St. John of the Cross — modern English rendering”

1 On a dark night,
burning with love and longing,
oh, the sheer grace!
I went out unseen,
my house now stilled and sleeping.

2 Hidden by the night,
and by the secret stair I fled —
oh, the joy, the thrill! —
hidden from sight,
my house at peace and resting.

3 In that blessed night,
in secret, no one saw me,
nor did I see a thing —
my light and guide
was only that which burned inside my heart.

4 It guided me,
truer than the noonday sun,
to where the One was waiting —
the One I knew so well —
in a place where no one else appeared.

5 Oh night, you were my guide!
Oh night, kinder than the dawn!
Oh night that joined
the Lover with the beloved,
beloved transformed in the Lover!”

He wrote this beautiful poem to express a simple spiritual truth that we’re going to explore today. The fact is, that seasons of profound darkness, though painful, lead to great spiritual breakthroughs, and ultimately a concept he calls union with the Lord or "divine union."

For this purpose we turn today to Psalm 88. Of all the 150 psalms in the Bible, this psalm is most certainly the darkest. This will be the low point, the rock bottom experience, of the series we’re going through, healing journey.

But I deeply believe, we must touch this moment, before we can rise to greater levels of spiritual growth.

Psalm 88 was written by a man named Heman the Ezrahite. Heman was a skilled singer and song writer, considered one of the wisest men of his time. He would’ve served as a singer during the time of King David, and Solomon was compared to to Heman, saying that Solomon was even wiser than Heman. He was part of the tribe of the Levites, and he was the grandson of Samuel the prophet. He may have had a tough upbringing, because we know that Samuel’s sons did not follow Samuel’s ways, and perverted justice. His father was one of those two sons, named Joel.

Psalm 88 begins like this: (v1-2) “Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.”

We see this psalm starts with trust. He trusts God’s character. He views God as the God who saves. He’s praying day and night for God’s help. He’s crying out and waiting for an answer. It’s not so different from many situations we’ve all been in. Needing an answer, calling out to God.

Next, verses 3-4: “3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.”

This is someone who is overwhelmed. The situation they are facing is too much. Their ability to handle it is a 10, but the situation is at a 12. It’s over the line.

In fact this situation is so severe he feels near death. So this isn’t any run of the mill situation, where aunt Susie has a sprained ankle or something, this is serious. Or, at least it’s a combination of situations all occurring at the same time, to culminate into something that is overwhelming.

The journey downward has begun. This is a journey I can best relate to my journey downward in ministry. I had been a new pastor at the Salvation Army, brash, excited, new, thinking he was all that, and this led to a fall. Several things all together happened, loneliness, depression, bad stomach problems over a long period, ego and self will, the corps struggling financially, and two of my senior leaders leaving the church. Then my dearest companion, my favorite cat, Sunshine was her name, passed away as well. All these things produced a downward spiral. 

The walk down the dark stairs had come. And I had had other rock bottom experiences, particularly prior to salvation, in my twenties, when I was fleeing from the Lord and chasing pleasure.

Heman the psalmist feels like he’s going down to the bottom of the pit. He says he feels like one without strength. That is so hard, when you’re already going through something hard, and you also feel weak physically, or emotionally. It makes it so much worse. He is down in a pit, and without strength to deal with it.

St John of the Cross writes about this experience of going into darkness, as a journey of purification through suffering. This experience helps remove improper attachments, and clears away inadequate views of who God is, and changes our thinking profoundly, to produce something beautiful through the darkness.

Next, verse 5: “I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.”

In the dark moments of our lives, we feel it so strongly. We take those steps downward, and we weep as we do. Our emotions are so strong. They overwhelm us. And we feel martyred by life, struck down. There have been a handful of times in my life where the circumstances were so severe I really did feel martyred, crushed, and ruined.

During my parents divorce I got expelled from high school, and I was using pills to make it feel better, my friends abandoned me, and a girl I'd liked for years had rejected me. And I remember laying on the floor one day in the basement in my room and I simply felt ruined, leveled.

Next, verses 6-9, Heman writes: “6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9 my eyes are dim with grief.”

This is the lowest point of the psalm. He has reached rock bottom itself. He feels the wrath of God on him. He is overwhelmed by wave after wave of anxiety, fear, and sorrow and he’s also isolated, his close friends have left him. He feels confined, like in a prison cell, he senses there is no escape, and his eyes have changed, gone dim with grief.

When someone is hurting deeply, you can see it in their eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul.

Have you felt this way in your life? What scenario are you thinking of in your own life that relates to the dark night? Remember this: There was a purpose in your suffering. It was not for nothing. And don’t necessarily assume God created the scenario you’re thinking of, he may not have, because sinful things happen in a sinful world. Then again maybe God did send the scenario that happened. Or He at least used the pain to do a work in your soul.

There is a profound purpose to these dark nights of the soul. They have a reason. They do a mighty work in us. It’s never pleasant at the time, but after we soon discover, I’m radically different than I used to be. I’ve become a different, more spiritually mature person, more devoted, more victorious, more humble, and my view of God has changed.

My view of God has changed so many times. For a time, God to me was a doctrine, then a vague belief, soon he was a mystery, now today, he is a burning fire of Holy love in my soul. I went from seeing God as a far off being, to seeing Jesus Christ as my personal best friend and King. These changes often required dark nights of the soul to develop.

Next verses 9-12: "9 I call to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?”

I believe verses 9-12 are prophetic. The psalmist is asking these questions, and the answers to these questions point forward to a time that had not yet come for Heman, the time when the suffering messiah would live, and prove true the things Heman writes here.

The NASB renders verse 10, “Will you show wonders to the dead?”

I thought to myself, the answer is yes. Jesus showed wonders to the dead, he raised Lazarus from the dead, and Jairus’s daughter.

"Do the departed spirits rise up and praise you?"

Again the answer is yes, the deceased spirits of humans in Christ rise up, and worship God in heaven, they are worshiping right now!

“Is your love declared in the grave?” I know an empty grave that declared holy love! It is declared in the empty tomb, the grave of Jesus Christ, declaring the love of God to a lost world, because Jesus had risen from the dead! He is alive.

“Is God’s faithfulness declared in abaddon, the place of destruction?”
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?”

Verse 11-12 points us back to the current struggle of Heman. Is this deep darkness he’s experiencing really a wonder of God in his life?

That is what St. John of the Cross tells us in his book "The Dark Night of the Soul." These dark seasons we go through are actually paradoxically moments that bring great light after, huge shifts in our lives toward the living God.

St. John of the Cross wrote: “In the dark night of the soul bright flows the river of God”

When we feel outright oblivion is there actually a great blessing hidden in this? Is the passage through the dark tunnel actually leading to a deeper union with God? Dare we even say, that this could mean that the dark journey through the tunnel was actually worth it?

Next, verses 13-14 “13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?”

The dark season feels like rejection from the Lord, but it really isn’t. He has not rejected you in those hard times. Let your prayers continue to rise up to Him.

The psalmist continues with his lament, verses 15-16:

"15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.”

I believe it is very pleasing to the Lord that we lament in our dark night of the soul. The word “lament” means to grieve, to mourn, to weep, to express sorrow.

So, how do we respond to the dark night of the soul, even knowing that it will bring us closer to God? Should we celebrate? No, we should express our sorrow. This is biblical. There is an entire book of the bible dedicated to lamenting, it’s called Lamentations.

Yet I think in the midst of the mourning, we can come to a place, by God’s grace, where we turn to the Lord, and say, “Thank you God for this struggle, for I know it’s making me more like Jesus.” In a moment, I want to give all of us an opportunity to thank God for the struggle. But first, last two verses.

Verses 17-18: “17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.”

The psalm concludes with Heman declaring, that the dark night of the soul has completely engulfed him, like flood waters rushing through a city. His house has been swept away. His very self has been swept away. He is alone, with no friends or neighbors, he is defeated, crushed, and he even says darkness is his closest friend.

And that is how the psalm ends. No other psalm in the bible ends on such a dark note except for Psalm 88.

This is a man who has been engulfed by the dark night. Does the story end there? Is it over for him? I don’t believe so. For on the other side of the dark night, there comes the day. And the dark night has had great effect.

His “self” has been swept away, his ego, his old way of being. He has died to self. And I believe, on the other side of this event, Heman rose again from the ashes, a new man, humbled, renewed, strengthened, and stronger than before, closer with God, united with God, all the ego swept away, with God at the center. (But I honestly can’t prove that from scripture, because we don’t find our how the story ends.)

But maybe it’s actually good that it ends on this low note. Sometimes when we’re in the midst of something really hard, we don’t need to hear about how it’s all going to be ok. We need to just let ourselves be in a place of sorrow, to express it. It helps us identify our pain, and let it have it’s place.

Sometimes the hardest thing when I’m mourning, is to have someone come along and try to cheer me up. I don’t want to be cheered up, I need to grieve this, and when I’m through the grief, then I want to be cheered up, but not yet. If you’re there today, know that it’s ok to be grieved for a time. Proverb 25:20 deals with this.

But for the sake of those of us here who are ready for the step beyond the dark night into the light, we move forward to the dawn. St. John of the cross tells us in his book, that the purpose in the two types of dark nights he talks about, the dark night of the senses and the dark night of the spirit, is to bring us along a pathway of death to self, where we let go of ego, let go of pride, let go of improper attachments, and find a state in which we are in union with God. The dark night of the senses is more common, and affects our sense of God's presence with us, the dark night of the spirit is more rare and much deeper. The goal in each: Deeper union with God. 

If you remember, Jesus prayed for his disciples in the upper room, that they would be one with God, in John 17, truly and completely united with God. A heart union. St. John of the Cross makes the case that this can only happen when we go through the dark nights of the soul, but, on the other end, we find ourselves transformed, we find our view of God transformed, and we rise up on eagles wings, with new spiritual strength, set free to experience the depths of God’s heart.

We’re told in the Bible to give thanks in all circumstances. We often thank God for good things. But can we also thank God for the dark night of the soul.

Would you pray this simple prayer with me today:

“Thank you God for the struggle I'm going through, for I know it’s making me more like Jesus.”

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, heal our bitterness, from these dark times. Heal us from the pain, from the memories, heal us from the grief and lament. We thank you for your love shed abroad in our hearts, that overwhelms and heals the pain. You are so very good to us. In the darkness, we trust you. In Jesus name, amen.

Healing Process for Racing Thoughts: A Pathway to the Truth of the Situation with God's Help

"A famous evangelist told the following incident: I have a friend who in a time of business recession lost his job, a sizable fortune, and his beautiful home. To add to his sorrow, his precious wife died; yet he tenaciously held to his faith -- the only thing he had left. One day when he was out walking in search of employment, he stopped to watch some men who were doing stonework on a large church. One of them was chiseling a triangular piece of rock. 'Where are you going to put that?' he asked. The workman said, 'Do you see that little opening up there near the spire? Well, I'm shaping this stone down here so that it will fit in up there.' Tears filled my friend's eyes as he walked away, for the Lord had spoken to him through that laborer whose words gave new meaning to his troubled situation." -Our Daily Bread.

Last week we talked about the problem of evil and suffering in the world, from a high view perspective, the big overarching philosophical issue. Today we’re going to hone in on that same struggle, but we’re going to see from the perspective of our own lives.

Particularly, one incident in your life, maybe something you’re going through right now. For each person in the room today, it’ll be different. It could be a struggle at work. Or a health problem. It could be someone you loved that you lost recently. It could be issues in your family, with your children, or your wife or husband. It could be an addiction you’re struggling with quietly. It could be a memory that haunts you. Or even something looming in the future.

As we go through the message today, I want you to hone in on that one thing, and consider how God’s word today can speak into that situation, and help you.

We’re going to be in Psalm 13. I’ll be teaching from the NIV. David wrote this Psalm, most likely during a time when he was being pursued by King Saul. His stress must’ve been high. And David writes this psalm to God to express what he’s going through, and how God helped him.

Let’s dive in today, verse 1: “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?”

As soon as a struggle, a tense situation starts in your life, some new health problem, something at work with the boss, loss of a loved one, the first thing I often think is, I can’t stand how I feel right now. How long will this last?

We are waiting in time, as a feeling comes over us that is so strong.

Second part of verse 1, “How long will you hide your face from me?”

It is the perception of David, accurately I believe, that God has hidden his face from him during this struggle.

What does the Bible mean by the face of God? The Hebrew word for the face of God is often translated as "presence." It is the sense of God’s presence in your life.

Very hard to describe this feeling, of sensing God with you at any given moment. I know for me either you sense it or you don’t. But I know when I’m fasting, it will intensify, and I’m more aware of it.

Essentially, you can feel when God is with you. It’s a unique sense, no way I can say how to describe that feeling.

Is it possible that the David is not sensing the presence of God simply because the pain he’s going through is so intense? That’s possible.

I also think it’s just as much true that sometimes God will hide his presence from us for certain periods to teach us something.

As the old saying goes, “The teacher is silent during the test.” So I think this is one of those situations where David is going through it, God masks his presence temporarily, as a form of a test. Will you trust me or not? Your choice. The test begins.

Like David, we experience from time to time a trauma in our lives. Some event that unsettles us. And so the test begins.

I’ll give an example from my own life. When I was in my early teens my dad would make me go to a lot of basketball camps to get better at basketball. I hated these camps. I dreaded it. My dad would let me know ahead of time he had signed me up, and for usually weeks ahead of it, I would worry, and worry, and worry each day, counting down the days until the dreaded day came.

I learned to live in fear, worry, and anxiety.

David describes this in verse 2, “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts…”

Oh, to wrestle with those thoughts. You’ve been there haven’t you? The thoughts just keep repeating in your mind, often charged up with emotion surrounding the thought, over and over and over.

In recovery groups, we’d call that squirrel caging. Or hamster wheel. It’s a funny way to describe it, but it’s actually very serious.

The thought just keeps going and going. We replay the resentment over and over, and each time we replay it we refeel it, the anger, the frustration, the confusion, and at it’s worst it can torment us.

So how do we deal with this the repeating thought? Because it can be bad.

There are several solutions. One of the best is to talk to a friend or your pastor, or your wife or husband, and just express the emotion and the thought, and process it.

Another helpful thing is to write it on paper in a journal.

Going for a walk, and just letting out the physical energy can be helpful. Taking a shower can be helpful.

Talking to God about it in prayer, can be so helpful.

However I’ve found that all of those things may not stop the thought process. Because there is a purpose in the thought process.

So, pray over the thought process. I wish I knew that when I was dreading basketball camp, but I didn’t. I didn’t know God that way.

But, when we pray, and let the Spirit lead, the thought process can begin to be drawn in a good direction.

Often God is bringing up the thought to encourage an action in us, connected with the thought. Not always. Sometimes it’s just our mind expressing emotion. But, as we wrestle with the thought, the praying can help guide the thought toward the right path.

Now, it may not always be that. There may be no action needed. In that case as you pray you’ll sense God saying “Be still and know that I’m god.” No action needed.

But, it may be God is helping us wrestle with the thought toward the truth of the situation.

Often if Chelsey and I have a disagreement in our marriage, we will engage in a conversation. Often once we can get past our upset emotions, and we both hear each other, and say "OK I can see you perspective" we begin to approach the truth. She or I see the past trauma link with the current discussion. And we say "Oh, that’s why! You were hurt in a similar way when you were younger." And we find peace.

The goal in the thought-wrestling many times, is to get past the emotion to the truth.

For that we must accept an important principle: I will be Spirit-led not emotion-led.



Often there is a light path and a dark path in the thought-process. The light path leads to the truth. The dark path can lead to ending up stuck in resentment, or fear or anger or some other emotional state. We take an unproductive course. This is where long term trauma can develop, when something sits unresolved, until it’s a painful memory that we can’t even bear to think about.

These are the thoughts. What about the heart? 

Second part of verse 2, “...and day after day have sorrow in my heart?”

Connected with the racing thoughts is often a sorrow in the heart.

It’s a two-fold punch, when we face suffering. The thoughts race and the heart hurts. It’s no wonder we long for God’s help and want the situation to end as soon as possible.

I would push through basketball camp with such fear, and anxiety. The bad things I feared wouldn’t always happen. But sometimes they did. I would get bullied. Verbally harassed. Every sense in my body felt heightened. Fear was my constant companion. 

I remember one time we were waiting by the buses that took us from the dorms to the gymnasiums. There was another player there, a bully who was also in wrestling. And he and his buddies took great pleasure in cornering me and putting me into wrestling moves. One they loved to do to me was put me in the "Texas cloverleaf." I tried to push through, but I became overwhelmed, and I ran away. I was hiding and crying when a kindly janitor found me. He took me to his dorm where he stayed on campus, and he let me lay down in his daughter's bed, she was away of course, and I laid there and wept. Being in a painful situation long enough leads to heart sorrow. The word of God says, "Fathers do not exasperate your sons, or they will give up" (Colossians 3:21).

Next, David writes, “How long will my enemy triumph over me?”

It can be so hard when we see evil winning in the world, and the good guys in retreat.

Who is this enemy? For David it’s a person, King Saul most likely. Who is it for you? A person maybe? A place, a job, an institution? For me it’s often the devil, demonic forces.

But we do face another enemy, one we must deal with: Ourselves. I’m often my worst enemy. My fallen nature doesn’t want to respond the right way to trauma. It wants to hide it, ignore it, leave it in the past. We as Christians often must combat our own sinful attitudes, and say no, I’m going to do the opposite of what I want to do, I’m going to instead do what God wants me to do.

As Jesus said, "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).

Heavy first few verses, I know. But it’s about to get brighter.

Verse 3, “Look on me and answer, Lord my God.”

David sensed God’s face was turned away from him, he is asking God to come and be present in the situation once again. He has turned to prayer, and to seeking God.

Think about all David was going through. He had been anointed king, but then rejected by Saul, who feared him and was jealous of him.

David and his band of followers were having to run and hide from an entire nation that was following Saul. I can’t imagine the kind of stress he was feeling, I was stressed at basketball camp, David was fearing for his very life day and night. I can’t imagine how that must’ve felt.

But David’s turn here is very important. He turns from looking at his own heart and thoughts, which was good, but better now, he's looking directly at God saying please come and be in this.

Next, he says, “Give light to my eyes…”

This could be David asking for wisdom. I think that’s true. But also I think it means, “God show me your way through this.” Or "God carve a path through the wilderness for me." It’s not just asking for advice, it’s asking God to create a path through the struggle.

God create the path, show me through and I’ll walk it.

When your in a traumatic event, many of you are in them now, wrestle in your thoughts, wrestle in your heart, but then begin to look up toward God. Begin to pray and say: "God, create a path through, and give me the wisdom to walk it."

Verse 3 is the turning point... “Give light Lord.”

Next: “Or I will sleep in death, 4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall."

Sometimes we go to the worst case scenario, David goes there and says God if you don’t show up, my enemies will overcome me and rejoice over my fall.

Our minds often go to the worst possible thing. My mom would often come to me when I was younger, and I was so prone to worry. My mom would say, "What’s the worst thing that could happen?" And it usually wasn’t so bad. Don’t sink into the negative.

Walking by the Spirit I’ve found is a bit like surfing on water. If we ride the waves of the Spirit in faith, we ride high, but when we start to doubt, and become negative, we start to sink in the waters, just like Peter when he walked on the water toward Jesus.

We can acknowledge the worst case scenario, while also not getting stuck on it. Instead stay focused on the scriptures. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I shall not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. I will be still and know that you are God!

David is wrestling through to a place of beauty, a place of peace, a beautiful meadow, green and lush, bright, and gentle, a place called trust.

Verse 5: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.”

I think the pains we go through in life can be so strong that they hit us the way a sudden storm on the waters hits a boat, one moment the waters are clear and the next a storm hits.

I think for that reason, when the trauma first hits, we focus so much on it, that our trust in God is shaken. We are so focused on the struggle, it shakes our trust.

But, as we process the thoughts, feel the sorrow in our hearts, we wrestle toward the truth. We don’t stuff the situation, or hide from it, we boldly face it, and allow the emotions to flow, then we find a pathway that appears, a way out provided by God. We call on God. God delivers us. And we go up to a higher level of trust, because of what we’ve been through.

We dare to say, “God I trust you in this too.”

This is very pleasing to God. I think it’s the ultimate desired outcome for every pain we go through: To wrestle through, to a place of saying, “God I trust you here too.”

But we have a choice. Unfortunately many choose to say to God: "You let me down, I don’t trust you, how could you let this happen?" And the test is not passed.

This doesn’t mean it’s over or anything, we still belong to God, but the test may repeat again in the future, to give us another opportunity to pass into that higher level of trust.

These scenarios are often test cases: Can you come up to a higher level of trust? Once we do, it’s like the living waters open up to us.

We access the gifts in Jesus Christ our savior. We have so many benefits in the cross of Jesus Christ. More than I think we realize! They are all accessed by the key to the door, which is trust, or faith.

Then the living waters flow through the situation. The living waters flow from the Father, through Jesus Christ, and by way of the Holy Spirit. And we find healing.

At the beginning of the message I asked you to identify the situation you connect with current pain in your life. Would you like to dunk that situation in the living waters of Jesus Christ?

We’re going to pray. I challenge you as we pray, to choose trust of your God in that situation, no matter how painful. As you do, you’ll sense those living waters flow in, because by trusting Him, you’re giving it to him.

Note: Remember, unforgiveness can be a barrier to healing. If there is someone you need to forgive for what they did, pray that prayer of forgiveness first, and ask for God's grace to overcome any bitterness. Also, if there is an active sin involved, you'll want to make a prayer of repentance and ask Christ's forgiveness as well. Unrepentant sin can be a barrier for healing as well.  

Prayer: “Father, we show you the situation we’re in. The memory. The past trauma. The current struggle. Father we confess the pain. We confess the confusion. But, today, we choose to say, Father, we put it in your hands, lighten our eyes, or we will sleep in death. We trust you, we trust in your unfailing love. This situation, we surrender it to you, it’s yours. We trust you. Heal our hearts. Heal our minds. Wash us in your living water, in Jesus name, amen.”

Last verse, as we trust it to God, our heart sorrow turns into heart rejoicing.

Verse 6, “I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

David went from questioning where God even was in verse 1, to finally saying, I sing God’s praises, for he has been good to me.

We’ve found peace again. We trusted him. The living waters have flowed in. The pain melts away. And it’s replaced by "shalom shalom" the peace of Jesus Christ.

God has been good to me, we declare. And the story of the hurt and healing, becomes part of our testimony. A story of redemption.

Review of Main Points:

1. Waiting in suffering is the challenge
2. In suffering God will sometimes hide his face
3. Wrestling in our thoughts can lead toward the truth
4. Sometimes the enemy we face is ourselves
5. Turn to God, and ask Him to create a path forward
6. Trust leads to the living waters of healing
7. The story of the struggle becomes our testimony

The Problem of Suffering and Evil in the World

I ran away from Him,
Down the nights and down the days;
I ran from Him,
Down the arches of the years;
I ran from Him,
Through the twists of my own mind—
And in the confusion of my fears,
I hid from Him,
And still He followed.

With steady steps and a quiet voice,
He followed after me.
No matter how fast I ran,
Or how far I tried to escape,
I always heard His feet behind me—
Unhurrying, unyielding,
Yet filled with love.

I tried to find comfort
In everything but Him:
In people, in pleasure,
In beauty, in dreams.
I wanted to be free from His presence,
Thinking I would find peace,
If only I could leave Him behind.

But everywhere I turned,
The things I loved failed me.
The light I chased faded,
The joy I wanted turned bitter.
And always, behind it all,
His voice kept calling me:
"Nothing you find can satisfy you,
Unless it comes from Me."

I told myself He was cruel,
That He would rob me of happiness.
But still He followed,
Not with anger,
But with patient love.

When I finally stopped running,
Broken and exhausted,
He was still there—
Not to punish,
But to gently ask,
"Why do you run from the One who loves you most?"

He showed me
That every loss I suffered,
Every door that closed,
Was His mercy in disguise—
Turning me back toward the only joy
That would ever be real.
-Hound of Heaven (modern English)

This is an excerpt from a famous poem called the Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson, published in 1890. It helps us understand our situation as humans. We are often like the man in the poem, in a cloud of anxiety and confusion running away from God, looking around at a dangerous world, with child-like emotions, anger, fear, despair, wondering, why is there all this evil in the world? Even as Christians we often run from God. But like the man in the poem, if we could slow and turn around, we’d see His love is pursuing us.

Lately in our country we’ve seen violence, and we’ve wondered, what is going on? What is the source of this evil?

Today we’re addressing the topic of Why is there suffering and evil in the world. We’re going to look at the origin of evil and suffering, and then discuss how we can respond to these things in the right way.

Here’s our first clue: There is a genealogy in Genesis chapter 5 that goes through the names of all the descendants of Adam, the first man, all the way down to Noah. If you list all the names in order, you find that each name has a meaning, just as any of our names have a meaning. My name is Justin, it means to be justified. The first name Adam, means man.

Second name, Seth means appointed. Enosh means mortal. Kenan means sorrow. Mahalalel means the blessed God. Jared means shall come down. Enoch means teaching. Methusaleh means “his death shall bring.” Lamech means the despairing. Noah means comfort or rest.

If you put all those meanings into a sentence it reads: “Man appointed mortal sorrow, the blessed God shall come down teaching; His death shall bring the despairing rest.”

Man appointed, it says, mortal sorrow. Where did suffering come from? The answer is, it came from humanity. God did not initiate it. Humans did.

We consider the account of the book of Genesis. We see Adam and Eve, the first two humans, and they were innocent, they were holy. They lived with God in the garden. God walked among the garden with them. There was no sin then, no suffering.

We know that Adam and Eve were given authority over the garden, to tend it. They were told there was one rule, do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

But next we see Adam and Eve, and the serpent, this fallen being, tempt Adam and Eve. The serpent tells them, Genesis 3:4-5 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

So began the difficult situation we find ourselves in today. Adam and Eve were innocent and pure. Satan was corrupted with evil, and he used the power of deception to bring in suffering for humanity.

We know God was left with no choice, but in his justice, to send Adam and Eve out of the garden. Creation was cursed. The world became fallen. The entire paradigm shifted.

The cursed creation would exist for one purpose: To provide humanity one more chance to turn back to God before the end. Humans would continue to be born and spread out on the Earth. That was always the plan. But now, they would all be affected by the sin virus that Adam and Eve had allowed in.

Humans had turned against God and joined the rebellion that started with Satan and his demons. But God immediately established a plan to save humanity.

God decided he would come himself, as Jesus into the world, to pay the blood price that we owed, so if we trusted in God’s gift of forgiveness, then we could be delivered from the sin nature we’ve inherited from Adam and eve, and we could become part of the new humanity who is led not by Adam and eve, but by Jesus Christ the messiah.

Our scripture for today is Psalm 10, that deals extensively with the problem of evil and suffering.

Psalm 10 begins like this: “1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

This is the cry of the heart when we face suffering. We cry out and say Lord where are you?

Many in our world refuse to believe in God, because of the evil and suffering in the world. They say how can there be a good god if children die of hunger, if people die of cancer, how can there be a good god if hurricanes destroy villages and floods sweep away the impoverished?

This is probably thee reason why many leave behind God, their experience of suffering leads them to reject God.

So it’s vital that we understand how God’s system works. We see that every human being born is born with a gift that many of us aren’t even fully aware of, the gift of free will.

We get to choose. And God has written it into the system that he is not able to force free choices.

If God deleted free will from the system, of course there would be no evil or suffering. But there would also be no love. And love is the most important thing in the universe. If I could force Chelsey my wife to love me, is that really love? No it’s force. But, if Chelsey freely chooses to love me, that’s real love.

Next verses 2-3: “In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.”

We live in a world where we’re affected by the poor decisions of other humans. I have free will, they have free will. And we’re all on this planet together. So we find situations where the wicked hunt down the weak, plot against the faithful, they celebrate sin, they bless the greedy, and they despise the Lord almighty.

We often look at the evil all around us, in other people, in institutions, and we cry out to God to put an end to evil. But what about the evil in us? If God were to deal with evil right now, he’d have to deal with us. And get rid of that evil too.

Now as we Christians we would say, well we’re righteous because of Jesus, we don’t have evil, because Jesus has covered our sins. This is true. But, what about our unsaved loved ones who we pray for day and night?

God is being patient, waiting for them to come in. And so he is patient with all the evil in the world, waiting and giving time for everyone to have the opportunity to say yes to Jesus.

Why suffering? God’s open door for all.

Next, verses 4-5: “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.”

In all his thoughts, no room for God. Evil is so terrible, and the evil person, the sinful person is a horror to witness. I think of myself before I was saved, and it was not pretty.

But here we get another key to the truth about suffering. What we are in very important, more important than we realize.

The bible tells us we are made in the image of God. That’s not said of animals, plants, even the angels. We are unique. So much so that we’re told that if we endure to the end with Christ, we will inherit the kingdom of God.

So what we are is very special. This explains why the punishment for rejecting Christ is so severe, eternity in hell. Because we were to be the crown of God’s creation, to share in our God’s authority over all he made. Think about that for a second. To share in his authority, to rule over everything he made. We were made to be given great authority, and with great authority comes great responsibility. That’s why the end game is so serious, heaven or hell, because what we are is so unspeakably incredible and amazing and powerful. We have the spark within us of the creativity of the Creator of all!

Next, verse 6: He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

We desire a world where nothing will ever shake us, nothing will ever harm us. We were made for a paradise. That’s why death seems so terrible to us, it horrifies us and it should. We struggle to comprehend suffering. It’s a mystery to us.

If we want to understand the mystery of iniquity, we ought to look to two examples, the first is Job. If you want to understand suffering, look at the book of Job. Job was tested and suffered greatly, but he honored God through it, he cried out, he wrestled, but in the end, he trusted His god, and he was greatly rewarded. Job knew horrible suffering. Yet there was a purpose in all of it.

Second example, is of course Jesus himself. Jesus suffered in every way that we do. He suffered pain, despair, and difficulties. He wrestled with God like Job did, in the garden of Gethsemane.

He pleaded with God to take the suffering of the cross away. Father, if it’s possible, take this cup away from me, but your will be done, not mine.

Jesus also desired to be relieved from the suffering. But the cup was not taken from Jesus. Jesus drank that cup of brutal suffering, for us.

Can we then, through all this suffering in our lives, look to the example of Jesus, see that Jesus struggled with it too, but in the end Jesus, drank from that cup, for us. And so can we too, drink from lesser cups of suffering in our lives?

Jesus cried while nailed to the cross, “Father why have you forsaken me?!”

Jesus became suffering for us that day, he became evil for us that day. He was forsaken. And because of what Jesus did, we never have to be forsaken. We are accepted.

Jumping down to verse 14, it says, “But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.”

God sees our trouble. He doesn’t ignore. He grieves with us. It says he takes our grief in his hands. Our response then, is to commit ourselves to God. Declare, God is my helper.

Yet so often we have a struggle we’re going through, and we ask God for help, and God doesn’t move right away. He waits, or he doesn’t help us at all. Why?

Sometimes we permit suffering to continue to bring about a greater good. Example, the dentist? We go in and they drill into our teeth and it causes suffering, but, it brings about a greater good of healthy teeth. Sometimes when God waits, or doesn’t move, it is to bring about a greater good.

That isn’t always the case though, sometimes we suffer simply because we live in a fallen world that has been messed up by humans. Sometimes God steps in, sometimes God doesn’t, we have to trust Him in that.

Many philosophers have wondered at the problem of evil, and assumed, if God existed and he’s good, he would defeat evil. So there must not be a god, because evil exists.

Of course this argument is self defeating, because where do you get a rationale to call something evil or good? If evil and good exist, an objective morality exists. If an objective morality exists, you must have a moral law giver, to provide that framework, which can only come from God.

But the argument often goes like this:

If God is all good, He would defeat evil

If God is all powerful, He could defeat evil.

But evil is not defeated. Therefore God doesn’t exist.


Professor Norm Geisler, provided a response to this:

If God is all good, He would defeat evil

If God is all powerful, He could defeat evil.

Therefore evil will one day be defeated.

It is God’s character and ability to do so.

But it still begs the question: Why doesn’t God do it now?

1. He is waiting patiently for the lost to come to Christ.

2. He is allowing suffering to prepare His saints for paradise.

3. He is testing the faith of His saints to prevent any future rebellion. (meaning: Every time your faith is tested and you choose to keep trusting God, it strengthens your commitment to God. God is developing in us such a strong commitment, once we are in heaven, it will prevent any future rebellions.)

4. He is displaying/proving his righteousness in contrast to the mystery of iniquity

So we’ve talked about the Garden of Eden and the fall. We’ve talked about God’s provision of Jesus Christ as the solution to the problem. How does it all end?

We know that after the end times, and the millennial reign of Christ, the enemy is defeated, and there is a great day of judgment for every person on earth. And there are two final destinations: The New heavens and new earth, or hell.

The End game is this: God separates good from evil forever, quarantining evil in a place called hell. And good prospers in a place called paradise.

The end is just what everyone desires, “Lord end the evil and suffering.” If we accept Jesus, and allow him to save us, we will never suffer again. If we reject Jesus, we will suffer for all eternity.

In conclusion today, given all these truths about the problem of evil and suffering, how do we get through these struggles?

The first thing we want to understand is that Jesus Christ is the savior we all need, because until we have him, we are the evil in the world, and we contribute to it. When Jesus enters us, we become part of the solution.

Second thing to understand is that suffering is emotionally devastating. That’s why we get so upset when we see suffering and evil in the world. It goes against everything we’re made for, we’re made for heavenly joy. So understand that the pains you go through in life will shake your world. But also understand there is a solution to this, and it is a concept called wrestling with God.

Whether Job, or Jacob, or Abraham or Moses, or Paul or Peter or James or John, they all had one thing in common: They wrestled with God. When suffering occurred they constantly brought it to God in prayer and talked with Him, read the word, talked to friends and family about it, talked to their spiritual leaders, and through that wrestling with God, God slowly brought them to a place of blessing.

Third, expect suffering, the new testament constantly tells us to expect it, that it will happen, and James even writes that we should count it all joy when we face trials of many kinds, because the trials build and refine our faith. So often the best response to a new trial or problem is to accept it. Believe that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character.

Fourthly, as we walk through this broken world, in all the ups and downs and triumphs and tragedies, we learn to trust Him more and more. We see him deliver us time and again. We see him answer our prayers time and again. We see trials come and go. We see God mature us through these challenges. We learn to simply trust Him. And we join with Job, when he says, “Thou he slays me, yet will I trust him.”

Fifthly, ask God for healing. After the suffering, we find ourselves covered in wounds from all we’ve been through. And it’s a good thing we serve a healing God. He doesn’t want to leave us wounded from all the pains. He wants to heal us. Ask Him.

Suffering came about through evil, and evil led to deception and deception led to the fall, and the fall led to suffering. But the mighty God came down giving salvation to all who would believe. He met us in our suffering. Jesus became evil and suffering for us, so that we could be healed. Thank you Jesus for your mighty gift! Let us wrestle with God through the sufferings, seeking His wisdom, so we may be at peace despite all the wrongs we see in the world. He is able!

Trusting God through Suffering: Accept the Pain and Move Forward

“Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness.” -Malcolm Muggeridge, in Homemade, July, 1990.

As much as I don’t want to agree with Muggeridge I’m afraid that I do. When I look back on my life, even the last two years, I’m greatly satisfied by painful experiences I went through that taught me great lessons. Particularly times when I went through suffering patiently under God’s care.

I think of three experiences, first, in 2020 I was actually banned from preaching for a time, because of a sermon I preached on a sensitive issue. I was bold. I spoke what God told me to speak. I remember when I wrote the sermon, hot button issue, I got on my knees and asked God, should I remove anything from this sermon? I still remember what God said, “Not a word.” Somehow I knew something was going to happen. So I had to be sure. And God made it clear, speak all of it.

It was a time of great pressure and strain in my life. I was concerned, afraid, disturbed. But God was at work. God protected me. God helped me. And soon, my freedom to preach was restored.

I look back on that no longer with pain, but with gratitude, because I learned so much through all of it. And God helped me bear the suffering with grace.

Second, I remember when I had Covid, also in 2020. I was brutally sick. And you probably remember, at the same time I was brutally sick, I was also overcome with severe crippling anxiety. It was something very odd about COVID, it brought on bad anxiety.

I remember day by day, sleeping all day, and being so anxious I could barely stand existing in the moment. But God got me through. I recall the only relief I could get, I would wrap myself in a blanket and go sit on the front porch and talk on the phone, and that somehow helped me to calm down.

Again, I look back gratefully, because I made it through the suffering and learned so much about myself and the world during that time.

Thirdly, I recall a time when controversy broke out at this church with certain leaders, who I was close with. And several people left the church over the division. It was devastating for me. I was so stressed and upset during that time. But again, I recall how God brought me safely through the fire. And it was during that time of severe pain and confusion that God brought Chelsey into my life.

Let’s take a look at a quote from Jeanne Guyon’s book on this issue of suffering:

“You must be patient in all the suffering that God sends you. If your love for the Lord is pure, you will love Him as much on Calvary as on Mt. Tabor. The Lord Jesus loved His Father on Mt. Tabor where He was transfigured, but He loved Him no less on Calvary where He was crucified. Surely, then, you should love the Lord as much on Calvary, for it was there that He made the greatest display of His love.” -Jeanne Guyon, chapter 7

There are two situations where I see Christians that are very common. There are others, but these two are quite common.

First, a Christian who is on cloud 9. They are riding the wave. They are excited. They are on fire for Jesus. Life is good. They feel joyous. Their faith is burning brightly. And they are on top of the world.

Nothing wrong with this first area. It’s a great place to be as a Christian. It’s the mount Tabor experience. Jesus is at the heights of his ministry. He’s changing people’s lives. He’s preaching the truth and healing people. He shines brightly on mount tabor. You will have times and seasons like that.

Second scenario, a Christian who is on the rocks. They are struggling. They are going through something that hurts bad. They feel exhausted. They are tired. They are stressed and seeing red. They can barely stand their situation. And it’s hard.

But, I see Christians here even in a sort of grace. They’ve accepted the situation as from God. And they are walking with Him in it. Then again, I see Christians who are in suffering and they are having a hard time accepting it, they are wrestling in it. And it’s not as pretty. But they make it through as well, as they cling to Him.

So how can we learn to bear suffering more wisely? We’re seeing that times we suffer are actually very helpful and we learn a lot in those times. We know it will happen. Pain is inevitable. Is there a way to handle it better?

Here’s what Jeanne Guyon says…

“As soon as anything comes to you in the form of suffering, at that very moment a natural resistance will well up somewhere inside you. When that moment comes, immediately resign yourself to God. Accept the matter. In that moment give yourself up to Him as a sacrifice.” -Jeanne Guyon, chapter 7

As you find yourself facing some difficulty, simply offer yourself to God in that moment. God I accept this suffering as from you. Unless it’s something that isn’t from him, I suppose.

Give yourself up, accept the suffering as from God, and allow it to simply be there for it’s time. And it’s only a time. As the word of God says…

1 Peter 5:10 ESV “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

Suffering only lasts so long. Then God brings you through it, out of it, and he restores you, confirms you, strengthens and establishes you.

Psalm 34:19 ESV “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

We will face many difficulties as Christians, but God delivers us from them all.

And Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33 ESV

Take heart, take heart, and take heart again. Have peace. Don’t give up. You will get through this. And a time will come when the suffering will end. God will bring healing. And in paradise, we will suffer no more. There will only be joy.

At times you may bear the suffering well. You carry your cross with strength, but there will be other times when you carry your cross in weakness.

As Jeanne Guyon said…“Sometimes you may bear the cross in weakness; at other times you may bear the cross in strength. But whether you bear it in weakness or in strength, bear it! Both weakness and strength should be the same to us since we bear the cross in the will of God.” -Jeanne Guyon, chapter 7

I know there have been times that I suffered gracefully. Other times it was ugly, like an ugly, bitter cry in a corner somewhere. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Sure it’s good to bear it in strength, but at times it will be in weakness. That’s ok. Ugly cry it out. Just don’t give up. Keep going.

We know one day, Jesus will wipe away every tear, and heal every hurt. One day we will go from groping toward God in the darkness, in this life, to the next life, night to day, where we will see Jesus face to face. And that will change everything.

Revelation 21:4 ESV, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Until then, let’s continue to deal with suffering with grace, accepting it as from God, allowing it to do it’s work in us, and learning the lesson from it, to grow in grace, come into healing, and bear up under suffering as we carry out crosses toward heaven.

Also understand that suffering has an expiration date if you’re a Christian. But, if you are not a Christian, suffering in this life is only the beginning. In hell, suffering is permanent. Right now we suffer, but there is a hope beyond the suffering. For the person in hell, suffering is permanent, and it only promises to get worse over time. There is no hope at all. That’s truth.

So allow Jesus to be your savior, and you can know, suffering is temporary and joy awaits you in heaven.

Let’s Review our Main Points from Today:

1. Suffering is necessary in life to learn the deepest truths about ourselves and the world and God

2. When you’re in the joy of the Lord and everything is great, praise God

3. When you’re broken and suffering, and everything seems wrong, praise God

4. When going through suffering, accept it as from God, and offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice

5. Suffering always has an expiration date, give it time, and God will deliver you

6. Accept that sometimes you’ll suffer in strength, other times you’ll suffer in weakness, just don’t give up!

7. Believe that one day, in paradise, all suffering will be gone, and joy will be permanent. (While in hell, suffering is permanent and joy is impossible)

Three Dark Moments of Jesus' Life: The Falling Away, the Garden, and the Betrayal: Sunset, Early Night, and Deep Night

What was your darkest moment in life? When did you hit a sort of rock bottom? I can think a few of moments in my life. I remember when I was 17 years old, I was downstairs in my parents basement. My parents had just split up. I had been bullied a lot in school, until I started doing drugs and drinking, and pretty soon I became very cool and popular. But I couldn’t control the pills, they were like a wild bucking bronco that bucked me off. And I made some crazy statements to students, and they brought my statements to the school leadership and I was expelled from school.

The girl I had a big crush on at that time had decided that I was a weirdo and wouldn’t talk to me. And my old friends wouldn’t talk to me because they were afraid of me. It was at that moment in life that I knew everything had fallen apart. It was a moment of great darkness in my life.

I remember during that time I turned in my room one day and looked at a poster on my wall. It was a smashing pumpkins poster from one of their music videos, one of my favorite songs, and God seemed to say to me in that moment: You’re about to go through a long dark tunnel, but I will save you in the future, and everything will be OK. That tunnel lasted ten years.

The Smashing Pumpkins poster I looked at connects with the song titled “Tonight, Tonight” the music video tells the story of a couple on a doomed voyage who get lost and captured by monsters, but escape and find their way to safety in the end. Listening to the song last night was interesting. You hear words and phrases like “Believe in me” repeated over and over.

How about you? Maybe your darkest moment was losing a loved one. Or losing a job. Or a time when you became deeply empty. Perhaps it was a car accident or an angry argument.

In our darkest moments we will grieve and be lost and struggle, and we may even fall away, and scatter, or come to ruin. But if we return to God, he will help us, deliver us, and save us.

Today we’re looking at three dark moments. And they are what they are. They are dark and broken and sad. That is part of life.

It’s not always beautiful. It often is beautiful, even sublime, glorious. Other times, I’m exhausted, everyone is crabby, it smells funny in here, the rain is falling, and we get a phone call of a disaster far away. Someone dies.

For me, friends, it’s so incredibly relieving, it feels really good for me, to just admit that this is true about life. So often we pretend like everything is perfect. And people scold us or give us a pep talk, turn that frown upside down. But to simply affirm, it’s ok, to grieve the trouble of life, that’s freeing, if you ask me.

So let’s jump into a moment in time, late at night, Jesus has just given the disciples so much encouragement, it’s all recorded in John 14.

He said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” -John 14:1-2

So much encouragement! He prayed for them, prayed for believers everywhere, he gave instructions about loving one another. But now Jesus is going to speak some hard truths to the disciples and to the leader of the disciples, Peter.

He says in Mark 14:27, “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’”

Jesus quotes from Zechariah 13:7 in the Old Testament here. It’s a prophecy that comes true in this moment in time.

You will all fall away he says.

Something bad is going to happen, Jesus says. 

Jesus often told the disciples: This is what will happen in the future. The temple will be destroyed, he told them. He told them he would be crucified. He told them they would be his witnesses to the ends of the Earth. God tells us the future.

That continued with the Holy Spirit often speaking to Paul in the book of Acts as well, you will go to Jerusalem. You will go to Rome (Acts 23:11).

Yet even immediately after giving the bad news, Jesus gives the good news as well. So which news comes first? Good or bad? According to Jesus, bad news first, then good news.

In verse 28, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Even though Jesus will be arrested and killed, and the disciples will fall away. In the end, Jesus will rise, and meet them again in the future.

Then in verses 29-31 we get the classic statement from Jesus to Peter...

But first Peter says, "Not me, I’ll never abandon you!"

It says, “Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

I sometimes wonder, what would I do if my life were on the line? What would I do if I knew it would cost me everything? I like to think I’d go bravely to the end. But only God knows what I would actually do.

How often do I choose my own way still today, instead of God’s way? How often do I waste time? How often do I do what I want to do?

We’re all a work in progress. But we lack such consistency. We come around for a year or two. But it’s a lifetime journey. Where is our commitment? Aren’t we more like the disciples then we realize?

When we get bored with the church, or we get thinking about other things, health, exercise, job, money, family, we keep God second, third, fourth, and sometimes, we just disregard God all together.

Most people I’ve had join the church here in Owosso don’t stay around for more than a few months before they head off to do something else. They can’t quite stick with it. They drift off again. They fall away.

What do we do? How can be consistent? How can we be sure we stay with God for the long haul?

Lord, help us please.


That’s the conclusion of section I, Lord help us to be consistent and to not fall away. But secondly, also realize, if you fall away, that isn’t necessarily the end either. God gave up on you? No. You can and hopefully will repent in the future and return to Him with all your heart.

But first we must go deeper into the darkness. It’s a journey into the night. We’ve gone into the first level of the night.

The sun has set, the clouds have faded, and the last hews of orange in the sky are now disappearing.

So we come into the Gethsemane. The sunset disappears and the sky turns dark, but there are stars in the sky.

It says in verses 32-34: “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

Jesus said to his disciples my soul is overwhelmed. I feel overwhelmed. Have you ever felt overwhelmed?

“I can’t stand it anymore!”

Jesus can relate completely to that feeling. His very soul was overwhelmed, deeply distressed, and troubled.

From time to time I feel that way as a Christian and as a pastor, overwhelmed, distressed, troubled, not the extent that Jesus does here.

I firmly believe no one has ever felt this distressed in all of human history, as Jesus does here.

He knows he is going to have to go to the cross and die for our sins. He knows that this will entail being brutally crucified, but also feeling in the Spirit that the Father has abandoned him. He will feel the wrath of God against sin and receive it for us, in our place. He will receive the full wrath that we were due for our sins. He would take it for us. Jesus is thinking about that, I’m sure, and completely overwhelmed.

What would it feel like to be tormented in hell for our sins? Even a single moment would be unbearable. But Jesus would take that torment that we deserved for our sins, and take it upon himself.

What does it feel like? To be overwhelmed with a yucky thought? Lots of anxiety. Weakness in the body. Physical affects. Racing thoughts. Depression. Negative thoughts. Wishing it wasn’t happening. Panic attack. I’ve been there. I battle depression and anxiety. It’s brutal. You just wish it would stop for a moment sometimes. You wake up and the depression hits and part of you wishes that you hadn’t woken up at all.

Jesus is there in a dark place, rightly so. God doesn’t spare us these difficulties. Sometimes I feel so terrible in my own head and heart I just look up and say, "How God can I feel this terrible in this moment how can this be allowed?" But it is allowed.

Jesus goes deeper into the garden. In verses 35-36: “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

One of the most astonishing moments in the entire Bible, Jesus actually prays that this cup would be taken away from him. What cup is he talking about? Jesus is going to drink from a bitter cup, it’s called the cup of God’s wrath. It’s talked about quite a bit in the book of Revelation, the bitter cup of God’s wrath is received by Babylon.

He is going to hell for us! Some actually believe that Jesus was tormented in hell for three days for our sins, before he rose from the dead. I don’t see a lot of scriptural support for that, but it is possible. Other scriptures say he descended, and led captives free. So could it be that he was tormented for three days in hell, then gained victory over the devil, and set free the captives from ancient times, the old testament heroes who awaited a coming messiah? That’s speculative, but it’s at least possible.

Jesus asks for the story to be changed. He says to God, "Anything is possible with you. Yet not my will, but yours be done." Write that one down for your own prayer times, when you pray, add to the end: But Lord not my will but yours be done. That’s very honoring to God.

Next in verses 37-40: Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.”

The disciples keep falling asleep. They should be praying and asking for God’s help to not fall into temptation. What is the temptation Jesus is referencing here? The temptation is the temptation to be afraid and run away and not stay with Jesus during his arrest! Jesus knew they would be tempted to fear and run. So he tells them to pray. But they all fall asleep. Obviously it was quite late at this point.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So we should pray. Just like it says in the “Our Father” prayer, deliver us from temptation. That’s a good prayer to pray as well. Perhaps the Lord will tell you that a trial is coming forward and you need to pray intentionally right now, over and over, praying, "Lord deliver me from temptation." So you don’t fall to it when it comes.

Then Jesus says these fateful words: verses 41-42, “Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Here we come to our third and final section, we’ve gone from sunset, to early darkness, now to deep darkness.

In Mark 14:43, “Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.”

The ordeal begins now, we’ve gone from talking about it, Jesus predicting it, to Jesus mourning and praying as the moment gets closer, but now the moment arrives. And it’s tough. It’s dark. It’s scary. It’s intense. I’m sure there is much anxiety going on in that moment, with the disciples, with the guards, though I can’t say I know exactly what Jesus is feeling or thinking at the moment.

Then it says in verses 44-47: “Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.”

Judas signals to the guards who to arrest by kissing Jesus on the cheek. Think about that! Judas was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. I’m sure Jesus loved him, and he loved Jesus. But now it’s all a mockery, a lie, a trick, the ultimate betrayal, betrayed with a kiss.

Have you ever been betrayed? It feels terrible. It feels like having a knife in your back. It’s brutal. It’s not something you soon forget.

Does Jesus say anything to Judas? Only two statements, “Do you betray the son of man with a kiss?” That’s recorded in Luke. Also in Matthew, Jesus says to him, “Do what you came here to do.”

He doesn’t condemn Judas. Similarly we shouldn’t condemn those who betray us. Jesus knows its up to God the Father to judge Judas. Similarly we shouldn’t judge our enemies or hate them. We must forgive them, even if they betray us.

If you're struggling to forgive someone who has hurt you terribly deeply, try this, pray to God and say, "Lord, I forgive them from the heart." And then repeat that statement to God. Keep repeating it, until you sense God bringing the miracle of forgiveness. You'll know its a miracle too, you couldn't have forgiven them on your own. But God brings this overcoming in your heart, and he sets you free from the resentment, the anger, and the hatred. And you become free, and you forgive them from the heart. 

We also see Peter striking with a sword to try to prevent the arrest of Jesus. We know from the other gospels that Jesus told Peter to put his sword back. And Jesus even healed the man who was injured in the attack.

Lastly, we see in verses 48-52 it says, “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

Jesus lastly declares that all this is happening to fulfill what is written in the Bible about him. All of this must happen. All of it must take place so Jesus can die to be a blood sacrifice for our sins, and set us free. At that moment, the disciples fled the area. Jesus is abandoned by his friends. 

Then we get this odd mention in verses 51-52, of a man who was wearing only a blanket. He was naked, wearing a blanket, a linen garment. The NIV is being generous here saying it was a linen garment. The word is more often referring to a linen cloth. Though it could be referencing something like a night gown, according to the Outline of Biblical Usage by Larry Pierce.

Many have wondered who this person is. The most common idea is that this is Mark himself. But we know from early church leaders in the 2nd century, that wrote that Mark never met Jesus or was with him, he recorded everything later. So it’s hard to say. We don’t really know.

In conclusion today, we see three dark moments taking place, Jesus telling the disciples they will fall away. Jesus in sorrow in the garden. And Jesus betrayed and arrested.

All of this Jesus was willing to go through to purchase us back with his own blood. Always keep that in mind and be so grateful.

Let’s take a look at our applications. How can we apply these truths to our lives and live differently in accordance with the word of God?

1. Accept in your heart that life will include dark moments (then you won’t be surprised)

2. Give yourself permission at times to be Hurting (Say its ok that I’m not ok right now)

3. Give yourself permission to be tough, stay positive and don’t give up (Buck up buttercup)

4. Stay Consistent in your walk with God over the years (But if you do fall away, believe there is still hope to come back again in the future)

5. Jesus can relate to feeling completely overwhelmed (So take courage and stand firm when you feel overwhelmed)

6. Pray a lot when you’re in a hard time, pray God would deliver you from temptation (And His will be done, not yours)

7. Even if someone betrays you, forgive them in your heart (Release them to God, he will judge)