Community Tool Kit

SUFFERING

A Gift from God

Clement Samuel

The last couple of years have been one filled with unexpected happenings that brought anguish, pain and confusion. Members and the Community as a whole have not been spared. Sickness, death, financial loss, family relationship problems, serious disagreements among leaders and members walking out of Community, has shaken us to our foundations. For our personal lives we have asked why! Am I under a curse?

As a Community we have wondered whether we have fallen out of God's favour!

Recently the death of Louisa Ng's mum was a moment of grace. Her life spoke volumes of the meaning of suffering and how we should respond to it. Louisa wrote in the memorial booklet; “Powerless you seemed to be in your wheel chair, but to all who have come in contact with you, you were powerful in your radiance, your peace, your joy in the midst of your constant suffering and afflictions.” Hers was a simple faith, a total and unwavering trust in the goodness of God. Without ‘legs' she could sing with a joy that was so pure that “God is so good”.

It seems to me that as we journey along in the renewal, a prophecy given many years ago is coming true. “ My people, what I could not accomplish through blessings and power, I will do it through trials and purifications ”. Sr Nancy Kellar confirmed this recently at the International CCR leaders conference when she said “We also need to see God not only work through healings but also through the cross in our lives. Suffering is a gift from the Lord. Through it the Lord purifies us and we experience the transforming and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.”

I was recently greatly inspired by the sharing of Pastor Rick Warren, author of “Purpose Driven Life”. His wife now has cancer, and he now has "wealth" from the book sales.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren , Rick said: People ask me, “What is the purpose of life?” And I respond:

In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and

God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity.

This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: you are either in one now, or you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. Prayer Watch

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry for helping other people, giving her a testimony, drawing her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

I agree with Rick that life is a two railroad track. There is always something good and bad happening at the same time. But what is even more wonderful is that the Lord can transform the bad that is happening to something even more marvellous. Recently one of our sisters gave this word to our brother Michael Raj who lately was told that his cancer had spread to the lungs. The word was from the book of Job. “The Lord restored the prosperity of Job; He gave to Job twice as much as he had before” Job 42:10. Yes, for the years of suffering and pain, the Lord will give us a double portion of His blessings. This is a promise that we can be sure of. This is a promise that will keep hope alive in the midst of the greatest pain and affliction we go through. Pope Benedict XVI said recently that faith and hope are inseparable. Yes, we can indeed always claim the words of St Paul ; “Hope will not leave us disappointed because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”. Rom. 5:5.

Clement Samuel
Senior Coordinator, Covenanted Community for Christ and PMST Chairman