All right, let's pray and look into the word of God together. Oh, Lord God, thank you for another day for us as men to come together for this biblical counseling class. We thank you that you in your word show us the reality of who we are as men. You provide for us the perfect solution to our sin problem in the beauty of regeneration. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the word of God and the context of the local church, change can happen. Oh God. And we give you thanks for that. And we give you praise. So we pray that in this biblical counseling time, as men here in this hour, that you would equip us as we understand suffering in a biblical way. In Jesus name. Amen. Come on in guys. We've got holding chairs there. We have a pew here. All the comfortable chairs are taken. Class number four here on suffering. Just a little review on where we have been, guys. About a month ago, our brother Mike led us in laying the foundation for biblical counseling, which is the doctrine of the sufficiency of the Word of God. That what you have in your Bible is not only true, it's not only inspired, not only authoritative, but it's enough. It's sufficient to guide the child of God with the precious and the magnificent promises. You have everything you need for life and for godliness in the Word of God. After that, we built on that with a biblical doctrine of man. We call that anthropology. That man is not basically good. Man is not fundamentally good. It doesn't matter what the world says. God says that man is incredibly and completely radically depraved. And the greatest need is heart change. And we talked about that last week in session number three, how do people change? And if you understand that really it comes from the heart, we have to understand the heart and really God is the one who brings about the ultimate heart change. But then when God does that, we really can change. Sinful old patterns and old habits can be put off and new patterns and new habits can be put on by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of God. Tonight what I want to do is kind of take everything that we've looked at and sort of kind of zoom in really to the bullseye of what biblical counseling is about. And we're dealing in the context of suffering. We're dealing with people that have issues in life, problems in life, afflictions in life, or they're trying to help people that have afflictions and suffering. This is really where biblical counseling becomes so practical. It builds on the theology. You've got to have the right theology. So today we're going to talk about suffering. Now, next week we're going to build even more with some very practical sort of topics. Next week, February 3rd, we're going to deal with depression. The week after that, February 10th, we're going to talk about sexual sin. Then the week after that, February 17th, we'll talk about fear and worry. The week after that, February 24th, we'll talk about anger and control. And so I think it would be a good month in February to take a lot of what we've been talking about and then kind of flesh it out practically in some areas that we ourselves deal with or that we know people that are dealing with them. And how can we be equipped in God's word in these practical topics? But tonight we want to talk about suffering. You have your notes in front of you there. I don't want to read the notes today. I don't want to, I want to fly through them actually. I want to just sort of kind of jet ski over a couple of lines. Really what I've given you here is going to be a packet for your reference down the road. If you could put it in a notebook, put it on a file somewhere and come back to it as time or occasion may need. We don't have the time to go through all of it in depth because what I want to do is I want to highlight some things here and then take us to the word and really kind of say, here's the one big thing I want you to get out of today. So I'm going to be working to that. I'm going to fly through this for a reason. I have a number of quotes at the top of our of our page here on suffering. Just look at the second one down. The apostle Paul knew suffering when he said in Corinthians, I die every day. Now we understand what he means by that. Not physically, not literally, but, but, but in a figure of speech, he was a man who knew suffering and we all get that. Look at the last quote here before the introduction. Mike Riccardi said, I really don't believe I can stress enough how important it is to have a rock-solid theology of suffering before one actually suffers. We must learn to suffer well. You know, in that introduction there, I think of it like this. Suffering is like the ocean waves that dash the child of God upon the strong rock, which is Christ. You think of it that way. It's like ocean waves. Sometimes they just keep coming and they come with intensity and they come and they throw you around. And sometimes they can be a little bit lighter. Sometimes they can be quite enormous and powerful. But what is suffering intended to do? God brings suffering to dash us, to bring us, to throw us. upon the great rock of ages. Now, you can go to the next page with me. What you're going to see on the next page is a box that really kind of has the outline of what we're going to look at today, what I'm going to just breeze over today. I want to talk about the definition of suffering and then the giver of suffering. I want to talk about the purposes of suffering and then the game plan for you and your suffering. the conquerors of suffering, and then really kind of a practical application, so the resolve. What should be your great ambition, your resolve in suffering? Guys, I came across this from Piper, next quote there under that box. I think this is a great, great line. He said, people are not prepared or able to rejoice in suffering unless they experience a massive biblical revolution. of how they think and feel about the meaning of life. Because human nature and American culture, get this, they make it impossible to rejoice in suffering. It's a miracle in the human soul wrought by God through his word to rejoice in suffering. That's a great line. It is a miracle that God must accomplish in the human soul through his word to really rejoice in suffering. It is the aim of true counseling to be the agent of God in bringing about that miracle through the word. Fellas, that's what you and I want. We're not going to diminish suffering. We're not going to pretend that it doesn't exist. We're certainly not going to preach a health, wealth, prosperity gospel. What we're going to do is we're going to come eyeball to eyeball with the reality of suffering and yet say, how can we honor God through it? How can we obey God through it? How can we glorify God through it? Now, You have the definition of suffering there at the bottom of page 24 in your notes. Do you really have to define suffering? You kind of know what suffering is, don't you? I mean, you get it. You know it when it comes. But what I tried to do is flesh out some of the Hebrew and Greek words and the ideas that come out in the Bible when you deal with suffering, affliction, pain, squeezing, torment, waves, loneliness, isolation. These are all images and metaphors and figures of speech that come out. Humiliation, shame can come out as well. But at the end of really this first heading on the next page, on page 25, Really, here's what sufferings are. Sufferings or trials are God appointed and God brought afflictions. They're not only God appointed, but they are God brought. I want to build on that with number two, the giver, the designer of suffering. Let me just give you a short answer. Who brings all afflictions? God. Deuteronomy 32, 39, I have wounded. God said, it is I who heal. Psalm 60, you have made your people experience hardship. Job said in Job 5, God inflicts pain. God himself said in Isaiah 48, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Guys, you can't get around it that the Bible teaches God is the designer and the bringer of pain, affliction, suffering, hardship. In your suffering, look at the next little section here, what changes? Well, the measure of your suffering, the duration of your suffering, the intensity of your suffering, your feelings and responses, all that changes. But notice what does not change, the goodness of God, the sovereignty of God, The presence of God, the nearness of God, the covenant love of God doesn't change. The promised heaven of God doesn't change. So guys, what I would suggest to you is that here is where you must cast your anchor and you must cast it deep. in the reality that whatever comes in life, however intense, however debilitating, however hard, however confusing it may seem, cast your anchor deep right here in what does not change the character of God. Carol's observed in her ministry that at times when they're starting something new, she really feels Satan's attack. Is that a wrong perspective? Is it God attacking? Good question. Good question. Well, he's the originator of it. Sure. Well, certainly we know from the book of Job, right? That Satan is the one who, and even we know from the new Testament, the Paul's Paul's letters and the life of Christ, that the devil often is the one who does bring temptation and hardship, right? No doubt. But even that, working of Satan is still under the sovereign hand, right, and design of God. Now, take the bottom of page 25 and let your eye look at these bottom paragraphs, because I want to give you something theological that I can't fully explain, but the Bible teaches it, okay? We must acknowledge, first paragraph, and trust in God's absolute sovereignty, even in the unpleasant and painful circumstances. So don't destroy your comfort of God's sovereignty in your suffering. You have to remember God. God is big. God is good. God is sovereign in it. Okay, let's go deeper. Next paragraph. The lesson for us then is that when we suffer, we should not seek to save God from his sovereignty. What do you mean by that? You don't need to defend God. You don't need to make excuses for God. You don't need to protect God. Don't apologize for God. Because look at what it says. If we do that, then we cut the legs out from under the solid, robust theology of God's absolute sovereignty that we depend on. And we cherish so much in those times of affliction. And here's how it often comes out. Well, God has sort of allowed this suffering. He's allowed this trial, almost like God was passive and not really having much to do with it. The Bible teaches the opposite. God is very active. He's very involved. Look at this next paragraph in the different fonts, kind of middle of the page here. God is sovereign and righteous in ordaining and bringing suffering. Now, the Bible-believing Christian has no choice but to admit that God sovereignly and actively brings about the evil events described in Lamentations, namely the destruction of Jerusalem. Hear that. God is not... He is not the actor and the doer of evil sin. We get that. But if our understanding of God's absolute sovereignty leads us to conclude that he is morally culpable or blameworthy or in any way unrighteous, we are wrong. But the scriptures never, scripture writers never seek to save God from his sovereignty in evil and sinful events, yet they also never attribute evil to him directly. Is God involved? Of course he is. Did he design it? Did he plan it? Did he bring it? Of course he did. Is God the one who actually is the worker of evil? Of course not. He's sovereign. We can't fully explain it. But my point here is to try to bring God into your suffering because that's where you meet him. in his perfect character. Don't excuse God or defend God or apologize for God or try to save God from God and saying, I don't know why God allowed it. He just simply permitted it as if God is sort of sitting back in the chair, holding his arms. It had nothing to do with it. That's a theological deep reality that the Bible teaches, that our God is the designer of it and the bringer of it. And the book of Lamentations would be a perfect place to kind of prove that. Okay, so then number three, well, then what are the purposes of my suffering then? And this is sort of where many people just sort of camp. Why am I suffering? But I want to go to some wrong forms of thinking for a minute. Seven of them. I need to know why. Tell me why. This actually is sort of self-deifying. I want to be God. I need to know the secret counsels of God to know why I'm suffering. Job fell into this pattern a number of times in his book. Or number two, I am angry and bitter. When hardship and affliction comes, you respond with bitterness, even resentment. That's kind of a self-exalted heart. Almost like Judas, in a sense, at that point, right? When that suffering and affliction came, what did he do? He became angry and bitter and resentful when Jesus rebuked him at the upper room in the Last Supper there. And he went out angry and resentful and bitter. Third, I'm depressed. Responding with just depression to suffering and hardship and pain from God really reveals a heart of self-focus. Almost like Cain, God said, why is your face downcast? That's not a proper response. Number four, what is God trying to teach you? Now, hear me out. Sometimes God does want to teach you things. I get that. But the ultimate goal of suffering is not just what God is trying to teach you, as if it was man-focused. The ultimate goal of suffering is the glory of God. Now, we can learn lessons, no doubt, in our suffering. Or number five, I just need relief. I need the problem to end. It's kind of a temporarily-minded or number six, God didn't know about it. He certainly couldn't have prevented it. That's the openness of God heresy. Number seven, God doesn't want you to suffer. That's the prosperity. Joyce Meyer, TD Jake, Joel Osteen, heresy. Okay. Why suffering then? Why suffering? Yeah, Sean. Well, um, I guess since we have all these wrong, the wrong baby, and you already discussed a few other ones. I'm writing down, because I've run across this twice in my questionnaire when you were reading this thing. And it says, how can you recognize and go through suffering to the point that it doesn't make you appear to be passive or nonchalant as if, you know, like there's nothing going on, but you are going through suffering. But then I also recognize, you know, when you're going through and you're, when he said even when you're, fasting, not to, you know, look in a certain way and everything else. And when you're going through these sufferings, how do you do it? So you won't seem like you're just blah, like there's nothing. I heard you say, you know, this is where you, you know, you go to meet God in this middle. But I guess, could you flesh that out? Yes, I will. When we get to number four, the next main heading right here. Yep. But top of page 27, so, okay, why? What's the purpose of suffering? If I just mentioned the things that are wrong reasons to try to figure out our suffering, the why, why does he bring suffering? What are we supposed to learn from the Bible about this? And you see all the bullet points at the top, to humble us of our pride, to empty us of our self-confidence, to mold us like the man of sorrows, to wean us off of the present world, to use us in evangelizing through our suffering, to drive us to prayer, to mature us to greater strength and usefulness, to glorify God's great name, to compel us to rest in him, to fulfill God's own good pleasure. But really one more. to thrust us to Jesus Christ so that you behold Christ and you commune with him. And so much more could be said here on reasons why we suffer. Just quite honestly, we will never figure out, ultimately, the secret counsels of God in why we are suffering, the purposes of all these sufferings. But here are some biblical places where we can understand the purposes of God revealed in suffering. Bottom of the page, really, Sproul said, when you suffer, you just have to trust that God knows what he is doing and that he is working in and through the pain and afflictions of his people for his glory and for their sanctification. It's Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11, guys, faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. You know, guys, I want to, I want to remind you that in your suffering, your calling is Hebrews 11, verse six, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Suffering as a believer is really a call to faith. It's a call to faith. This book you've got, but Thomas Boston, that's a classic. It's a great book. Yeah. The crook and the lot. You see it there in the middle of page 27, where the Puritan Thomas Boston is going to flesh out for us. How in your lot, in your particular place in life, how do you respond to these unforeseen afflictions that God brings your way? But That would lead us to the top of page 28, next page there. We are men of faith. We can never understand the mind of God in why he brings these afflictions. But I think there are three axioms that David Paulus in The Biblical Counselor provides, top of the page. Number one, we've got to embrace this. God never establishes a no-fly zone in keeping all problems away. There's never an off-limits place to God. God can bring suffering and affliction in the hardships and the lives of his people as he wills. Number two, we also sample joys and good gifts from God's kind hand. Of course we do. But number three, we know that God is actively working in our suffering. If a secularist, if a therapist, if a psychiatrist was right here, what is the goal of that profession? You want people to be happy, to be relieved of pain. to be relieved of suffering. And they can make all kinds of great and many times accurate observations in life about how people are responding and reacting and living and so on. But what the secularists can never do is understand what God has revealed in the Word about the reality of and the way that a Christian endures through suffering. The goal for the Christian is not relief. Now, one day there will be relief, ultimately in glory. Romans 8 makes that clear. Revelation 21 makes that very clear. In suffering, here's the goal of a Christian. 2 Corinthians 5.9. In many of my biblical counseling relationships with those, this is one of the first verses they have to memorize in their homework. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 9. We have as our ambition to be relieved of our suffering. No, that's what I feel. No, we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to God. That has to be the driving mindset and heart of the believer. God, whatever is going to be pleasing to you. So if that means intensify my sufferings, bring it. That sounds like crazy talk. But how can I be most pleasing to God? How can I glorify God the most? That's why Jesus could pray, not my will, but yours be done. Take this cup. Relief. But of course, he submitted to the Father's will, right? Okay. The purpose of suffering, David Powlison then says at the top of that page, is to anchor your experience more deeply in not just the sovereignty of God, that's true, but the goodness of God. You know, if you have a sovereign God, that's a wonderful thing if he's all powerful. But if he's an angry, ruthless, and he's not good, well, that would be the hands of a terrible, terrible, wrathful, you know, powerful, you know, monster. But our God is good. He is sovereign, He is powerful, and He's good. So we wanna anchor your feelings, your experience, your theology, your understanding in the goodness of God. So then that takes us to number four. Okay, so how do I do this? And Sean, this is gonna get to your question. How do I do this? When the suffering comes, not if, but when the suffering comes. What's the game plan? What's the strategy for suffering well? Right under heading four there, we talk a lot about living well. We even talk about dying well. But we also want to talk about suffering well. Okay, a game plan. I don't want to oversimplify these things, but I want to keep them simple enough so they're memorable. Number one, read the Word. The first place in suffering that the child of God must go is not to the pill, not to the therapy session, not to the counselor, humanly speaking, or the self-help group. The first place that the true believer for lasting change must go is to the all-transforming Word of God. to reclaim God's promises. And if you don't know what that means, Spurgeon, at the bottom of this page, has a quote that is dripping with gold. I mean, it's just dripping with gold. I like in my time of trouble to find a promise in scripture which exactly fits my need and then to put my finger on it. And I say, Lord, this is your word. And then he's going to pray, I beseech you to prove that it is your word by carrying it out in my case. God, you've promised to never leave me and forsake me. God, you've promised to give me the strength that I need. You're holding God to his word. You're pinning God down as it were to his own promises. Here's what you've said in your word, God. Please do it. Ask, and you'll receive. Seek, and you will find. Write it, and so on. All the promises of God in the Bible. Read the word. With that, guys, you study, you meditate, Memorize. You're eating, you're drinking, you're feasting upon God's word. This is crucial. This is critical. And yet in moments of hardship, what do we feel like doing but being alone and doing nothing? And yet to come to the word of God and open the word of God, even if you don't even know where to go, just begin by reading a little bit and then responding in prayer. The Psalms is a wonderful, glorious place to go. Read the word. Number two, respond in prayer. If the Bible is God talking to us, then we respond to God in prayer. Even though that problem that you're reading, it's not exactly your situation. You're saying to read the word. Well, yes. And that's where, as we continue to grow and mature in our Christian lives, we do understand more of where we can go in the Bible when those times come. For the depression, for the sexual temptations, for the loneliness, for the anger, for the marital strife, the parenting, whatever. The more that we just read the Bible on our own, we become familiar. with where I can go in the Bible in those particular cases. Number three, rehearse God's character. Rehearse God's character. This is usually session two in my biblical counseling times, relationships with people. Their homework is to go home and write out 50 things about God. Tell me about God. And then their homework is when the temptation or the hardship or the affliction, the pain comes, I want you to pull out this list and I want you to read it. What's gonna happen? They always come back and they always say, the pain didn't go away, they didn't say that. They say, it was funny, in the moment of hardship or despair or discouragement or whatever it was, I found my heart being lifted off of my earthly circumstance and onto the heavenly Lord. Or something like that, worded like that. That's the design, that's the desire to rehearse God's character. Look at the quote right under these here by Samuel Rutherford. If your Lord calls you to suffering, do not be dismayed, for he will provide a deeper portion of Christ in your suffering. This is actually the one main truth that I want to flesh out here for the rest of our time in a little bit. One of the greatest designs of God in your suffering is for God to show you more of Christ. that he would peel back more of those layers, that you would go deeper, that he would bring back the curtains and show you more of the glory of Christ, that you would have a deeper portion of Christ. There are some things that you just can't learn about Christ until you suffer big time. There's another quotation by Samuel Rutherford. He said, God keeps his choicest wines in the cellar of suffering. So we have to get here in our suffering. I want to know Christ. I want to lean upon Christ. I want to trust in Him. I could say, God, take this thing away. And He may. But if God in His wise plan chooses not only to Keep the suffering there, but even to intensify the suffering, show me more of Christ. Help me to go deeper with him, to know his nearness and his greatness and his power and what he went through when he suffered. Paul prayed three times that God would take away his thorn in the flesh, but God said, my power is made perfect in weakness. Yeah, yeah. So then, Sean, you asked a moment ago, well, then, then practically when these times come, how do we, how do we respond to suffering without having this nonchalant sort of kind of whatever attitude? Or passive. Like some people are called to respond to suffering. Let's say I'm thinking of examples. Firefighter or a fireman or a military person who's dressed into a Their job is not to sit back and say, well, we're suffering. We'll just wait for it to happen. Their job is actually to aggressively attack it. So I mean, I need to be responsible. That's kind of how I was looking at that. I didn't want people, and it's really not for myself, because I recognize and I understand and I believe how to deal with things, how people perceive me. Because when I go through it, it's almost like there's nothing going on. And the look and the response that I've had from others on the outside What's going on? You just had trauma and this stuff going on and you're acting as if nothing has happened. Right, right. And what an occasion, even in those moments for gospel proclamation to those particular people, if they're saved or not, especially if they're not, you know, it's not that I'm unconcerned. It's not as though it may not affect me. It's not as though it hasn't maybe altered my life. But how can I have a state of calm and a tranquility about me, a peacefulness about me in these moments. I think number four is helpful, especially dealing with your question right there, Sean, is resolve to serve. I think the body of Christ, the church family, is one of the greatest medicine for those in suffering. We're called to bear each other's burdens. We were never designed to go through suffering alone. We were never called to do it in isolation. And yet, maybe when a hardship comes, what is the temptation to sort of shrink back? And maybe I don't want to tell people, or I don't want to burden other people, or I don't want to show myself being a man who can't handle the situation. I'm not on top of everything. Almost a sense of pride that can come out there. But the design of God is when the waves of affliction are casting you down, to let them thrust you to Christ in the context of the church, to define the body of Christ, not to get the pain away, but so that they can enter into it with you in prayer, bearing the burdens. The book of Acts is just one place of many that you could go. With all the pains and all the afflictions and all the things that went on, running and fleeing from place to place and city to city, and threats being made against them, the body of Christ, the church, the praying church, the gathered assembly is a place where there's comfort, there's help. There's strength. There's relief there. Amen. That's right. There are prayers backing you up. Yes. And one of the goals of that is in suffering, what prevents you from becoming self-absorbed and self-focused? The answer, serving the body of Christ. It's one of the great remedies that God has given. When the hardships come, not to fall into the self-absorbed, me-centered, woe-is-me, and it's like a world revolving around self. Okay, how can I serve? How can I be others-centered? How can I still glorify God in these times of hardship? So again, it's not pretending that there's no hardship. Really, it's being humble enough and honest enough to say, you know, I really am struggling. I really do have a great hardship going on. Will you pray with me? And will you seek me out next week to ask how I'm doing, to hold me accountable? And then number five, to recapture heaven's nearness. Recapture heaven's nearness. Okay, next page. What's the game plan? Don't forget on the top of page 29 there to thank God for your afflictions. How crazy is that? Thank God. Thank God. Now, the next section is the conquerors of suffering. I mean, I could put you down in this list, right? I mean, for you, coping through suffering. I'm just trying to pick a few names in biblical history and church history of those who have conquered through suffering. Job, Moses, the psalmist, Next page, the Lord Jesus, the Apostle Paul. And then I list a number of others, some that you may know, some that you may not know. And maybe this will be an encouragement for you just to read through and consider on your own time about those that have suffered. But go skip to page 31, page 31. Second main bullet point on the left is a man named John Flavel. He was a Puritan pastor, 1600s. He knew suffering. His parents were both imprisoned for holding an unauthorized worship meeting. After they were released from prison, they died. He married a godly woman who gave birth to their first child. She died and the baby died. Then he would marry two more times and he had to bury both of them. Finally, his fourth wife outlived him. He was harassed, his writings were burned. I mean, he was a fella who knew suffering. He knew suffering. He called them sanctified afflictions. They're from God, and they are given by God to sanctify us. Look at number eight, right in the middle of the page. Why does God actively bring hardship number eight? To cultivate communion with Christ. Now, take your Bible, guys. Go with me to Psalm 27. Let's take the rest of our time and just flesh that out. In your suffering, a biblical sufferology, the goal is not relief. Relief may come. Easing the pain. It may come. It's not a bad thing to seek out medical help. We're not advocating that. We're not like looking for pain here. But the goal, the ultimate goal is not relief. Psalm 27 is about David. Verse 2, he's got evildoers. He's got adversaries and many enemies. Even verse 3, he's got a host of people that are encamping against him. Psalm 27, we even read this, that in verse 10, his father and mother have forsaken him. In verse 12, he's got adversaries that have desires against him. He's got false witnesses that are slandering him. Okay, what do you do? What do you do? What do you do when you've got people out that physically want to kill you? Your own family has rejected you. You've got people that are bad-mouthing you. They're slandering you. You want to get to verse four. One thing. Now, hold up. One thing. I just, I just, I would be happy if I could just get out of this trial. If this would just leave me, no, no, no. One thing I have asked from the Lord. This is what I shall seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Why, why do you want to be in the temple to behold the beauty of the Lord? The Hebrew word for beauty is the word pleasantness. Naomi is the Hebrew word, Naomi. He wants to behold all the pleasantnesses, all the goodness, all the beauties of God. I want to know God. And I will meditate in his temple. Guys, in your suffering, you've got to get here. This is the child of God who says, Lord, whatever you bring, whatever you design, whatever you want, may my heart yearn for this one thing. I want more of God. I want to behold the beauty of God. Show me more of Christ. The deeper I go in the darkest well of affliction, show me more of Christ who's there with me in that dark place. Turn with me to Psalm 62. Let me take you there. I love this Psalm. There are hymns that are written about this Psalm. Psalm 62. You've got people that are murderous in their intent. They delight in falsehood. End of verse 4, they are blessing with their mouth, but inwardly they are cursing. What do you do? In fact, it's so bad. Verse 10, they are trusting in riches. That's where they're finding their security. What do you do? Verse one, my soul waits in silence for God, here's the key word, only. From Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation. My stronghold I shall not be greatly shaken. It's like a little chorus. Look at verse five, same thing. My soul wait in silence for God only. for my hope is from him. He only is my rock." I mean, there's a lot of things that we could try to find rock and protection and security and shelter in times of affliction. But can you say with David, my soul, wait in silence for God only. Wait for God. Trust in God as your rock. Look at the next Psalm, Psalm 63. We know from the title, David is running in the deserts of Judah from people that want to kill him. Well, verse one, oh God, you are my God. I shall seek you earnestly. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh yearns for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory because your loving kindness is better than life. My lips will praise you." Again, we got to get here in our suffering. He could have said, God, get Saul away. Get this, get this madman away. He says, let me take the throne. I've already been anointed. Let me take the throne. He doesn't pray that. I'm thirsty for you, God. Your loving kindnesses are better than life. You see what the whole, I mean, this is a, this is a, like Piper said at the beginning, this is a whole worldview paradigm shift. I mean, the, the nonbeliever would look at you with four eyes thinking you're a crazy creature. God, whatever you need to bring, teach me more of you. Now, could you imagine, a little applicational footnote, the evangelism opportunities that could come from this? Now, this doesn't mean that they're gonna be perfect. There'll be times that we succumb to sin and we have to come back to the Lord and confess and repent and God is gracious and he's willing and he's merciful. But when somebody does come and they say, like David, your child just died. Remember that with Bathsheba, your child just died. And then he gets up and he washes himself and he eats and drinks and goes off his life. You just lost a child. How do you cope through life like this, right? And on and on we could go with examples. When people see that, I think it's one of the designs of God to cope through suffering with this kind of perspective. How can you do this? I have a great God and he has given me strength. And really on the one hand, I can't really explain all of it, but I want to know my God more. and his loving kindnesses are sustaining me. Well, in David's case... He knew, frankly, at that point there was nothing humanly he could do, because he was entreating the Lord earnestly to save his child. Yeah. But then his comfort was that he trusted that he would see that child. Right. Right. Right. Which goes back to the promises of God and his word. So he was choosing to live based upon what he knew was revealed in the word, living by faith again. Go with me just one more 2nd Timothy chapter 4 Little context Paul is in jail He's alone He's lived a a Long life a fruitful life. He's done a lot for the kingdom But he's alone he's alone He is in such a place that that he says in verse 14, he's in jail. He'll never be released again. He knows it. He's going to be killed. Chapter 4, verse 14, Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching. So now you've got spiritual enemies in the context of the people of God. Verse 16, at my first defense, No one supported me. I was alone. I was alone before the leaders, but everybody deserted me. Kind of like Jesus, they all deserted him, but may it not be counted against them. But verse 17, here it is guys. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. That's a testimony of a guy who knew suffering. I was alone. I had nobody with me. Nobody came to my aid. Nobody came to my... spiritual enemies, physical enemies, political enemies. But the Lord was with me and the Lord strengthened me. Guys, we could go to 2 Corinthians 12, if we could go all through the Word of God to look at more examples on how to suffer well and the grace of God and so on. But in all of this dealing with sufferology and suffering, yes, the plan of God is big. The purposes of God are vast. But maybe just one to bring to your attention again. In your suffering, God decreed it and God plans it for many reasons, but one of which to reveal more of Christ to you in the pain that you might not otherwise know if you weren't in that affliction. Guys, this is the beauty of having God's word, of having a God you can trust, of having a church family that is believing the word of God and believing in this one true God. So when we, as men, are being equipped in biblical counseling and you are going through hard times in life, or a brother in the context of the church is going through hard times in life, here are some things that you can bear in mind as you counsel your own heart or you minister the word to other people. You don't need to have all the answers. We have the word. We have prayer. We have the local church. We have a good God. Sometimes in those moments, we just need a refocusing of our mindset. Let's go through it together. Let's focus on Christ together. Let's seek to be pleasing to God, whatever he brings across our path. And may the Lord help us to be pleasing to Him in our suffering. Okay, any lingering questions that you may have? Maybe one or two before we pray and finish. I do not have a question, but I just would like every one of us to go back home and read a couple passages, which is Romans 5. 2 to 4. And 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 21 to 24. Amen. Christ is the sufferer and he is the perfect example for us to emulate and to follow. And Paul says we rejoice in suffering. Yes. Because it brings out endurance in all of us. Yes. As believers. Amen. And proven character and then hope. and hope does not disappoint." Yeah, great. Naveen, thank you. Romans 5 and 1 Peter 2 are other scriptures that are very, very helpful and pertinent in dealing with suffering. Well, guys, next week we'll come together and we will then launch next week into the topic of depression. Briefly, we may examine, well, how would the world look at it? But then our goal is, well, what does the Bible have to say? And how can we have a biblical perspective and go through it together to honor God? All right, yeah.