Striving Well in the Midst of Pain & Suffering

Sunday night church tonight was sooo encouraging!  So thankful for the faithfulness and teaching of the Word by Joe Keller!  It is so neat how the Lord provides encouragement and conviction exactly when and how it is needed!  Here are the notes I took. 

Passage: Hebrews 4:11-16

“Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

A “rest” is promised and we are to strive to enter into it. (vs. 11)

How do we strive well?  We know the truth of God’s Word and we know “what to do” in the end but to strive well as we go between the promises of God and the end, the rest, is hard, especially when we are going through suffering and pain and even just having distractions pulling our attention away from Christ.

Hebrew 4:11-16 gives us two means by which to strive well:

1) The Word of Christ

According to verse 12, the Word of God is living and active; it is continually working.

1 Peter 1:23, “through the living and abiding Word of God.”

2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God.”

Psalm 119 talks about the Word of God.  It is active, alive, and relevant to us.  As we strive through life, the Word of God is supposed to infuse our souls to give us a “better” perspective.  When the writer of Hebrews uses the word “sword” it is more like a “scalpel.”  The Word of God, like a scalpel, moves through our ideas, intentions, how we discern things, our dreams, our will, etc.  The Word of God addresses these things head on; It addresses ALL.  The Word of God is truthful. (John 17:17, “Your Word is Truth”; Romans 12:2, “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind”; Colossians 3:16, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…”) 

The Word of God helps us “tune” or measure (it is a plumb line) our thoughts by so we can harmonize our lives by Scripture.  We must look at our lives through the grid of Scripture, not Scripture through the grid of our lives.  The Word of God brings illumination to all of life.  The way to strive well into the rest of God is by following the truth of the Word of God!  (Psalm 139)

The second thing that Hebrews 4:11-16 tells us that is given to us as a means of striving well is…

2) The Person of Christ

Christ comes with power and grace; He gives Himself to us in our times of trouble and need and gives us direct access to the Father because He is our High Priest who stands before the Father and intercedes for us.

Jesus knew what it meant to be human.  According to verse 15, Christ is able to sympathize with us and our weaknesses.  (2:17-18, “Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”)  He understands what it is like to be discouraged, hungry, tempted, etc.  (1 John 3:5)  He understands the implications of temptation because He NEVER sinned and NEVER gave into temptation.  We, on the other hand, do not understand the implications of temptation because we give in and we sin.

Hebrews 11 talks about those people who strove well to enter the rest.  Hebrews 12:1-2, 3 (“looking to Jesus”) tells us we can only look to the Word of God and Christ for comfort and direction.  We must ASK GOD FOR HELP when we are frustrated, tired, discouraged, tempted, distracted, etc.  The WORD OF GOD is to be our “compass” and is what must point our thoughts, desires, will, etc. in the right direction.  We must ASK God for help to strive well; we need to ASK Christ for His help!  He can help us to see the truth and to live out the truth because He IS the TRUTH.  We cannot do this on our own!  Romans 8:26-27 talks about how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God.

1 Peter 5:6-11, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.  Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experience by your brotherhood throughout the world.  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.  To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 

This is a promise of rest and eternal life; the Spirit authenticates this in us.  We must strive, sojourn, and walk through life well and the way that we strive well through pain and suffering is by the WORD OF GOD (which directs the thought and intentions of the heart) and the PERSON OF CHRIST (who we can ask help from because He understands what it means to be human).  We WILL find GRACE and MERCY when we do this!  And, as the body of Christ, according to Hebrews 10, we can encourage and exhort others that our God IS real and that He DOES care about us!

Remember: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)