Recently, a female believer who prefers to be called Y, based in East China, shared her insights about suffering after meditating on Ruth 1:1-7: "Suffering can deepen us."
The opening chapter of the book of Ruth recounts how Naomi's family left their homeland of Judah because of a great famine in the country at that time for which people were short of supplies. In our life, we could also face the status of insufficiency in God's house, which might be a pastoral shortage or the lack of preaching sometimes.
What should we do when faced with such a situation in the church? As a servant of God, Y shared that first of all, pastors should repent to make changes, praying for their inadequate workability. Secondly, believers should not just complain about the supply deficit, but find solutions to the problem with prayers for the church and pastors.
"Tests and trials give us opportunities to come to know God better," she said. When we encountered hardship, escape would be our natural response. Naomi's family still did not get rid of the suffering after they escaped from Judah. Obviously, escaping was not the solution to the problem. When famine came, God wanted to test whether his people could still confess, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and my King”.
Some believers said to Y, "I am under a lot of pressure right now since I need to work hard to support the elderlies and young children at home. When my family conditions improve, I will come to church." Or others would say, “When I am financially free, I will attend church services.” Even a male believer once promised to Y, “I endeavor to make a fortune with which I will donate a meeting house to our church.” With these thoughts, we were under the impression that we were only temporarily away from the church, but in fact, our hearts had been slowly drifting away. The longer we were occupied in the secular world, the closer we were to it, and the farther we would be from God.
However, God never gave up on us in the valley of affliction. "There is one thing we must remember that no matter what happens, we must turn to Him." At the most desperate moment in her life, Naomi heard from God. “For she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food”.” That was a turning point in Naomi's life. If we wanted to seek God, we must first abandon our own thoughts and trust in Him. It was the most effective way to solve suffering.
God wanted us to turn to Him in a life of hardship rather than deal with it on our own. It would take practice for us to seek God for guidance and direction. Just as the Israelites in the wilderness learned to look up to the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses, we should also learn to look up to Jesus Christ to be saved.
Meanwhile, in suffering, we learn obedience.
[Hebrews 5:8] Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. Jesus went through suffering to experience our feelings and weaknesses, for which he became the ultimate example of obedience.
[John 15:2]The owner of the vineyard would often prune the vines and cut weeds so that the vines could be even more fruitful. The pain God put us through was actually cleansing the impurities in our lives and making us more fruitful.
[2 Corinthians 5:4] Only when we experienced hardship and pain ourselves could we truly feel the distress with empathy for those in it.
Y encouraged others to often contemplate in the midst of suffering, “Why do I feel bitter? What makes me suffer? What does suffering mean to me?” Thinking in this way would help us conform to God in suffering. The pains we experienced would not become disasters and poisons. At the same time, we must know that suffering was not the whole faith, but only God’s tool for refining us. His perfect plan was to accomplish an incomparable glory for us in the end.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
最近，华东地区的一位Y姊妹结合不少人的经历，分享了自己默想路得记1：1-7节时所得到的关于苦难的感悟：“苦难让人深刻。
路得记中开篇就记录了拿俄米一家离开自己的本国犹大地，因为那时国中大遭饥荒，人们缺乏供应。在我们的生活中也会有神的家有缺乏的情况，有时可能是讲道人的缺乏，讲道的缺乏。
面对教会这样的情况，该如何办？Y姊妹作为讲道人，分享说，首先讲道人要悔改，并为能力不够做出改变和祷告。其次，信徒也不能只是抱怨得不到供应，而是要想办法解决问题，为教会、讲道人献上祷告。
她说：“试炼让一个人更加认识主。”当人们遭遇苦难的时候，人本能的反应就是逃。虽然犹大地是有苦难，可是拿俄米一家逃离之后仍然没有摆脱苦难。可见，逃离并不是解决问题的方法。当饥荒来临的时候，神想要试炼的是他的子民是否还能有这样的告白——耶稣基督是我的主、我的王。
Y姊妹曾遇到教会有些弟兄姐妹说：“自己现在压力大，家里上有老下有小，需要拼命的赚钱养家。当我家庭条件改善了，我就来教会。”或者“当我的财务自由了，我就来教会。”还有的弟兄曾经对Y姊妹说：“我努力赚钱，到时候给我们教会捐一个礼拜堂。”这些想法让我们以为自己只是暂时离开教会，但实际上我们的心已经慢慢在偏离了。我们在世上忙得越久，我们离世界越近，离上帝越远。
然而，在苦难中神却从来没有放弃过我们，“有一件事一定要记得，不管怎样一定要归回。”在生命中最绝望的时刻，拿俄米听见了神的眷顾—— “耶和华眷顾自己的百姓，赐粮食与他们”。这是拿俄米生命中所发生转机。我们要归回，要先停止自己的想法，回转归向神，这才是解决苦难真正有效的方法。
神希望我们在苦难中时不是凭着自己的能力去面对，而是转向神。而我们转向神是需要操练的，如同旷野中以色列百姓学习仰望摩西所举起的铜蛇一样，我们也当学习常常去仰望耶稣基督得着拯救。
另外，苦难教导我们学会顺服
【来5:8】 学习不是耶稣不懂得顺服。耶稣经历这苦难才能体会我们的感受和软弱，他也成为了我们顺从的榜样。
【约15:2】 葡萄园中的主人会经常修剪支蔓和杂草，这样葡萄藤就可以结出更加丰盛的果实。神所让我们经历的苦难实际上是在修理我们生命中的杂质，让我们多结果实。
【林后5:4】我们只有自己经历艰难痛苦，才明白其中的辛苦，也才能体会处在困苦中的人。
Y姊妹鼓励大家在苦难中常常思索——我为什么觉得苦？让我苦的有哪些？我受的苦对我有什么意义？这样我们的思考会帮助我们在苦难转向神。我们所经历的苦难也才不会变成灾难和毒药，并且我们要知道苦难并不是信仰的全部，它只是神炼尽我们的工具而已，最终神要为我们成就的是极重无比的荣耀。
牧者劝勉基督徒：回转归向上帝才是面对苦难最有效方法
Recently, a female believer who prefers to be called Y, based in East China, shared her insights about suffering after meditating on Ruth 1:1-7: "Suffering can deepen us."
The opening chapter of the book of Ruth recounts how Naomi's family left their homeland of Judah because of a great famine in the country at that time for which people were short of supplies. In our life, we could also face the status of insufficiency in God's house, which might be a pastoral shortage or the lack of preaching sometimes.
What should we do when faced with such a situation in the church? As a servant of God, Y shared that first of all, pastors should repent to make changes, praying for their inadequate workability. Secondly, believers should not just complain about the supply deficit, but find solutions to the problem with prayers for the church and pastors.
"Tests and trials give us opportunities to come to know God better," she said. When we encountered hardship, escape would be our natural response. Naomi's family still did not get rid of the suffering after they escaped from Judah. Obviously, escaping was not the solution to the problem. When famine came, God wanted to test whether his people could still confess, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and my King”.
Some believers said to Y, "I am under a lot of pressure right now since I need to work hard to support the elderlies and young children at home. When my family conditions improve, I will come to church." Or others would say, “When I am financially free, I will attend church services.” Even a male believer once promised to Y, “I endeavor to make a fortune with which I will donate a meeting house to our church.” With these thoughts, we were under the impression that we were only temporarily away from the church, but in fact, our hearts had been slowly drifting away. The longer we were occupied in the secular world, the closer we were to it, and the farther we would be from God.
However, God never gave up on us in the valley of affliction. "There is one thing we must remember that no matter what happens, we must turn to Him." At the most desperate moment in her life, Naomi heard from God. “For she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food”.” That was a turning point in Naomi's life. If we wanted to seek God, we must first abandon our own thoughts and trust in Him. It was the most effective way to solve suffering.
God wanted us to turn to Him in a life of hardship rather than deal with it on our own. It would take practice for us to seek God for guidance and direction. Just as the Israelites in the wilderness learned to look up to the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses, we should also learn to look up to Jesus Christ to be saved.
Meanwhile, in suffering, we learn obedience.
[Hebrews 5:8] Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. Jesus went through suffering to experience our feelings and weaknesses, for which he became the ultimate example of obedience.
[John 15:2]The owner of the vineyard would often prune the vines and cut weeds so that the vines could be even more fruitful. The pain God put us through was actually cleansing the impurities in our lives and making us more fruitful.
[2 Corinthians 5:4] Only when we experienced hardship and pain ourselves could we truly feel the distress with empathy for those in it.
Y encouraged others to often contemplate in the midst of suffering, “Why do I feel bitter? What makes me suffer? What does suffering mean to me?” Thinking in this way would help us conform to God in suffering. The pains we experienced would not become disasters and poisons. At the same time, we must know that suffering was not the whole faith, but only God’s tool for refining us. His perfect plan was to accomplish an incomparable glory for us in the end.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
Turning to God in Suffering, Says East China Pastor
