Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 89

Romans 8:28 May Be Often-Quoted and Even Misused, But May We Never Grow Tired of Its Precious Truth

Is it possible to overuse a verse of Scripture? Certainly it is easy to misuse a verse, and in the process be robbed of its true riches.

Romans 8:28 is one of the best known verses in the whole Bible: “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Did I say this was one of the “best known” verses of Scripture? Let me revise that statement. It is one of the most often quoted verses of Scripture. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to quote a verse without really knowing it.

When I was in high school, I had a friend that I really looked up to. Greg was bright, talented, and most importantly he deeply loved the Lord Jesus. Unlike some of our other Christian friends, Greg was going somewhere for God. If anyone had a promising life of ministry ahead of him, surely it was Greg.

Early one Friday evening in the spring of my junior year, the phone rang. Greg had just had a freak accident. He was in a great deal of pain, and the doctors were not sure if he would pull through. I remember like it was yesterday staying up all night, sitting on the hospital floor, praying, numbly, staring at the “intensive care” sign that stood between me and Greg. I prayed for healing, and I had strong faith that God would answer. It never occurred to me that His answer might be “no.” It was. A few days later Greg entered the presence of Jesus.

Greg’s father was not a Christian, and he was understandably a broken man. Many of us who were Christians had opportunity to share with him. I will never forget when one of my brothers in Christ said to Greg’s dad, “You know, the Bible says all things work together for good.” His reaction was both understandable and predictable. He was angry and bitter, not only at Greg’s death, but at the sheer audacity of someone apparently labeling his son’s tragic death as “good.”

While I realized that this feeble attempt at comfort was well intended, it hurt me as much as anyone. To me it was a thoughtless and insensitive platitude that was totally inappropriate and untimely. Since then in my ministry I have seen a great deal more accidents and sickness than I care to think about. And more than once I have heard Romans 8:28 used in the wrong way at the wrong time.

Can I make a confession? For a while, I didn’t even like to hear Romans 8:28. In a strange sort of way, I almost resented it. But finally I came to my senses. I began to realize that if there was a problem, it was with the user of the verse, not the verse itself. I had been guilty of throwing out the baby of divine truth with the bath water of human insensitivity.

There are at least two key things which we need to understand about Romans 8:28 in order to use it in the right way. First, the verse is a statement of fact about believers, “those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” It is one of those precious pearls that should not be cast at the feet of unbelievers. They cannot possibly understand its significance, and are likely to gain from it a perverted view of God, or an image of the Christian faith being a naïve game of “let’s pretend everything is rosy, even when the roof caves in.” The often-quoted verse that unbelievers need to hear is John 3:16, not Romans 8:28.

The second essential point about Romans 8:28 is that the focus is not on isolated events in the believer’s life, but on the sum total of all events. Do you see the difference between saying “each thing by itself is good” and “all things work together for good”? Think about it. The difference is tremendous. The verse does not tell me I should say “it is good” if my leg gets broken, or my house burns down, or I am robbed and beaten, or my child dies. But it does say that God will use these events and weave them together with every other facet of my life in order to produce what He knows to be the very best for me.

When I was young, my mother used to bake delicious cakes. Before she made a cake, she would lay out each one of the ingredients on the kitchen counter. One day I decided to try an experiment. One by one I tasted each one of the individual ingredients to a chocolate cake. Think about it. Have you ever tasted baking powder? How about baking soda? The flour was horribly bland, and I won’t try to describe the raw egg. Even the “semi-sweet” chocolate tasted terribly bitter compared to the sweet milk chocolate I was used to eating. To sum it up, almost everything that goes into a cake tastes terrible by itself. The striking thing was that when my mother mixed it all together in the right amounts, placed it in the oven, and then laid it out to cool, an amazing metamorphosis took place. The cake was delicious. Isn’t that something? While the individual ingredients tasted terrible, the final product tasted terrific! If I would have judged the whole cake on the basis of the individual ingredients, I would never have believed it could be good.

Do you see the analogy to Romans 8:28? The individual ingredients of trials and apparent tragedies that come into our lives are neither “delicious” nor desirable. In fact, at first taste they are often very bland or even bitter. But God (shall I call Him the Master Baker?) is capable of carefully measuring out and mixing up these ingredients in order to produce a final product that is truly good. He does not ask us to immediately see every individual event as wonderful. He does expect us to trust that He is sovereignly at work even in that event, and will use it in concert with everything else for our very best good.

Once I heard a pastor say, “I’m tired of hearing people tritely use Romans 8:28.” So am I. But I am not tired of Romans 8:28 itself and pray that I never will be. When you use this powerfully explosive verse (and you should use it), handle it with care. But whatever you do, don’t stay away from it. The truth it contains can change your whole outlook on life.

I share some more thoughts on Romans 8:28 in this video interview with Greg Laurie:

For more on Romans 8:28 and suffering, see Randy's book If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. 

Photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash

Worry, the Coronavirus, and Corrie ten Boom on God’s Provision for Each Moment

As coronavirus cases continue to crop up across the U.S., many people are struggling with fear over the future. As followers of Jesus, what should our response be?

Our brothers and sisters in China have been wrestling with the answer to that question for the last two months. One Chinese pastor wrote, “We are to seek peace for this city, seek peace for those who are afflicted with this illness, seek peace for the medical personnel struggling on the front lines, seek peace for every government official at every level, seek peace for all the people of Wuhan. And we can through online networks guide and comfort our friends and loved ones with the Gospel, reminding them that our lives are not in our own hands, and to entrust their lives to God who is faithful and true.” May the example of these Chinese believers inspire and encourage those of us in the West.

For more perspectives from those in the U.S., check out this excellent episode of Ask Pastor John. Trillia Newbell, who I really appreciate, shares these thoughts on choosing faith over fear in the midst of concerns over the coronavirus.

Also, don’t miss this great article by Pastor Todd Wagner answering the question, “Should Christians Be Anxious About the Coronavirus?” He writes, “Worry is not our friend, and panic is not our way. Solomon reminds us, ‘If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small’ (Prov. 24:10). May it never be said that God’s people are governed more by fear than faith. …In times of crisis, the world needs steady people who are strengthened by God’s grace and selfless by God’s power. ”

Todd also quotes from Corrie ten Boom, who said, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.” A friend recently shared the following from Corrie, taken from the book Reflections of God’s Glory, which is a collection of her transcribed radio broadcasts. What she had to say about worry and God’s provision is wonderfully applicable today:

Once, I had a burden that weighed heavily on me. I set it down and looked at it. Then I saw that everything about my burden was borrowed. One part belonged to the following day, one part to the next week. My burden was a huge, stupid mistake. I realized that worrying is carrying tomorrow’s burden with today’s strength. It’s carrying two days at once. It’s prematurely thinking of tomorrow. On the calendar, there is only one day for action, and that is today.

Making plans is time-consuming. Time is necessary for making wise plans, but carrying them out belongs to only one day—today. We become concerned about the future—our financial concerns, our health. Where does this lead to? Nowhere. Nowhere that is worth the trouble because tension ruins things. It depletes the energy that you need to live today. The Holy Spirit does not give you a clear blueprint for your life, but He leads you from moment to moment. Live for today! The sun will shine on the problems that tomorrow brings.

I read somewhere, “Why don’t we look for something that is easier than anxiety? Worried people are like tightrope walkers, trying to walk over a rope from the past to the future, balancing between hope and fear. In one hand they hold a bag with the disordered past, in the other bag, the feared future. Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s grief; it takes away today’s strength. It does not enable us to avoid evil, but it makes us incapable of dealing with it when it comes.”

I once heard a nice story, a kind of legend. A small clock, which had just been finished by its maker, was put on a shelf in his shop between two old clocks that were busily and loudly ticking away the seconds. “So,” said one of the old clocks to the newcomer, “you’ve just started this task. I feel sorry for you. You are bravely ticking now, but you’ll be very tired once you’ve ticked thirty-three million times.”

“Thirty-three million ticks?” said the startled clock, “but I could never do that!” He immediately stopped in desperation.

“Come on, stupid,” said the other clock. “Why do you listen to such talk? That’s not how things are. At each moment you only need to tick once. Isn’t that easy? And then again. That’s just as easy. Carry on like that.”

“Oh, if that’s all,” the new clock cried, “then that’s easy enough. Off I go.” And he began to bravely tick each moment, without paying attention to the months and the millions of ticks. When the year was up, he had ticked thirty-three million times without realizing it.

Yes, living for the moment, that’s what you need. The Lord’s prayer says, “Give us today our daily bread.” …A person does not fall so much because of the troubles of one day, but if tomorrow’s burden is added, this load can become very, very heavy. It is wonderfully easy to live just for the day.

I share some more thoughts on worry, and three ways we can deal with it positively, in this article.

From Eternal Perspective Ministries

With the Coronavirus outbreak, China has been in the news frequently. We know that Christians are reaching out to the sick and scared, and sharing the hope of Jesus. In the face of such desperation and fear, many are responding to the gospel. These believers are counting the cost, because the last few years have proven that persecution of Chinese Christians continues. Open Doors USA reports, “From church demolitions, to the arrests of pastors, to the restriction of Bibles, to the law that bans children from church—the patterns are clear. …The government in China is trying to suffocate the faith of Chinese Christians.”

Although it was first released almost 20 years ago, the message of Randy Alcorn’s novel Safely Home remains relevant and timely today. Right now, you can purchase his novel from our ministry for $8 (50% off retail $15.99), plus S&H. We hope its story will encourage you to intercede for our brothers and sisters in China. Sale ends Thursday, March 12 at 12 pm PT (noon). 

Photo by Phil Desforges on Unsplash

Greg Laurie on the Great Privilege of Being a Pastor

Over the years Greg Laurie has become a dear friend. He first contacted me after his son Christopher tragically died. Since then, he has invited me to speak five times at the churches in Riverside and Orange where he is senior pastor. Once when we were both speaking in Maui, we met up and had a glorious time together with his Cathe and my Nanci.

Greg has written a powerful article about what it means to be a pastor—specifically the difficulties and privileges. I was a pastor for fourteen years and had intended to be a pastor the rest of my life before God intervened and abruptly moved us to start a new ministry. Knowing Greg and having dear friends who are pastors, I can attest to the truth of this article. I hope it helps you to understand and pray for your pastors. —Randy Alcorn

Why Being a Pastor Is Still the Greatest Privilege in the World

By Greg Laurie

Being a pastor is hard.

Many churchgoers may not realize this because they tend to see us at our best. After all, our job is to encourage others, love them and give them hope. But our jobs are not always easy.

Recently, a reporter emailed me to ask for my thoughts on the intense stresses that clergy in America face. I told him, “People may think pastors simply preach sermons, do an occasional wedding and have a relatively easy life. That is simply not true. In reality, we often find ourselves dealing with some of the hardest situations imaginable: like trying to help save a marriage that’s on life support, attempting to give hope to a young person who is addicted to drugs or offering comfort to a family that just lost a child. Perhaps the hardest part is people find it easy to critique us each step of the way as well.”

Then I added, “Pastors are people, just like everyone else. We are broken people who live in a broken world. Sometimes, we need help too.”

These last few sentences were later quoted in an article that has gotten a lot of attention.

I know I am not alone in feeling this way.

The reporter also interviewed another pastor who said, quite frankly, “Had  I known the ugly side of ministry – the hospital visits, burying the dead, being in the room when someone is dying and trying to comfort their family ... Had I known all that, I don’t think I would have accepted being a pastor.”

I understand how this pastor feels because I have been in his shoes many times and have struggled with the same feelings. Yet my experiences have driven me to draw a different conclusion: I have found that the hardest times in ministry — the points when I have felt like giving up — have confirmed my calling as a pastor. It’s in these moments I have experienced the most profound expressions of God’s love and grace.

I have been a pastor for almost 50 years, and I consider it a great honor.

Yes, I have been with parents when they heard the news that their loved one died.

Yes, I have presided at the funerals of, sadly, many children.

Yes, I have spoken to people on their deathbeds.

But I don’t consider that the “ugly” side of ministry — it is actually a great privilege. Because I, too, have been on the other end and needed a pastor’s comfort.

When my son Christopher died in an automobile accident in 2008, I was not the pastor called in for support, I was the person in need of a pastor.

My pastor was Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. He helped me when I was at my lowest. I still remember his words to me as I struggled with the question, “Why did my son die?”

He said, “Never trade what you do know for what you don’t know.”

What a powerful statement.

I know that God loves me.

I know that my son went to Heaven, not because he was my son but because he had put his faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

And I know, because we are believers, that we will be reunited again in Heaven.

I knew these things. I had said them to others, but I needed to hear them myself. The Bible says, “We comfort with the comfort that we have been comforted with” (2 Cor. 1:4).

I realize some clergy are overwhelmed and discouraged with all of the demands that are placed on them. We are often misunderstood and criticized. The criticism often can be ruthless.

But when I think of how God has allowed me to help people in their darkest valleys of life — just as I was helped in mine — I’m encouraged and reminded that our work is worth it.

As an evangelist, I have the privilege of speaking in stadiums with thousands of people listening, calling them to believe in Jesus Christ. But my greatest joy is helping people one-on-one: seeing families put back together, people strung out on drugs set free and suicidal people changing course.

I think of a note a woman who reads my online daily devotional sent me.

“Dear Greg,” she wrote. “Thank you for your daily devotions that I receive via email. They have helped me as I deal with chronic pain every day. I’ve shared them with several people close to me who are going through cancer; it helps them too. I open your email every morning, first thing, and it encourages me to get through the day. It’s like opening a present. Keep the faith!”

So, I am not discouraged.

As C.S. Lewis writes in The Great Divorce, “Here is joy that cannot be shaken. Our light can swallow up your darkness; but your darkness cannot now infect our light.”

Life is not easy, and there will be days when you may question the purpose of it all. But whatever dark valley you may be walking through, remember this: hope has a name, and his name is Jesus.

This article originally appeared on Greg’s blog , and is used with permission of the author.

Photo: Christianpics.co

A Legacy of Trust Through Suffering, and God’s Promise to Make Up for the Heartbreaks of This Earth

In my book Heaven, I share how years ago, Nanci read me letters we’d never before seen translated, written in 1920 by her grandmother Anna Swanson to her family in Sweden. Anna suffered severe health problems. While she was in Montana, cared for by relatives, her husband, Edwin, was in Oregon, working and caring for their seven children day and night. (Anna and Edwin are with five of their children in the picture; two more were to come. Nanci's mother, Adele, is sitting on Edwin's lap.)

Anna’s letters tell how Edwin wore himself out, got sick, and died. Because Anna was too weak to care for her younger children, they, including Nanci’s mother, Adele, were given up for adoption. Anna’s letters reflect her broken heart, her nagging guilt . . . and her faith in God.

Nanci and I were overcome with tears as we read those letters. What tragic lives. What inconsolable disappointment and pain. Anna and Edwin loved Jesus. They once had great dreams for their lives and family. But poor health, misfortune, separation, and death forever stripped them of each other, their children, and their dreams.

Or did it?

As Nanci and I talked, we considered what God might choose to give this broken family on the New Earth. Perhaps they’ll go together to places they would have gone if health and finances had allowed. Certainly Anna won’t be plagued by illness, fatigue, grief, anxiety, and guilt. Isn’t it likely their gracious God, who delights in redemption and renewal and restoration, will give them wonderful family times they were robbed of on the old Earth? Perhaps the God of second chances won’t merely comfort Anna by removing her grief for what she lost. Perhaps He will in some way actually restore what she lost. Our God won’t just take away suffering; He’ll compensate by giving us greater delights than if there had been no suffering. He doesn’t merely wipe away tears; he replaces those tears with corresponding joys. Hence, “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

I believe the New Earth will offer us opportunities we wished for but never had. God’s original plan was that human beings would live happy and fulfilling lives on Earth. If our current lives are our only chances at that, God’s plan has been thwarted. Consider the injustice—many honest, faithful people never got to live fulfilling lives, while some dishonest and unfaithful people seemed to fare much better.

But God is not unjust, and this is not our only chance at life on Earth. The doctrine of the New Earth clearly demonstrates that. Do we have further biblical support for this? I believe we do.

Luke the physician tells of a great number of people who came to Jesus “to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all” (Luke 6:18-19). Consider what was going through Christ’s mind as He dealt with these image-bearers plagued by sickness, poverty, and spiritual oppression. He knew the world was full of people whom he wouldn’t heal in this life. He also knew that the same people He healed would one day grow weak again and die, leaving their families wailing over their graves. What could Jesus say to such people? Luke tells us: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven” (Luke 6:20-23).

Jesus tells the hungry they’ll be satisfied. Those whose eyes are swollen with tears will laugh. Those persecuted should leap for joy now. Why? Because of their great reward in Heaven later.

Where will Heaven be? In the parallel passage Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:3-5). Earth is the setting for God’s ultimate comfort, for His reversal of life’s injustices and tragedies. We will live on what we inherit—the earth. All the blessings Jesus promised will be ours in the place we will live—the New Earth.

That’s one reason I believe that on the New Earth Anna and Edwin Swanson and their children will be able to experience much of what they didn’t on the old Earth. God promises to make up for the heartbreaks of this earth.

I wanted to share this story again because Nanci’s sister, Donna Schneider, recently sent Nanci and their brother Ron this note:

You are familiar with the letters that our family has from the Swanson family. I happened to pull out one of these letters recently and noticed the date.

One hundred years ago, on March 3, 1920, my grandmother Anna Swanson wrote a letter to her family in Sweden giving them the sad news that her husband, Edwin, had died on February 25.

Since Anna was in ill health she was unable to care for her seven children, ages newborn to 12 years. Now she was faced with a decision about the care and future of her children.

Below is a quote from this letter that gives me a window into her life and her faith in God:

“Yes, the Lord’s ways are strange. It would almost tear the heart from my breast. If I didn’t have God to trust in I don’t know how it would go.”

Anna provided a wonderful legacy of faith.

Anna probably never dreamed that 100 years after she wrote that letter, her grandchildren (and her great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren) would be reading her words and be touched by her trust in God.

Both Nanci and I look forward to meeting Anna and Edwin and thanking them for their example of faith in Jesus. We also can’t wait to see how our faithful God has comforted them and how He will fulfill their dreams on the New Earth.

Walking Through Cancer with a Loved One

I recently had the privilege of visiting the Joni and Friends headquarters in Agoura Hills, California. I highly recommend that churches and families and individuals support this wonderful ministry, which was founded by Joni Eareckson Tada. She is the real deal, start to finish, and everyone I’ve met at Joni and Friends who serves with her is passionate about Jesus and about reaching people for Christ. It was delightful to sit beside Joni and her wonderful husband Ken, who I always rejoice to see as well. Just hearing Joni’s beautiful voice as we worshipped the Lord singing hymns was worth the trip!

While I was there, I was asked to record a few episodes for their podcast, including one about the journey Nanci and I have been on since her diagnosis with colon cancer in early 2018.  We talked about our relationship, hope, and practical ways to encourage those who are facing similar challenges:

Since we recorded the podcast, Nanci had a CT scan, and we recently received the results. There was some good news: nothing new was found in any other organs. The original tumor site in the lower colon is still clear. That’s cause for great gratitude.

There was also some news for which we deeply appreciate your continued prayers. One of the nodules in Nanci’s lungs has grown from 2 to 5 mm, and a new 5 mm nodule has developed. (There are 3 other nodules which remained in her lungs after surgery and they have not changed.) We are grateful that the tests showed no large-scale growth and movement, but we are obviously concerned.

Though this remains stage four cancer, Nanci’s team of doctors say they are still working toward a cure, which they believe is possible. (You can read the full update on Nanci’s Caring Bridge page, including some wonderful words from Charles Spurgeon that have greatly encouraged both of us.)

For more related to the subject of suffering, see Randy’s book If God Is Good, as well as the devotional 90 Days of God’s Goodness and book The Goodness of God. Also, the booklet If God Is Good, Why Do We Hurt? deals with the question and shares the gospel so that both unbelievers and believers can benefit.

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Life Is Hard, But God Is Greater

Live long enough and you will suffer. In this life, the only way to avoid suffering is to die. Unfortunately, most of us don’t give focused thought to evil and suffering until we experience them. This forces us to formulate perspective on the fly, at a time when our thinking is muddled and we’re exhausted and consumed by pressing issues. Those of you who have “been there” will attest that it’s far better to think through suffering in advance.

That’s why I’ve written a lot on this subject, in my big book If God Is Good, the medium sized devotional 90 Days of God’s Goodness, the small The Goodness of God, and the booklet If God Is Good, Why Do We Hurt?

Having given the subject a lot of thought and effort, I loved this article from Jason Helveston, an elder for teaching and vision at a church in Chicago and the author of Tell Me Everything: How Jesus Told Me His Story. —Randy Alcorn

Life is hard.

No matter who we are, we all experience difficulty. To be sure, the degree of life’s severity differs from person to person. As I write this, many around the world are experiencing heartbreaking realities.

In every season of our lives, in every place of our existence, there is tension and conflict. From the wrenching reality of losing loved ones to silly inconveniences like warm drinks getting cold and cold drinks getting warm, life is hard.

What’s more, when the difficulties of life show up we crave explanation. We cannot help but search for meaning in the face of tragedy and pain. This inclination is part of what makes us, us. When we can’t find answers we often come up with our own. And, if you’re like me, your answer is often not a good one. Consequently, our bad answers cause us to respond to pain in ways that can cause more pain to ourselves and others.

Four Reasons Life Is Hard

In an attempt to alleviate the complication of grief and find deeper meaning in our hardships here are four reasons life is hard, plus specific ways we can respond to our difficulties.

1. Life is hard because the world is broken.

The Christian story begins with the Creator creating everything (Genesis 1:1). Then creation rejects the Creator. And this rejection fractured the entirety of creation (Genesis 3:14–19). As a result, nothing is as it should be and life is made more difficult. We are all to blame for this brokenness because we have all rejected God and his goodness. So we each have a responsibility to confess our part in our fallen world and work together to seek the welfare of it, making our surroundings more reflective of God’s initial intentions.

God’s holistic restoration plan includes us! The good news is that God desires for us to join him now in making his plans for restoration, unity, and peace a reality (Colossians 1:15–23). Jesus suffered for his suffering world so that we would find holistic renewal in him, a renewal that will be completed when Jesus brings heaven and earth fully together in the age to come (Revelation 21:4).

Life is hard because the world is broken, but Jesus is restoring all things from the brokenness of the world by his power and through his people.

2. Life is hard because of you and me.

Sometimes our lives are hard because we are sinners (Romans 3:23). We make bad decisions — accidentally and willfully — and these choices make our lives a lot harder. Often, life is hard because we not only do evil things, but then don’t respond well when the consequences come (Proverbs 19:3). Life is not hard because of us all the time, but it is a lot more of the time than we care to admit.

No matter the sin it is vital that we do not simply say, “This is just who I am,” and fail to pursue revision. No. In this case we must confess sin and repent. That was the initial call to action of both John the Baptizer and Jesus (Mark 1:4, 14–15). Only on the other side of confession, repentance, and belief will the hardness of our sin be eased in Christ. In him we find true wisdom, righteousness, and redemption from our sin (1 Corinthians 1:30–31).

Life is hard because of you and me, but Jesus graciously forgives us when we confess that our sin has dishonored him and made life complicated and difficult (1 John 1:9).

3. Life is hard because of someone else.

Sometimes life is hard — not because the world is broken nor because we personally sinned — but because others sin against us. This is the story of Job (Job 2:7). This is the story of the man who was left for dead in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25). This is the story of Jesus (Luke 23:34).

Jesus responded to the great need of humanity by allowing himself to take the position of a victim and bearing the sins and folly of the entire human race (Isaiah 53:5). Therefore, when we are victimized, we should remember that Jesus not only can identify with us in our unjust treatment. Since he put shame to shame on the cross, we also find power and cleansing in him.

Life is hard because of others. In love Jesus washes and cleans us when the sins of others have harmed us (1 John 1:7).

4. Life is hard because God is good.

Many of life’s difficulties are by design.

In his kindness, God has intentionally shaped the world in such a way that effort would be required to accomplish significant change, progress, and reward (2 Timothy 2:6). From the beginning, Adam is given a job to work the ground (Genesis 2:15) and to cultivate and shape creation. In other words, work showed up in the beginning. When embraced as a gift from God, work makes us stronger, more collaborative, smarter, more skilled, and so on.

In fact, there can be great joy in this aspect of the hardness of life because it matures us (James 1:2–4). Paul even writes that we should do whatever work we do as worship to the Lord and from the very center of who we are (Colossians 3:23). And so we should never pray away this type of difficulty; rather, we should embrace it, discern its purpose, look to Jesus, and pray to be made more like him through it all. Through many of life’s difficulties we are made more like Jesus. “We who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11).

Life is hard because God is good. Jesus uses these hard things in life to make us strong and more like him. Praise God he does.

Life Is Hard, But God Is Greater

Here’s the point: life is hard, but there is always hope.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:8–10)

Life is hard for many reasons, but through it all we are being made more into the image of God. Jesus is greater than every hardship; he is victorious over every pain. All of life’s tragedies, sorrows, and iniquities should ultimately lift our gaze to the day when the sinful difficulties of life will be taken away and the formative tensions of life will only and fully point us toward the goodness and glory of Jesus. In other words, we should long for the day when our craving for meaning will be fully and finally satisfied in God himself.

This article originally appeared on Desiring God and is used with permission of the author.

Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash

How to Cultivate Courage

God calls us all to do certain things that require courage (although He doesn’t call us all to do the same things). How do we cultivate it? It’s as simple as when we hear God speaking to us (through His Word, the counsel of others, and in our hearts when we feel a compulsion from the Holy Spirit) and telling us to do something, we do it.

Let's say you have an uncle who is resistant to the Gospel, and he’s been diagnosed with cancer. You feel God has laid on your heart to share the Gospel with him. Does it take courage to do that? Yes, it takes courage, but on the other hand, let’s compare it to the courage of a martyr, perhaps someone in the first century who was taken into an arena and killed for their faith, or people around the world who still the ultimate price for following Jesus. We can ask ourselves, “Is anything like that going to happen to me? What’s the worst-case scenario?”

I often ask myself when I’m sitting next to someone on the plane, If I share the Gospel with this person, what’s the worst that can happen? Are they going to disapprove of me? If they do, so what? Is it really that big of a deal?

I’ve found that the biggest hurdle is finding the courage to simply open my mouth and say the words. Once I start speaking and sharing the good news, it gets easier because now I’m committed to following through and to pleasing our Lord.

In observing the Christian community, I don’t think we have enough courage in our lives—I know I don’t. But in my experience, when I have followed the Lord step by step, He has provided the courage I needed in increments. He’s the one who tells us, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).  

It helps to remember that Jesus is the ultimate example of courage. I love how Tim Keller puts it: “If you think it takes courage to be with Jesus, consider that it took infinitely more courage for him to be with you. Only Christianity says one of the attributes of God is courage. No other religion has a God who needed courage.” May the Lord give us courage never to be ashamed to speak of a Savior who was not ashamed to die for us!

Sinclair Ferguson writes in Grow in Grace, “The fear of the Lord tends to take away all other fears… This is the secret of Christian courage and boldness.” If we fear God, we don’t have to be afraid of anyone else. We’re all going to fear somebody. The question is, who? Fearing Him alone gives us great courage because we want to do what pleases Him and hear Him say, “Well done!”

Another key to developing courage is to remember that on the other side of courage is great happiness. There is joy in sacrificing for Christ by doing things like standing up for the innocent and being bold for Christ. There is joy in giving away a large portion of your income, nursing a sick spouse, taking care of children, serving the needy, and sharing the gospel. In Acts 20:35 (the one saying of Jesus quoted outside of the Gospels that isn’t included in them) our Lord Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. The word translated “blessed” means “happy-making.” There’s great happiness in doing what God has called us to do.

I share some related thoughts in this video, filmed several years ago at a Desiring God conference:

Photo by Anshu A on Unsplash

If God Exists, Won’t He Need to Apologize to Us for Making Us Live in a World of Suffering?

We have great staff members at EPM, and one of those is Doreen Button. She has worked as one of my editors for many years and does an excellent job. She also serves with Life Impact Ministries, an outstanding organization that offers hosted places of rest, retreat, and renewal for ministry leaders. This was an important question that came to us, and Doreen’s response reflects not only her knowledge and communicative skill, but also her heart for people. —Randy Alcorn

Question from a reader:

If God exists, and I truly don’t believe he does, he will know that there are limits to human understanding. He was the one who created this confusion in which there is poverty, injustice, greed, and loneliness. He doubtless had the best of intentions, but the results have proved disastrous. If God exists, he will be generous with those creatures who chose to leave this Earth early, and he might even apologize for having made us spend time here.

Answer from Doreen Button, EPM staff:

Here is what I understand you to be saying:

God doesn’t exist, but if He did, life here on Earth should look much different than it does now.
God is responsible for everything that’s bad.
God will reward/commend those who commit suicide and He owes the rest of us an apology.

My first and most pressing question is, are you contemplating suicide? If so, I strongly urge you to reach out for help. Whether or not you believe in God, your life is precious and there is a reason He put you here. Yes, this world is a mess, but your early exit will not make it a better place for you or anyone else. Please, for your sake and the sake of those who love you, ask God to show Himself to you and give Him time to answer. (Here’s a link to one of Randy’s video messages discussing happiness, depression and suicide.)

There’s a reason the world is a mess and that reason isn’t God. He made a beautiful world and placed innocent people in it. We chose to ignore the rules He set in place to keep the world a beautiful place. We chose to set up and run our own kingdoms our own way and are reaping the considerable consequences. It is we who owe Him an apology. Yet, instead of wiping us out, He chose to take our guilt upon Himself in order to reverse the evil we set into motion.

Those who choose to follow Jesus instead of their own path enjoy the peace and freedom of living the way He made us to live. And one day they will receive what they want most: life with Him on the New Earth where all the old bad stuff will be wiped away. Those who continue to choose their own path doom themselves to depression and addiction and one day will also receive what they want: eternity without God. And since He is the source of all that is good, including love, kindness, and beauty, that eternity will be empty of all that is good.

God’s existence in the face of all that is wrong in this world is an age-old conundrum. Randy has written extensively on the topic, including his book If God Is Good…Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. My favorite book on this topic is a smaller one distilled from If God Is Good, called The Goodness of God.

I encourage you to continue seeking God. Read about His life and what He says about Himself in the first four books of the Bible’s New Testament. He promises that when we seek Him with all our heart we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29).

Here is a link to a summary of If God Is Good that you might find helpful. You can search "suffering and evil" on EPM’s website and find several blogs and articles such as The Sentence Against God and Why Doesn’t God Do More to Restrain Evil and Suffering?

I’ve found the deepest happiness and fulfillment since choosing to follow Jesus and I wish the same for you.

Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Unsplash

Four Reasons Christians Distinguish Between Happiness and Joy

When I was writing my book Happiness, I knew that the chapter on “What’s the Difference Between Happiness and Joy?” would likely prove to be one of the most controversial. To verify my assertion that joy and happiness are synonyms, I cited more than one hundred verses in various translations that use joy and happiness together, as well as numerous quotes from trusted Christian pastors, writers, and thinkers who use the two synonymously. (A summarized version of the chapter is available on my blog.)

Still, the idea that the two words are synonyms can be radical to many readers. In response to a post I shared about happiness, a sincerely concerned person wrote me, “Joy, peace, and contentment do not equal happiness.” To some, the difference between the two words is as central as believing in the deity of Christ or the resurrection!

In talking to believers and researching the two words, I think there are at least four reasons why Christians see a need to distinguish between happiness and joy:

1. Many believers have been frequently taught through books and sermons, or have taught others, that happiness and joy are two completely different things.

A pastor friend wrote to tell me why it would be a big mistake to write a book about happiness: “Happiness changes from moment to moment and is reflected by our moods and emotions. Joy is a spiritual peace and contentment that only comes from God and is strong even during times of sadness. God’s desire is not to make us happy in this life but to fill our lives with joy as a result of our relationship with Christ.”

The following is typical of the artificial distinctions made by modern Christians:

Joy is something entirely different from happiness. Joy, in the Biblical context, is not an emotion. . . . Joy brings us peace in the middle of a storm. Joy is something that God deposits into us through the Holy Spirit. . . . There is a big difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is an emotion and temporary; joy is an attitude of the heart.

Judging from such articles (and there are hundreds more out there), you’d think the distinction between joy and happiness is biblical. It’s not. But when something like this is repeated often enough, as it has been from the last half of the 20th century until now, it’s easy to see how it becomes widely accepted truth. Yet there’s a long, rich history of equating joy with happiness in Christ, as shown by writings from the Puritans, Wesley, Spurgeon, and many others. As just one example, consider these words of Charles Spurgeon: “May you so come, and then may your Christian life be fraught with happiness, and overflowing with joy” (“A Happy Christian” Sermon #736).

2. Many Christians believe it’s important to use words to clearly differentiate between the Christian’s experience of godly happiness (specifically called “joy”) and the world’s false happiness.

Oswald Chambers, who I love, was the first I found to speak critically about happiness and make it opposed to joy. Chambers wrote in his book Biblical Ethics, “Happiness is no standard for men and women because happiness depends on my being determinedly ignorant of God and His demands.” Unfortunately, because Bible teachers such as Chambers saw people trying to find happiness in sin, they concluded that pursuing happiness was sinful in and of itself. It’s true that as sinful people, we chronically seek happiness in sin, but the core problem isn’t seeking happiness but choosing sin instead of God.

As Christians, don’t we know that when Scripture speaks of peace, hope, justice, and love, it routinely attaches deeper and more Christ-centered meanings to those words than our culture does? By all means, we should explain that there’s a difference between Christ-centered, God-honoring happiness, and secular, sinful happiness!

Happy isn’t the only word with baggage. Love is commonly used in superficial ways, as popular music has long demonstrated. People say they love hamburgers, hairstyles, and YouTube. They “make love” to someone they barely know. Since the word love has been so trivialized, should we remove it from Bible translations and stop using the word?

Of course not. Instead, we should clarify what Scripture actually means by love, holiness, hope, peace, pleasure, and yes, happiness. We should contrast the meaning in Scripture with our culture’s superficial and sometimes sinful connotations.

So can someone have false, superficial, and ungodly joy? Of course! Just as happiness can be spiritual or unspiritual, so can joy. Isaac Watts (1674–1748), who wrote “Joy to the World,” spoke of “carnal joys.” Charles Spurgeon recognized the difference between false and true joy:

Christ would not have us rejoice with the false joy of presumption, so He bares the sharp knife and cuts that joy away. Joy on a false basis would prevent us from having true joy, and therefore, . . . the joy we may get may be worth having—not the mere surf and foam of a wave that is driven with the wind and tossed, but the solid foundation of the Rock of Ages! (“Christ’s Joy and Ours,” Sermon #2935)

Someone can have Christ-centered happiness or Christ-denying happiness. The former will last forever; the latter has an exceedingly short shelf life.

3. Other Christians don’t want to accept that we should experience happiness that touches our hearts and emotions perhaps because they don’t feel happy, and don’t want to be told it’s what God desires for us.

An e-mail I received from a Christian leader said, “In Scripture we find that God is not about the pursuit of happiness. . . .What, then, of the widespread ambition to be happy? Is it, perhaps, an ultimate idol meant by God’s Enemy to distract us from joy?”

So what’s our problem with happiness? Does it stem from anti-world Christoplatonism? Are we suspicious that someone who’s happy must be sinning? Is it because we think we’re taking the spiritual high ground? Do we feel like “We are above this happiness nonsense,” but since we all want to experience heart-felt happiness and delight, we just call it something else (in this case, “joy”)?

Perhaps we marginalize happiness because something inside us testifies that we—who were snatched from the jaws of Hell to Heaven’s eternal delights, who are indwelt and empowered by a happy God—should be happier than we are. Maybe by defining joy as unemotional, positional, or transcendental, we can justify our unhappiness, in spite of God’s command to rejoice always in Him. Maybe saying that joy isn’t happiness allows us to lower the bar and accept a downtrodden, cheerless Christian life. And if that’s the case, we need to evaluate whether our attitudes are in need of a major paradigm shift.

Of course, no treatment of joy and happiness should deny or minimize the importance of realism and sorrow in the Christian life. The happiness described in Scripture is all the richer because it doesn’t involve denial or pretense and can be experienced amid severe difficulty. Christ-followers don’t preach the flimsy kind of happiness that’s built on wishful thinking. Instead, our rock-solid basis for happiness remains true—and sometimes becomes clearer—in suffering.

4. Satan has vested interests in keeping us from embracing what Scripture teaches about God’s happiness and ours. By convincing us that we can achieve a “joy” that’s stripped of all happy emotion and warmth, he blinds us to the truth about the God-honoring happiness Christ intends for us.

The prophet Isaiah said of a human king who appears to also represent the devil, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth” (Isaiah 14:12, NIV). Jesus was actually there when this event happened. He told his disciples, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).The devil has been unhappy ever since he rebelled against the God of happiness and was evicted from Heaven, the home of happiness.

Satan forfeited his own happiness, and he bitterly hates us—the objects of God’s love. His lie from the beginning was that God doesn’t care about our good. The truth is, God wants us to seek real happiness in Him.

The devil tempts us toward what will dishonor God by telling persuasive lies to convince us that the things that make us miserable will actually make us happy. After thousands of years of doing this, he’s remarkably good at it. Jesus said of Satan, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, NIV).

Satan hates God, he hates us, and he hates happiness—God’s and ours. He’s not about happiness; he is about sin and misery, which come from seeking happiness where it can’t be found. God is the one who planted our desire for happiness and joy. 

So what difference does it make whether we see happiness and joy as synonyms?

To declare joy sacred and happiness secular closes the door to dialogue with unbelievers. If someone is told that joy is the opposite of happiness, any thoughtful person would say, “In that case, I don’t want joy!” If we say the gospel won’t bring happiness, any perceptive listener should respond, “Then how is it good news?”

We need to reverse the trend. My hope is that we can redeem the word happiness in light of both Scripture and church history. Our message shouldn’t be “Don’t seek happiness,” but “You’ll find in Jesus the happiness you’ve always longed for.”

Because this issue is so important, I’ve written a small hard cover book called Does God Want Us to Be Happy? that expands and develops the themes of this article.

Last Few Days to Get 20% Off EPM's Already Discounted Prices

As a thank you to our customers, during February we’re offering an additional 20% off the already discounted prices of our entire inventory of Randy Alcorn books and products when you use the code APPRECIATION20. 

For example, Does God Want Us to Be Happy? retails for $14.99 and our everyday low price is $11.99. With the additional 20% off, your price is $9.59 (36% off retail), plus S&H.

To apply this offer, simply enter the code APPRECIATION20 at check out from our online store. 

Offer ends Saturday, February 29 at 11:59 P.M. PT. 

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Keep Your Eyes on the Prize: Discipline, Endurance, and the Christian Life

I’ve been reflecting on 2 Timothy 2:3–7:

Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

What do the solder, athlete, and farmer all have in common? They work hard. They discipline themselves, which means saying no to certain foods and habits, and sometimes saying no to sleep. But they say yes to keeping their end product in view—the farmer gets up before dawn because his eyes are set on the harvest; the soldier looks at the goal of being fit for battle that the war may be won; the athlete has his eyes on the prize, and therefore puts up with everything necessary (training included) to accomplish his goals.

We’re called to a life of endurance empowered by Christ, and accompanied by joyful thanksgiving. Endurance requires patience, because reward for today’s right choices will come, but it may be months or years from now, or not until we leave this world. Those who drum their fingers waiting for the microwave to finish demonstrate that patient endurance and discipline don’t come naturally.

“Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules” (v. 5). The “according to the rules” part isn’t mainly about avoiding penalties on the playing field. Rather, as one of the commentaries on the Logos software (Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction and Commentary) says,

This expression includes the idea ‘in the correct style’, applied to fully fledged athletes, professionals as opposed to amateurs. Each athlete for these Olympics had to state on oath that he had fulfilled the necessary ten months’ training before he was permitted to enter the contest. Any athlete who had not subjected himself to the necessary discipline would have no chance of winning and would in fact lower the standard of the Games. There were severe penalties imposed on any who infringed the rules.

Here’s what The New American Commentary says:

In 2 Timothy 2:5, Paul used the picture of the athlete to illustrate the importance of complete devotion and stamina in Christian living. Performing as an athlete demands a commitment to a regimen of training and to the rules for the game. Paul may have been emphasizing either or both, but the context appears to spotlight the self-discipline and stamina needed for training and preparation. He implied that the Christian athlete could expect suffering, but he also held out the promise of a prize for the committed devotee. The ultimate prize would come at the time of final judgment for the believer (2 Cor 5:10). The type of training that would prepare for this reward is godliness (1 Tim 4:7–8).

In the Pastorals, Paul had used athletic images in 1 Tim 4:7–8; 6:12 in order to emphasize that the Christian life demands the practice of self-discipline which affects both personal behavior and inner attitude. Christians must practice self-control. Each Christian must also have an inner preparedness to endure cheerfully the demands and hardships that spiritual commitment will bring. Paul made a similar point in 1 Cor 9:24–27.

If you want more, here are 9 minutes from a message related to this subject I did several years ago (the PowerPoint’s a bit funky, but at the time it seemed cool).

Or if you prefer, here’s a short blog on the cumulative effects of the small daily choices we make.

Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash