Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

by Timothy J. Keller

David had an intuitive grasp that he was saved by grace, but we have a far greater assurance than he had. If we read verse 3 in light of the cross, we can see it. In Christ, the Lord became very literally “our shield.” A shield protects us by taking the blows that would have fallen upon us and destroyed us. It protects us through substitution. Jesus, of course, stood in our place and took the punishment we deserved. We know God won’t forsake us, because he forsook Jesus for our sin. We know that in Christ we are “holy and blameless in his sight” (Col. 1:22), despite our spotty record. Christians, then, know that Christ is literally our glory and honor before the Father (1 John 2:1–2). If we have that, then we are not overthrown by accusation. Here, then, is what we must do when we suffer. We should look around our lives to see if our suffering has not been unnecessarily intensified because there are some things that we have set our hearts and hopes upon too much. We must relocate our glory and reorder our loves. Suffering almost always shows you that some things you thought you couldn’t live without, you can live without if you lean on God. And that brings freedom. This doesn’t mean that if we loved God perfectly, we wouldn’t suffer. No—because those who love God well do and should love all sorts of other good things in this life too. Jesus loved God perfectly but he was a Man of Sorrows, largely because he loved us so much. We should not take the Stoics’ advice that we de...