Sermon Synopsis
This sermon explores the stewardship of suffering, calling believers to use even their trials for God’s glory. By examining Jonah, Job, Jesus, and Paul, it distinguishes between suffering as divine discipline and suffering for divine purpose, while emphasizing that both require turning to God in prayer and trust. Christ’s own suffering provides both the model and the means for enduring trials with faith. Ultimately, believers are urged to look inward, upward, and forward—seeing suffering as an opportunity to magnify God, draw near to Christ, and cling to the hope of eternity.
Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.
The Stewardship of Suffering
Good morning everyone. Thank you for everyone’s prayers and encouragement. A lot have poured in over the past week as the announcements went out that I was preparing for this message, so thank you again. It has been a great encouragement to me as well.
This morning, as you have heard, the message theme is the stewardship of suffering.
So far this year, the theme of stewardship has typically been about how we can use what God has gifted us with—our family, our resources, our finances, our time, our belongings. In one of our CP sessions, we even talked about how we can be stewards of the earth that God has put us in dominion of. At the root of all these things is essentially how we can use all these resources and blessings for God’s glory.
Today, I would like for us to consider how we are also called to be stewards—not just of the blessings and resources in life—but also of the unwanted things: our trials and tribulations.
When we think of suffering, our instinct is typically to ensure that we survive so that we can get on with life—get back on track. But today, let us consider how we can be stewards of our suffering, using our suffering as a way to bring glory to God.
Before we begin, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank You for this time that we can come together as an assembly to consider this topic of the stewardship of suffering. We thank You, Lord, for the many lessons we have had in stewardship thus far this year, as we have thought about the many blessings and resources You have given us.
We pray, Lord, that as we meditate on this topic of the stewardship of suffering, we may also consider how we can use the painful experiences—the unwanted ones—that You have placed in our lives, or permitted in our lives, to glorify and magnify You. We pray that those who need to hear this will be encouraged and built up by it, and that even for us who are not going through suffering now, this will help us brace for what will come in life. For we know that the devil is always on the lookout, prowling and seeking to turn us away from You and toward sin.
Convict us through Your Word, and use us for Your glory. In Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Two Kinds of Suffering
As we meditate on this topic, we will consider different kinds of suffering.
These terms may not be unfamiliar, but let me explain them more clearly.
Divine discipline is used by God with the objective of turning us back to Himself. Such suffering is a result of our own will being at odds with God’s divine will, leading to the need for correction.
This is not retribution, as some cultures or religions might teach—where suffering is a payment for evil doing. Rather, it is more similar to how a parent disciplines a child to break a pattern of disobedience and restore them to the right path.
A primary example is found in the Book of Jonah.
Jonah received clear and direct instruction from God to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction, boarding a ship to Tarshish because he did not want Nineveh to be saved. Eventually, he was thrown overboard to calm the storm, swallowed by a great fish for three days and three nights, and there he returned to the Lord. He went to Nineveh and was used to lead the people to repentance.
In such cases, we praise God for His intervention—for His divine discipline that yanks us out of our position in sin and turns our hearts back to Him. At the root of such suffering, we know the experience stemmed from our own disobedience, and God’s intervention was a show of mercy to bring us back into His fold rather than leaving us to our own devices.
When we face suffering, it is important to ask:
At times, we suffer because of our sinful nature. We place ourselves in situations of suffering because we have deviated from God’s will, making unwise choices that lead to painful consequences.
If we have been like Jonah, may we consider the ways God is prompting us to turn back—even before suffering comes. And if we are in the middle of suffering because of our sin, may this experience lead us to reflect and ultimately follow the will of God instead.
However, Jonah’s experience is not always the reason for suffering. It would be wrong to believe that we only suffer if we sin.
This is clearly recorded in Gospel of John 9:2–3. The disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Here we see that suffering may be intended for God’s glory.
The biblical example that comes most strongly to mind is Book of Job.
Job’s suffering was not punishment, nor was it correction. It was precisely because God believed Job would remain faithful that he experienced what he did. His suffering was proof of his faith.
Job lost his immense fortune and his ten children in what seemed like an instant. Yet in Job 1:20–21 he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
And in verse 22, we are told that he did not sin or charge God with wrong.
This reflects godliness with contentment. Even in devastation, Job blessed the name of the Lord. He held no claim to what he possessed. All was from God, and it was God’s right to take it away.
Then, in Job 2, Satan struck his health. Covered with sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, Job scraped himself with shards of pottery. His wife urged him to curse God and die. Yet he responded:
“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”
This is not to say Job did not feel pain. In chapter 3, he lamented his birth. His suffering was real. That is what makes his continued submission so awe-inspiring.
Later, after struggling and questioning, Job encountered the majesty of God in chapters 38–41. In Job 42:1–6, he declared:
“I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Even Job, who responded faithfully, gained a grander view of God through suffering.
How Do We Tell the Difference?
You may ask: how do I tell the difference between discipline and divine purpose?
In reality, it is not always clear-cut. Whether suffering is discipline or divine purpose, both require the same response:
Even in Jonah’s case, God was glorified. Even in Job’s case, his view of God was magnified. The point is this:
In suffering—whether to correct us or to teach us—let us turn to God.
The Sinless Steward Who Suffered
There is One who suffered greatly—one who was not like Jonah and did not need discipline, nor like Job needing refinement.
He is the sinless steward who suffered for our sakes.
We know our Lord Jesus suffered on the cross—the cruelest form of capital punishment—for God’s glory.
In Luke 22:42, He prayed that if it were the Father’s will, the bitter cup might be taken away. Yet He submitted to the Father’s will.
Because of His work, He is our example and encouragement.
Hebrews 4:14–16 tells us that we have a great High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, one who was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, we can draw near with confidence to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.
His perfect submission is our model. Yet He is not distant—He understands our pain. Because He suffered for our sins, we may now approach Him freely.
Paul: Strength in Weakness
God also gives us another example in the apostle Paul.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of a “thorn in the flesh.” We are not told what it was—perhaps a physical ailment, perhaps something severe and persistent. What we do know is that it afflicted him deeply.
Paul pleaded with God to remove it. But God responded:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
God uses our suffering—our helplessness—to display His strength. When we accomplish God’s will despite weakness, it is clear the outcome is not from us, but from Him.
May we be able to say with Paul:
“For the sake of Christ, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The Heart of God in Our Suffering
Before we think that God delights in our pain, let us consider John 11 and the account of Lazarus.
When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters Mary and Martha sent for Jesus. Yet Jesus stayed two more days before going to them. The passage says that because He loved them, He waited.
When He arrived, both sisters said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
They believed He could heal—but not that He could conquer death.
Because Jesus loved them, He allowed them to experience who He truly is—not merely a healer, but the Son of God who overcomes death itself.
It is not because God is slow or uncaring that we suffer. Sometimes suffering drives out unbelief in our hearts and reveals who God truly is.
A Personal Reflection
Years ago, I was in a car driven by a Christian friend. On the expressway, another car suddenly swerved into our lane, forcing him to brake hard. A natural reaction would have been anger or even a swear word.
Instead, my friend calmly said:
“Brother, we live in a fallen world.”
That phrase has stayed with me.
Our suffering is a reminder that this world is not our home. It points us to the hope we have in Christ—the glorified bodies to come, the new heaven and new earth where there will be no tears.
Conclusion: The Three J’s and Three Directions
Let us recall the three J’s:
And let us look three ways:
Closing Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank You for this time to meditate on suffering and how we may steward it. We confess that our understanding is small and limited. In the times You allow suffering into our lives, help us remember Jonah, Job, the Lord Jesus, and Paul.
Help us look inward, upward, and forward. Strengthen us to turn to You rather than away from You. Help us brace for suffering, knowing that those who are faithful will face trials. And in all things, may we glorify You.
In Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ’s most precious and holy name we pray. Amen.
Thank you.
Messages: 8
