Suffering For the Sake of Others
By Pastor Andrew Wolfenbarger
05/15/2023
Psalm 105:17-19 - “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.”
In 2012, my wife and I were delighted with news that we were expecting our first child. We began to plan all of the steps of a young couple preparing to receive their first baby. We needed to prepare a nursery, get all the supplies, and choose a name. After many discussions, we settled on Haley Grace as her name. At the twenty-week mark, my wife went into premature labor; and we watched as the physicians could do nothing to prevent our firstborn from dying during delivery. This event has been one of the hardest valleys that my wife and I have ever had to traverse, but I can say God has been good. I know that my daughter is in heaven today, and I cannot wait to see her beautiful, sweet face in heaven. I also know that our other three children are tokens of grace that God has given to my wife and me because of the suffering in that trial. I have never lost anything that God has not given back four-fold. One thing that my wife and I could have never expected is how God has used us (especially my wife) to minister to others who have lost children. She can encourage and testify of God’s faithfulness to others because she has seen it in our life. God has used our struggle and trying of faith to benefit many others.
Most of us are familiar with the suffering that Joseph endured in Egypt. We often fail to consider the two years he spent in prison. The Psalmist suggests it was a miserable time of suffering by referring to his hurting feet in iron shackles. Of course, this trial was appointed to Joseph. It served to reveal the character of Joseph’s heart. Through it all, he remained faithful to the Lord. The broader context of this passage is how God did all of these works to care for His people, Israel. If we understand this, we may realize that while Joseph’s sufferings were his own, they were not only for his benefit. God was using him, as he would later come to understand, “to save much people alive.” (Gen. 50:20). God was able to use his suffering to benefit others.
We may look further down the Bible timeline to see another occasion when God used the suffering of one to benefit countless others: Hebrews 2:10, “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” It was through the pain and struggle that Jesus endured, that God would bless all nations of the world by providing salvation for all.
It is common knowledge that the trials of your faith serve to shape and refine you, while also revealing the nature of your faithfulness to God (James 1:3-4, 1 Peter 4:12-13). We often fail to realize that God can use our trials to benefit others as well. Our children, relatives, co-workers, and friends are able to benefit from what God is doing in our lives as we draw closer to Him. The next time your faith faces a test, let me challenge you not to look for a way out, but ask God what lessons you need to learn so that you can be used to help others.
05/15/2023
Psalm 105:17-19 - “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.”
In 2012, my wife and I were delighted with news that we were expecting our first child. We began to plan all of the steps of a young couple preparing to receive their first baby. We needed to prepare a nursery, get all the supplies, and choose a name. After many discussions, we settled on Haley Grace as her name. At the twenty-week mark, my wife went into premature labor; and we watched as the physicians could do nothing to prevent our firstborn from dying during delivery. This event has been one of the hardest valleys that my wife and I have ever had to traverse, but I can say God has been good. I know that my daughter is in heaven today, and I cannot wait to see her beautiful, sweet face in heaven. I also know that our other three children are tokens of grace that God has given to my wife and me because of the suffering in that trial. I have never lost anything that God has not given back four-fold. One thing that my wife and I could have never expected is how God has used us (especially my wife) to minister to others who have lost children. She can encourage and testify of God’s faithfulness to others because she has seen it in our life. God has used our struggle and trying of faith to benefit many others.
Most of us are familiar with the suffering that Joseph endured in Egypt. We often fail to consider the two years he spent in prison. The Psalmist suggests it was a miserable time of suffering by referring to his hurting feet in iron shackles. Of course, this trial was appointed to Joseph. It served to reveal the character of Joseph’s heart. Through it all, he remained faithful to the Lord. The broader context of this passage is how God did all of these works to care for His people, Israel. If we understand this, we may realize that while Joseph’s sufferings were his own, they were not only for his benefit. God was using him, as he would later come to understand, “to save much people alive.” (Gen. 50:20). God was able to use his suffering to benefit others.
We may look further down the Bible timeline to see another occasion when God used the suffering of one to benefit countless others: Hebrews 2:10, “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” It was through the pain and struggle that Jesus endured, that God would bless all nations of the world by providing salvation for all.
It is common knowledge that the trials of your faith serve to shape and refine you, while also revealing the nature of your faithfulness to God (James 1:3-4, 1 Peter 4:12-13). We often fail to realize that God can use our trials to benefit others as well. Our children, relatives, co-workers, and friends are able to benefit from what God is doing in our lives as we draw closer to Him. The next time your faith faces a test, let me challenge you not to look for a way out, but ask God what lessons you need to learn so that you can be used to help others.
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