| QUOTES from Yarbrough's
chapter |
The existence of sin and the Devil, and God’s ongoing
determination to root them out and finally destroy them, are
reminders that a primary existential calling card of this
world’s fallenness—human suffering—is not in itself good. Of
course God can use it for good purposes and unerringly does so.
But suffering in itself is not a good thing—as we realize when
suffering invades, infects, and affects our lives personally.
[26]
Should I let adversity drive me away from the Bible’s testimony
to God’s good purposes and eternal promise, or should I believe
that the message of Jesus and the cross are still adequate
grounds for personal faith in Him? It is often suffering that
makes this anguished but fruitful outcry unavoidable and that
also paves the way for the best, though usually not the easiest,
response. [31]
It would be facile and flippant to say “terrible thing x”
happened so that “wonderful thing y” would result, x being death
and disease and y being God’s glorification…Yet it is clear that
adversity, and suffering, have not had the last word. Among
believers, suffering is an important factor in God’s answering
the prayer Jesus taught us: “Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed by thy name.” His name is hallowed through His
children’s suffering. [33]
God uses pain and even death—not in the abstract but of his own
loyal people—to testify to the word of life. What is called for
today is a growing core of Christians not who have martyr
complexes but whose daily lives are lived in such winsome,
habitual, and cheerful self-sacrifice that they can weather even
adverse circumstances with God-glorifying wisdom and grace. [41]
Christians’ lives and message gain credibility in part because
they are not spared the vicissitudes that batter everyone else
in need of God’s redemptive promise. [43]
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