the many "why"s of suffering

Here's a fantastic quote from Don Carson about the "why" of suffering - and about all the "why"s we will never know, even when we think we've found the "why".

With thanks to Peter Adam, who noticed that I was writing a series on suffering, and who sent this article to my friend Andy Prideaux so he could send it to me....

In any suffering, or in any other event for that matter, God is doubtless doing many things, perhaps thousands of things, millions of things, even if we can only detect two or three or a handful.

A godly woman in her middle years is diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer. What is God doing? My little brain can imagine several possibilities. At one level, he may be providentially allowing the effluents of the Fall to take their course, a constant reminder that it is appointed to all of us to die, and then face judgement (Heb 9:27). He may be preparing her for eternity: it is a great grace to know when you are going to die, and prepare for it. He may be shocking her 20-something son, who is living his life indifferent to the gospel, to prod him into self-examination and repentance. He may use her testimony about the joy of the Lord even in the midst of suffering to call another of her children into vocational ministry. He may be using her as a way to teach people in her church what it looks like to "die well," anticipating several other deaths in the next two years. He may be teaching her minister-husband to slow down and care about his family, and in principle other people, instead of being endlessly busy with "the ministry." He may be sparing her from living long enough to witness the moral destruction of her daughter. Her funeral may be the means by which several of her unconverted relatives, for whom she has been praying, will come to faith — conversions for which she would happily give her life. Perhaps one of those converts will become a Christian pastor of rare gift whose ministry of proclamation will touch thousands. Perhaps she is hiding some deep bitterness and hate in her life, and God is using this means to confront her.

I've barely started a list of possible things God may be doing, and I have a small brain. What does the omniscient God think he is doing? In other words, sometimes we have to cover our mouths and confess, in faith, that we cannot possibly grasp all that God is doing when someone suffers. So why should we think in antithetical terms about how God must be doing this but not that, when in reality he may be doing this and that and that, and that and. . . ? But he is trustworthy; we know that, for he sent his Son to suffer on our behalf. 

You can read the rest here.

what I'm reading: a call to prayer from How Long O Lord

Do you ever feel like there's not much point praying? Or that there's not much point praying persistently, fervently, and at length?

I do. I found this deeply challenging. It's from Don Carson's How Long O Lord.

There are some Christians who think that intercessory prayer is likely to be successful in proportion to its length, fervency, intensity, volume, and high-mindedness, that individual conversions or even wide-scale revival can be had for the asking, and that the key to successful praying is badgering God into doing what he otherwise would not be willing to do.

There are other Christians who...cannot quite see what the point of prolonged intercessory prayer is at all. They know, of course, they should engage in prayer...But...they find it easier to make sense of Jesus’ injunction not to let our prayers rabbit on and on under the assumption we will be heard because of our many words (Matt. 6:7), than to imitate Jesus’ example in praying right through the night (Luke 6:12)....

The false prophets of Israel are denounced in these terms: “You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the LORD” (Ezek. 13:5)...They have not interceded with God on behalf of the nation...So judgement threatens:

I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezek. 22:30-31)

This is remarkable. God seeks out believers who will pray in this intercessory way. He expects to be pleaded with along these lines...

The responsibility of his people to pray rests heavily upon them.

why women should read more theology (what I'm reading: Tony Reinke's Lit!)

Do you find it easy, or hard, to read books? Either way, this one's for you.

Top of the list of books I've read recently is Tony Reinke's Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books. I'm an avid reader, and I learned heaps about what and how to read. If you struggle to read, I suspect you'll find this book even more helpful.

Maybe you want to read more, but don't know where to start. Maybe you love books, but your reading feels a little aimless. Reinke covers it all, first with a great theology of books, then with a whole heap of practical tips about how to choose and read books.

This week I've chosen a quote that encourages women to read theological books about Jesus. Next week, I'll go for the other end of the scale, and share something about why we should read novels. Just so you can't say I've left anything - or anyone - out!

Theologically weighty books about Christ are essential for the soul—for men and women. And although women purchase the majority of books released by Christian publishers, women are far less likely to read theological books, writes counselor and author Elyse Fitzpatrick. In her 2003 evaluation of the Christian publishing industry, she writes, “Many women are intimidated by the thought of studying something that is ‘theological’ in nature. They are afraid of being bored, looking foolish, becoming unattractive to men, or becoming divisive.”...

She confronts women who would rather read only novels as a way to escape personal disappointments, and who read these books to “build fantasy castles filled with knights on white steeds who will come to rescue her from her mundane, stressful, empty, or disappointing life.” Rather, she offers this challenge: “Let’s become known as a generation of women who delight in, tremble before, receive counsel from, drink, devour, digest, muse upon, and absolutely cherish God and the truth that He’s revealed about Himself and about ourselves. Let’s not worry about whether we look dumb or too smart.”...

If women commit to reading books of solid theology, their knowledge of Christ will grow..."This is the most delightful pursuit any woman could ever know."

(And who should you read? Reinke suggests, among others, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Jonathon Edwards, John Owen, JI Packer, Don Carson, John Stott, John Piper and CH Mahaney. On the topic of Christ, I'd add Tim Chester and Tim Keller. A good place to start is John Stott's The Cross of Christ and Tim Keller's King's Cross - or how about this one, which I haven't read, but it's by The Don, and that's all the recommendation I need: Don Carson's Scandalous: The cross and resurrection of Jesus.)

Quote is from Tony Reinke Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books pages 96-97.

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor (2) advice to the ordinary

Last week I told you about Don Carson's tribute to his father, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson. This week, I'd like to share Don Carson's 9 reflections on his father's depression and discouragement in ministry.

You'll appreciate these 9 reflections if you minister to others in any way, especially if you sometimes struggle with feelings of inadequacy and discouragement in ministry (and don't we all?!).

• People in ministry (especially workaholics!) need to remember the proper place of rest, and that we live in the freedom of God's grace. "The ministry is so open-ended that one never feels that all possible work has been done, or done as well as one might like. There are always more people to visit, more studying to be done, more preparation to do. What Christians must do, what Christian leaders must do, is constantly remember that we serve our God and Maker and Redeemer under the gospel of grace."
• "Mum used to tell us kids, 'Work hard, and play hard, but never confuse the two.' ... Mum's maxim should be posted on the mirrors of most ministers."
• "It is always disconcerting to see other ministers in your own sphere of service working effectively and fruitfully while you are plagued with stagnation. When that happens, there may be things to learn from more fruitful ministries, but sometimes one must simply rejoice that some ministers are more fruitful and more blessed than you are."
• "Tom had a remarkably tender conscience. On so many fronts this is a good thing. Indeed, it is an almost universally recognized truth that the closer a believer is to God, the more deeply he or she recognizes and feels the weight of personal sin. This might become an insupportable burden if it is not joined with an ever-deepening grasp of the limitless dimensions of the love of God (cf. Ephesians 3:14-21). ... In Tom's case, he not only felt his own sin, but the failures and sins of those in his congregations ... Tom was developing a glass-half empty analysis of himself that was not, finally, realistic."
• "To his enormous credit and his family's good, at no point did he ignore his wife and children. ... Tom did not fall into the assorted temptations that sometimes detach a minister from his family or even lead him to betray them."
• It helps if we're aware of the most effective way of ministering in our particular fields (in Tom's case, he was slow to realise the importance of single language French congregations in Quebec).
• "Much Christian contentment turns on perceiving things in the right grid." When we're experiencing failure in ministry, it's hard to combine contentment in our situation with humble confession of our sins and failing.
• It's important to know ourselves, and how we minister most effectively. "Tom worked best on a team on which others were ordering his life and work for him, and he was set free to play to his strengths. ... Self-knowledge ... is vital."
• "We should recognize that Tom's journal entries expressing deepest anguish frequently have the texture of biblical lament. Tom never stands in judgement of God; he never curses God. In his gloomest moments Tom ends up with a cry for help."

I pray that when you and I face inevitable discouragements in ministry, we would remember these lessons from the life of a faithful, ordinary pastor: the importance of rest as we accept the limits of our creatureliness and enjoy the freedom of grace, the ability to rejoice in the success of others without despairing over our failures, the wisdom to see ourselves clearly and to work effectively in the situation God has placed us in, the faithfulness to care for our families, and the faith to cry out to God when we feel discouraged and alone.

These 9 reflections are from Don Carson's Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor pp. 92-96.

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor (1) to be faithful

Don Carson's Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson is a tribute by a son to his father. It's a moving and encouraging book, and a wonderful antidote to pride.

The man who transcribed the English part of Tom Carson's diaries says,

I used to aspire to be the next Henry Martyn [heroic British Bible translator and missionary to the Muslim peoples of India and Persia]. However, after reading your dad's daires, the Lord has given my heart a far loftier goal: simply to be faithful. I know we as men are but dust, but what dust the man I read about in these diaries was!

Tom Carson was an ordinary pastor, but also that most extraordinary of things: a man who sacrificed himself to tell others about Jesus, who didn't seek the praise of men, who spent much of his life in his knees, who dealt with conflict with humility and forbearance, and who struggled through his own "dark night of the soul" (brought on, as mine is so often, by perfectionistic guilt - but also, as mine so often isn't, by passion for the cause of the gospel) with perseverance and faith.

I cried when I read the closing paragraphs of these memoirs:

When he died, there were no crowds outside the hospital, no editorial comments in the papers, no announcement on television, no mention in Parliament, no attention paid by the nation. In his hospital room there was no one by his bedside. There was only the quiet hiss of oxygen, vainly venting because he had stopped breathing.

But on the other side all the trumpets sounded. Dad won entrance to theh only throne room that matters, not because he was a good man or a great man - he was, after all, a most ordinary pastor - but because he was a forgiven man. And he heard the voice of him whom he longed to hear saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord."

I went away from reading this book determined to aim for that rarest of things: not to be praised or respected, but simply to be faithful.

The highlight of the book for me was the chapter on Tom's depression and discouragement in ministry. What Don Carson says is so significant for anyone in ministry, that I'm saving it for another post.

the armour of God: standing firm in the day of Satan's fury

I recently listened - for the second time, it was so good! - to Don Carson's The Christian in Complete Armour, a talk on Ephesians 6:10-20.

We hear a lot about "spiritual warfare" these days, much of it unhelpful, so we sometimes avoid thinking about the subject at all. Which is a great pity, for it's always been an important evangelical (and Bible) theme: you only have to read the Puritans to see that. I've been thinking of writing a seminar on spiritual warfare, so I thought I'd see what "the Don" has to say.

Here's what I learned:

1. God is a warrior

The Old Testament often pictures God as a warrior (Isa. 32:14; Hab. 3; Ps. 35), and his servants as his troops in need of his strength (Ps. 18, 28, 39).

I've never thought of God as a warrior. How did I miss this important Bible theme? God is the warrior who defeated the enemies of Israel, who overcame Satan through Jesus' death, and who will one day bring all earthly and heavenly powers under his Son.

2. Know your enemy, for the war you are in is vast and subtle

The battles we fight often seem trivial: a hurtful comment from someone at church, an argumentative child, a besetting sin. But behind them lies a greater Enemy, who loves to sew division, bitterness, and division.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12)

Jesus has already won the victory over Satan through his death (Lk. 10:18; Eph. 1:18-23, 3:10-11), but we wait for his victory to be complete (1 Cor. 15:25). The ugliest fighting in any war happens between D-day and V-day, after it's clear who's going to win. Satan has beeen cast out of heaven, yet this is the time of his fury, when the fiercest battles are fought (Rev. 12:12). Our job is to stand our ground until the final blow is struck.

3. Know your equipment, for the weapons you use are astonishing and effective

Here's something I didn't know: almost every bit of the armour in Ephesians 6 is worn by Messiah-King in the Old Testament (Isa. 11:4b-5; 59:17; 52:7). You'll understand the armour better if you're familiar with its Old Testament background, and the armour worn by Roman soldiers when Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians.

• The belt of truth (Isa. 11:5)
  The belt held up the lower garments of the Roman soldier, so they were ready to run and fight. "Truth" here means "faithfulness". Without a faithful, true and reliable character, our ministry will be undermined: you only have to look at some of the tele-evangelists to see that.


• The breastplate of righteousness (Isa. 11:5)
  The breastplate protects the vital organs. We will die on the battlefield if we don't live lives of righteousness. Like Joseph, we should say of every sin, "How can I do this great evil?" (Gen. 39:9). This attitude will protect us against all kinds of temptations.


• Feet fitted with the gospel of peace
  We're like the messenger who ran across the mountains, bringing news of God's victory and peace to Jerusalem (Isa. 52:7-10), but we carry a far greater message of peace. We overcome Satan by "the word of our testimony" (Rev. 12:11). Are we ready to answer questions about our faith? Don says, "If you've got through a whole year and never once explained the gospel - God help you!" Ouch.


• The shield of faith
  This was a full-body wooden shield, covered in thick hide soaked in water, so that the shield wouldn't catch fire when arrows with lighted pitch-bags were shot at it. Satan is overcome by the "blood of the lamb" (Rev. 12:11). When Satan accuses us, we must be ready to appeal, not to the greatness of our faith, but to its object, Jesus. And we must come to know God so well, that we are prepared to trust him in the day of suffering.


• The helmet of salvation
  The salvation Jesus won on the cross is the source and foundation of our protection against Satan.


• The sword of the Spirit
  Our only offensive weapon is the Bible, made effective by the Spirit. Which is why I'm never going to stop encouraging you to read, memorise and meditate on the Bible!

images are from stock.xchng and flickr