Notes of Faith October 23, 2026
God Will Use This
Trusting God in Turbulent Times
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:10–13
Since the beginning of time, the one question that has filled the hearts and minds of men is, why does God allow us to suffer? We will not have an absolute answer to this question until we are standing in His presence, but we do know that suffering teaches us several things.
First, God can use suffering of any kind to draw us into a closer relationship with Him. Paul was doing God’s will when we read about him in Philippians, finding himself in a Roman prison. A deep devotion to the Lord never excuses us from pain and trial. However, it will draw us closer as we place our faith in His ability to strengthen and deliver us.
Second, suffering teaches us to be sensitive to those around us who are hurting. If we never face heartache or trial, we will know very little about how to comfort the people God brings into our lives—some who have very deep needs. Second Corinthians 1:3–7 talks more about this where we read,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
Third, suffering teaches us patience and endurance, especially as we press closer to Christ through the reading of His Word. There are a lot of things we cannot learn apart from the process of experiencing them in our own lives. One of these things is God’s dependability and closeness in times of need. Suffering not only teaches us patience and endurance, but it also can deepen our faith in God if we will cooperate with the season of difficulty as it relates to our spiritual growth. To cooperate with it means to look to God and seek His heart and His hand in the midst of our troubles and grief.
I went through a three-year period of deep personal loss and suffering. Not only did I lose eight of my close family members during that time, but I also lost my routine and the closeness of my church staff, ministry staff, and church community when that season was coupled with the lockdown and pandemic of COVID-19. Prior to that time, I could have preached on God’s compassion and closeness in times of need. In fact, I did preach on it. But I couldn’t have shared with you personally at the level I can now. I know that God is real and ever-present in times of loneliness and deep despair. I know that He can give strength in troubled times. I also know that He can meet us where we are through ways we could never imagine. I know this because I experienced it in those challenging three years.
Suffering teaches us to be sensitive to those around us who are hurting.
My ears had heard about God, but during that time of personal pain, my eyes saw Him.
God will allow us attendance in the academy of suffering, oftentimes as a way of drawing us nearer to Him and to what matters most to Him. He wants our hearts to reflect His own. Suffering and turbulent times have a way of removing distractions and reducing our own egos to such a level that enables God to make Himself known to us intimately. When this happens, we are then better equipped to strengthen and comfort others in need. I feel an even greater call and purpose on my life at this season than ever before, and I know that is in large part due to the season of suffering God allowed me to experience, with Him near my side.
Reflection Questions
1. How has your understanding of suffering evolved over time, especially in relation to your faith?
2. Reflecting on your own experiences, how do you see suffering shaping your character or influencing your interactions with others?
3. Spend some time writing a prayer to God asking Him to help you allow turbulent times to produce good results and fruit in your spiritual life, asking Him to help you overcome anything that is standing in your way.
Today’s Challenge
When we suffer, we become more equipped to strengthen and comfort others in need. And sometimes it can be helpful to shift our focus from our own pain and problems to find ways to support and encourage those who are also going through a difficult time. It allows us to gain perspective and may even temporarily alleviate our own suffering. It reminds us that we have the ability to make a real difference in the lives of those around us—whether that means just sitting with a friend who is grieving or sending a card with flowers to a family member who is struggling at work.
Today we are going to brainstorm some ways you could reach out to others who are hurting. Think about the people in your life, but also remember groups in your community, including nonprofits, soup kitchens, and shelters. In the thought bubbles provided, write out who they are as well as ways you could comfort and empathize with them. Don’t feel pressure to make any commitments—after all, you’re also hurting—but make space for God to move while you think over these things.
Excerpted from Trusting God in Turbulent Times by Tony Evans, copyright Tony Evans.
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Rom 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
John 16:33
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation (sufferings), but take courage; I have overcome the world."
We do suffer in this world because sin exists and because of our own sin, but in Christ, we overwhelmingly conquer and win the ultimate victory of eternal life, without the presence of sin, but in the presence of our Lord and Savior forever more!
Pastor Dale