Tag Archives: light and momentary

Don’t waste your suffering

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John Piper wrote a great little book called Don’t Waste Your Life, followed later by Don’t Waste Your Cancer. Both books spoke to me – before and during my experience with cancer. The premise is simple. Life is short so live it intentionally and live it well. Oh I know, when your journey is filled with suffering of all kinds, life seems to move slowly, like it may never end. A year and a half after achieving remission from cancer and after my stem cell transplant, I’m still asking my doctors, “When will I get stronger?” But even in the midst of all kinds of trials, life really is short compared to the eternity of time that awaits us. So, how do we respond?

 

“Don’t waste your suffering.”

 

Suffering seems to be wasteful in itself; it robs us of comfort, patience, strength, productivity, and so much more. Suffering leads us to experience indignities that we are sure are unnecessary to the human challenge. But suffering also is a worker, accomplishing in us that which we cannot accomplish ourselves. Consider Paul’s story:

 

“Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”  2 Corinthians 11:24-27

 

Whipped, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, threatened by robbers and countrymen, surrounded by danger all around, sleepless, hungry, cold, and naked… I think you will agree that Paul knew suffering.  If anyone had reason to complain, it was him. But how did he perceive this tremendous distress?

 

” For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

 

He considers his trials light and momentary, insignificant compared to what? Compared to what they are achieving right now for eternal glory. Our sufferings are at work to purify us and build us up, even as we are sure they are only working to tear us down. And they are working also to build others up too:

 

“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.” Philippians 1:12

 

None of us like to suffer and we don’t like watching others suffer. But in the midst of these, we are called to pray (for ourselves and others) and to stand firm. Don’t waste your suffering, knowing that our loving God will not waste an ounce of the pain you give to Him.

 

 

There’s No Place Like Home

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Each time I’ve watched The Wizard of Oz I’m  captivated by the scene where Dorothy fears she will never get back to her Kansas home because the wizard’s balloon left without her. Glinda shows up and tells Dorothy that she always had the power to go back home, but that she wouldn’t have believed it, saying, “She had to learn for herself.” Of course, we all know that Dorothy takes time to reflect that what she learned most was, “There is no place like home.”

Where do you call home? Is it where you live? Or maybe where you grew up or somewhere you used to live? Maybe you have a second home you use for vacations.

The bible teaches us that we are “foreigners in a strange land,” (1 Peter 2:11-12); that we are actually “citizens of heaven” Philippians 3:20-21); and that our behaviors and ambitions should reflect this. While we are citizens of our own country and have a home on this earth, this is not our real home. We are just visiting for a very short span of time in the middle of eternity.

Think how foolish it would be if you vacationed somewhere for a week or two and decided to invest all your time and money remodeling the place for that short visit. You’d spend all that time and money for a short moment of your life. That is a picture of our 70-100 year life; it is actually a very short period of time, perhaps a blink of an eye, compared to how long we will all live (somewhere) for eternity.

Evan GiallanzaEvan Giallanza knew this. He lived in El Paso where he served as worship leader and pastor at my sister’s church. But he knew his real home was in heaven. He loved Jesus, his family, his church and people in general. He fought a hard fight with a difficult cancer and fought it well, even laughing and making others laugh at the end, amidst his pain. I find myself missing this man whom I never have met!  So when I was told that Evan “went home” to be with the Lord on Memorial Day, I knew this was not just a cliché or euphemism for dying. Evan is home; no more pain, no more sorrow.  There is no place like (your real) home, a home of perfect peace that surpasses all understanding.

Would you join me in praying for his dear wife Jill who not only lost her husband but also her mother who died that same day? And also pray for their children Amy, Dustin, and Kaitlin? So many of you have prayed for Marcia and me; I tell you the truth: our battle, while still in process, is very light and momentary compared to the struggles Evan and Jill have faced and that Jill and her children have ahead of them. Perhaps you would even commit to adding this special family to your daily prayer agenda, especially during this difficult season. Thank you.