“’Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’” (John 12:27-28, ESV).
At a pastors conference in one of the former Eastern Bloc countries, God had put it on my heart to speak on the purpose of suffering in the Christian life.
Approximately 1,000 pastors were in attendance, and the message I was about to share was one that I had battled with beforehand. “Lord, these men and women suffer already. Why can’t I bring a word of encouragement or talk about some kind of blessing instead?”
Nevertheless, on the first day of the conference, I went ahead and preached what I knew the Lord had given me, only to be met with a silence that was almost eerie. When I was finished, the pastors in that room simultaneously fell on their knees and began to weep. Initially, I thought, Oh God, I’ve brought more despair to their hearts when I should have encouraged them!
After the meeting, one of their leaders approached me and essentially said, “Pastor, you don’t know what has happened today. All this time, we thought that God was angry with us…. We watch television programs from your country and get the impression that if we are children of God, we should be wealthy and abounding.”
At that point, I realized that they had actually been weeping for joy. They finally understand that what was happening in their lives was not God’s punishment. On the contrary, he was preparing them to be able to withstand trials in the days ahead.
Many disillusioned Christians do not make this connection. They reach a point in their trials where they feel wronged, betrayed and abandoned. Then they begin to question God’s commitment to them and cry out, “God, you have failed me!” God has not failed them. They failed to go beyond the surface of Scripture to learn what it really means to walk with Christ. They failed to embrace the truths that promise to sustain those who are determined to walk in the footsteps of their master.
No matter what adverse circumstances you find yourself in today, be thankful that the Lord is bringing you into places of fire where everything unlike Christ is being purged. He is working out his purposes in your life and fitting you to represent him in this generation.
Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020 he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.