Sovereign Suffering

In a couple of weeks, we begin our new Kerusso Corner program on Wednesday nights.  We will be holding conversations about the places in life where God’s Word meets the world.  We are beginning those conversations at the heart of the gospel with a series of discussions on the sovereignty of God.  I know that when His sovereignty is brought up, there are always questions about 2 things: free will and evil.  So, we will have some conversations about those things.

In preparation, I am reading some materials on these topics, and I just came across a glorious little book I want you to know about: The Suffering Letters of C. H. Spurgeon.  This book is classic Spurgeon.  He is unequaled for his wit and his ability to speak with the clarity of high definition.  His pictures in words are more powerful than our pictures on a flat screen TV.

For instance, he says that when we suffer, we tend to question God’s goodness.  Then, Spurgeon nails us on that very point, saying that our questioning God’s wisdom in removing us from active service would be like a fly on the mail cart thinking the mail could not get delivered if he were shooed away from its wheel.  In other words, God does not need us at all.  If He removes us from service through a suffering, He is doing so for our sakes, and He will show us yet more His great power.  It is both an humbling and strengthening word to us from Spurgeon, and this little book is full of such help.

(For those of you interested in the conversations, please show up on Wednesday nights, beginning September 1st.  If you do not live near Cedar Grove, you should be able to watch these conversations on video.  More information about that later.)