We live in a broken world, and life is often challenging. It doesn’t take long for most of us to find this for ourselves the moment we hit adolescence. The good news, however, is that our Creator is close to us and He understands every pain and struggle we go through.
Just recently, we remember Christ’s suffering and death on Good Friday. He knows about pain more than anyone. Before the crucifixion, He had undergone every kind of torture, humiliation, and rejection. And yet, throughout it all, He remained blameless.
Because of Christ, we know we can persevere through even the most difficult times. Good Friday reminds us of a few very encouraging certainties. In a recent sermon at DUMC by Asiri Fernando, leader from Youth for Christ Sri Lanka and son of the well-known Ajith Fernando, he shared that because of Good Friday, we can:
Fix our eyes on a God who understands our pain (Luke 23:44, Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, John 3:14, Galatians 3:13)
Scripture tells us that on Christ’s death, darkness enveloped the land even though it was noon and lasted for three hours. Spiritually, it was a dark time, but it was also the herald of Christ’s finished work on the cross that would lead to His resurrection and defeat of death three days later.
Christ came to bring light upon the darkness. He endured all the pain and suffering to take on the sins of the world, thus becoming sin so that we can become the righteousness of God through this act of redemption. He walked the path of pain and brokenness for our sake.
When we go through periods of darkness, pain, depression, separation, and loneliness, we can look to Christ. He understands our pain, and we can find strength in knowing He understands. Because we are in the Lord, darkness does not define us anymore. We are light in the Lord. This is our true identity.
The darkness was there perhaps because no eye should see, and silence because no tongue could tell the anguish of soul that the sinless Saviour now endured. – John Stott
Look to God in Total Dependence (Psalm 34:5)
The night before, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ had prayed that God might take the cup of suffering from Him. Yet, God’s redemption plan had to be fulfilled, and to bring that to pass, Christ had to suffer and die as the Lamb of God.
The Christian life is not free from suffering. There are times when God will allow difficult situations to come into our lives because it is in such times that we learn to grow – in our faith, in our trust, and to look to Him. In such times, we can either look to ourselves and drown in self-pity OR we can look to God in total dependence and find confidence in Him. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, and He intercedes for us in our groaning (Romans 8:26).
The word of God says that the Lord blesses those who are poor in spirit. In Matthew, they are those who understand their spiritual poverty, that they are spiritually bankrupt, that they are sinners in need of God. In Luke, they are those who are broken and contrite because of the circumstances in their lives, and amidst that brokenness, they look to God.
On Good Friday, we remember what Christ has done for us. But it also encourages us to place our dependence on a God who loves us so much that words cannot express it. Rather than put our confidence in material things that will lure us away from Christ, learn to place our dependence on Him, giving extravagantly and being rich in good works. For a Christian, the posture is always dependent on God and Christ.
Surrender our Lives in Total Trust to an utterly Faithful Father (Psalm 31:9-12, 1 Peter 4:19, Galatians 6:9-10, Psalm 31:24)
There is a recurring theme in the Bible, which is that God is faithful. As we experience more of God’s comfort and love and grow in our belief in His steadfast love and faithfulness, we also learn to place our Trust in Him. It is not merely dependence, but rather, having an encompassing and total trust and faith in the Father God, who is absolutely trustworthy and faithful.
Dependence and faith go hand in hand. It is in our dependence on God that we learn of His goodness and who He is. As we develop our trust in Him, we know that we can surrender everything in our lives to Him in the faith that He will bless and take care of us.
In closing, Brother Asiri shared the story of Adoniram Judson. Adoniram was an American Baptist missionary to Burma (currently Myanmar). Together with his wife, Ann, he worked tirelessly among the Burmese. They translated the Bible into Burmese and got their first convert after 7 years in the field. Adoniram was imprisoned for 17 months under suspicion of being a spy during the Anglo-Burmese war. 11 months after being released, he lost his wife and child to sickness. Despite all that, he kept his eyes fixed on God. In 1831, a breakthrough exploded in Burma, and thousands came to Christ. Despite going through hardship, Adoniram learned to fix his eyes on a God who understood his pain, look to God in total dependence, and surrender his life in complete trust in God.
If you are going through a tough time, entrust in total faith to an absolutely faithful Father. He will bring us through, and we will see the fruits of our perseverance.
This is an adaptation and abridgment of the message shared by Bro Asiri Fernando at DUMC on Good Friday 2023. For the original full message, you may access the video sermon at https://youtu.be/CqxDJz1gay0. Bro Asiri also shared an Easter Sunday message, A Strong Foundation for An Abundant Life, which can be accessed at https://youtu.be/DuCLxiTjncM
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