Book Review: Kiss the Wave: Embracing God in Your Trials by Dave Furman

There are many works on the subject of suffering. Many of them good, some very good, Kiss the Wave: Embracing Your Trials by Dave Furman is exceptionally good. Dave Furman is a pastor in Dubai and is no stranger to suffering. He has endured a nerve disorder that gives him pain everyday. He speaks not only Biblically on this issue but also from his own experience. Throughout the book he offers personal stories from his life. Suffering comes in many forms and Furman delves into them all.

“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.”

As many know, this is a Charles Spurgeon quote.  Spurgeon suffered much in his own life from depression and several physical ailments as well. He was fully aware of the pains of this life and thus we have this famous quote from which the title of this book was taken.

In thirteen easily readable chapters Furman addresses the many aspects of suffering. Whether it be a physical difficulty, emotional distress or from many other issues, he takes us through and offers endless encouragement and many Biblical helps to sustain the reader.

Furman points out that we too often look for our significance from the world, depend on our circumstances for happiness, beg for physical and emotional healing all the while we may be missing God's point.

Rather with great pastoral care and love the author directs us to "...embrace the reality that God is using your pain to make you more like Christ." That's difficult to fathom but Furman explains this truth. "...The way to fight through our trials and grow in holiness is what we've talked about all through this book. Growing in holiness doesn't start by trying harder, but by believing better. We need to hope in the future grace we have in Christ..." God uses weakness to show our need for dependence upon him." Because ultimately, "This is why we kiss the wave. Our trials  are an endless buffet table with opportunities for us to grow and look more like Christ. As you struggle through your pain, be comforted that God is not wasting this trial but is doing a good work in you..." (All quotes from Kiss the Wave: Embracing Your Trials by Dave Furman.)

Furman never minimizes the pain the reader may be going through. He knows of it all too well. But he equally knows he easy it is to let frustration rule, to feel self pity, and to give over to sin in our darkest moments.

Furman's final chapter and conclusion are most encouraging. I'll leave that for the reader to explore. The appendix includes helpful recommended resources, a general index and a scripture index.

Give this book a read. You'll find it most helpful and encouraging.

Crossway has provided a complimentary copy of this book through Beyond the Page.

Happiness?

Watching this will be time well spent...

Christian Reflection on Suffering and Evil - Don Carson

It is well worth the time to view this video. Enjoy and be blessed.



Thanks to Lanier Theological Library for sharing this video.

Which city will you chose?

How we need to learn the lesson of suffering...

"Is there a lesson here for how we should suffer? Have you ever noticed that we are not only to imitate the Lord's suffering, but the Lord's joy in it? Paul said to the Thessalonians, "You became imitators...of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 1:6). It was the joy of the Lord in affliction that filled this young church.

"This is a call to us now in our day. Will we embrace suffering for the cause of Christ? Not joylessness, but suffering. Will we heed the call of Hebrews 13:13, "Let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured"? The answer is going to hang on whether the city of God is more desirable to us than the city of man. Will we answer, "Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13:14)?

...For those who have tasted the joy of Jesus, surely nothing is more compelling than the all-surpassing hope of hearing his final word, "Well done good and faithful servant...Enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:21). The city of God is a city of joy. And that joy is the indestructible joy of Christ. Taken from Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper, pgs. 38-39.

Which city will you chose, the city of man or the city of God?

Doctrine of the Holy Spirit Week 9

    So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
    (Romans 8:12-17 ESV)

Check out Redeemer Church's updated website here.

Don't Wait to Prepare to Suffer

John Piper reminds us:

Suffering is nothing more than the taking away of bad things or good things that the world offers for our enjoyment — reputation, esteem among peers, job, money, spouse, sexual life, children, friends, health, strength, sight, hearing, success, etc. When these things are taken away (by force or by circumstance or by choice), we suffer. But if we have followed Paul and the teaching of Jesus and have already counted them as loss for the surpassing value of gaining Christ, then we are prepared to suffer.

...If when you become a Christian you write a big red “LOSS” across all the things in the world except Christ, then when Christ calls you to forfeit some of those things, it is not strange or unexpected. The pain and the sorrow may be great. The tears may be many, as they were for Jesus in Gethsemane. But we will be prepared. We will know that the value of Christ surpasses all the things the world can offer and that in losing them we gain more of Christ.


Consider now those things you've lost or will lose as gaining Christ. Don't wait. Seek Him out today.

 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ

Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and

count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

(Philippians 3:7-8 ESV)

Read more here.



Let's stop fooling ourselves...

John Piper

When Paul says, “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink,” he does not mean, “Let’s all become lechers.” He means, there is a normal, simple, comfortable, ordinary life of human delights that we may enjoy with no troubling thoughts of heaven or hell or sin or holiness or God – if there is no resurrection from the dead. And what stunned me about this train of thought is that many professing Christians seem to aim at just this, and call it Christianity. Paul did not see his relation to Christ as the key to maximizing his physical comforts and pleasures in this life. No, Paul’s relation to Christ was a call to choose suffering – a suffering that was beyond what would make atheism “meaningful” or “beautiful” or “heroic.” It was a suffering that would have been utterly foolish and pitiable to choose if there is no resurrection into the joyful presence of Christ… Judge for yourself. How many Christians do you know who could say, “The lifestyle I have chosen as a Christian would be utterly foolish and pitiable if there is no resurrection?”

John Piper

Desiring God, 1996, p. 219

Cross to Glory - Mark 9:9-13

    And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
(Mark 9:9-13 ESV)

 

Share It - Don't Stuff it -- Proverbs 17:17

    A friend loves at all times,
        and a brother is born for adversity.
(Proverbs 17:17 ESV)

"We may also make our complaint to men. So did Job; "Have pity, have pity on me, O my friends; for the hand of God has touched me' (Job 19:21). And it is a mercy if we have any friends that are wise, faithful, and experienced; they are born for such a time as this (Prov. 17:17) ...

I may burden the heart of my friend; but how little does that ease my own! Yet the very opening of the heart to an experienced, tender Christian, is some relief, and the engaging his prayers is more. Thus far you moan safely; in all this there is no danger." (Taken from Facing Grief: Counsel for Mourners by John Flavel, Banner of Truth Trust, pg. 18.)

When you attend worship this Sunday, share those burdens and afflictions you've been shouldering on your own. Church should be a safe place to be yourself, not hide those trials and find some relief in  godly Christian friends who are willing to listen and share your struggles.

S.D.G.

Pleasure in Our Infirmities ?

A verse many of us need to ponder. Calvin does well explaining it for us...

    For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV)

"I take pleasure in infirmities ...Let us take notice, then, that infirmity is a general term, and that under it is comprehended the weakness of our nature, as well as all tokens of abasement. Now the point in question was Paul’s outward abasement. He proceeded farther, for the purpose of showing, that the Lord humbled him in every way, that, in his defects, the glory of God might shine forth the more resplendently, which is, in a manner, concealed and buried, when a man is in an elevated position. He now again returns to speak of his excellences, which, at the same time, made him contemptible in public view, instead of procuring for him esteem and commendation.

For when I am weak, that is — “The more deficiency there is in me, so much the more liberally does the Lord, from his strength, supply me with whatever he sees to be needful for me.” For the fortitude of philosophers is nothing else than contumacy, or rather a mad enthusiasm, such as fanatics are accustomed to have. “If a man is desirous to be truly strong, let him not refuse to be at the same time weak Let him,” I say, “be weak in himself that he may be strong in the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:10.) Should any one object, that Paul speaks here, not of a failure of strength, but of poverty, and other afflictions, I answer, that all these things are exercises for discovering to us our own weakness; for if God had not exercised Paul with such trials, he would never have perceived so clearly his weakness. Hence, he has in view not merely poverty, and hardships of every kind, but also those effects that arise from them, as, for example, a feeling of our own weakness, self-distrust, and humility."

What a loving God we serve who works in our weaknesses through our trials to bring us to Him.

Suffering: God Tests - Proverbs 17:3

    The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
        and the LORD tests hearts.
(Proverbs 17:3 ESV)

Suffering: God Knows

Elihu

    Shall one who hates justice govern?
        Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
    who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
        and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
    who shows no partiality to princes,
        nor regards the rich more than the poor,
        for they are all the work of his hands?
    In a moment they die;
        at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,
        and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.
    “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,
        and he sees all his steps.
(Job 34:17-21 ESV)

Suffering, Laxatives and Martin Luther

The devil has sworn to kill me, this I certainly know, and he will have no peace until he has devoured me. All right, if he devours me, he shall devour a laxative (God willing) which will make his bowels and anus too tight for him. Do you want to bet? One has to suffer if he wants to possess Christ. It would be easy indeed for us to triumph if we were willing to deny and calumniate [Christ]. Yet it is written: "Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). This is no longer just a word; it has become a reality, and we should act accordingly. Yet He is [here] who along with the tribulation brings about the escape for the faithful. (Taken from The Wit and Wisdom of Martin Luther by Eric W. Gritsch, Fortress Press, page 94.)

Though humorous, the above statement from the hand of Martin Luther carries much wisdom. And we as believers must embrace the tribulations that come our way. Whether sickness, financial crisis, loss of employment or any other miseries endured in this life, it is all from the hand of God for our good and His glory.

S.D.G.

By afflictions, troubles, distresses, and dangers

Thomas Brooks

By afflictions, troubles, distresses, and dangers—the Lord teaches his people to look upon sin as the most loathsome thing in the world, and to look upon holiness as the most lovely thing in the world. Sin is never so bitter, and holiness is never so sweet, as when our troubles are greatest and our dangers highest. By afflictions the Lord teaches his people to sit loose from this world, and to make sure the great things of that other world. By affliction God shows his people the vanity, vexation, emptiness, weakness, and nothingness of all created things—and the choiceness, preciousness, and sweetness of communion with himself, and of interest in himself. "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word." Psalms 119:67. "I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me." Psalm 119:75

Thomas Brooks (2010-06-09). A Word in Season to Suffering Saints (Kindle Locations 272-278). Unknown. Kindle Edition.

Embrace More Affliction

If we know how to suffer well, and if we feel that "to die is gain" because of Jesus, then we will know how to live well. ...Suffering in the path of Christian obedience, with joy-because the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life (Psalm 63:3)-is the clearest display of the worth of God in our lives. Therefore, faith-filled suffering is essential in this world for the most intense, authentic worship. When we are most satisfied with God in suffering, he will be most glorified in us in worship. Our problem is not styles of music. Our problem is styles of life. When we embrace more affliction for the worth of Christ, there will be more fruit in the worship of Christ.

Piper, John (2008-04-07). The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd (Swans Are Not Silent) . Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.

MacArthur on Romans 8:28

No matter what our situation, our suffering, our persecution, our sinful failure, our pain, our lack of faith-in those things, as well as in all other things, our heavenly Father will work to produce our ultimate victory and blessing. The corollary of that truth is that nothing can ultimately work against us. Any temporary harm we suffer will be used by God for our benefit (see 2 Cor. 12:7--10). All things includes circumstances and events that are good and beneficial in themselves as well as those that are in themselves evil and harmful...


Does God Cause Christians to Suffer? (Romans 8) John MacArthur from John MacArthur on Vimeo.

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Why Does God Allow Suffering To Come To The Lives Of Some Of His Children And Not Others? from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

Nancy Guthrie on Suffering, Hope, and the Centrality of Christ from Desiring God

MacArthur on Suffering

Suffering part 2

In the last post on this subject I hope I demonstrated at least to some small degree that we will all experience suffering at some point in our lives. Some will have short bursts, others will have longer exposure but pain and suffering will come. Jesus, Paul and Peter definitively express this fact. So how do we deal with it? How do we help others through it? As we are not islands, Scripture makes it clear we are a community of believers in His church. The church, then, needs to know how to be a haven for its own suffering people. Author and teacher Nancy Guthrie offers six ways to accomplish this in her address at The Gospel Coalition 2011 titled “Is Your Church a Safe Place for Hurting People.”


A safe church will

1. Overcome the awkwardness to engage with the hurting person
We need to overcome our fear and talk to the hurting saint.

2. Make room for tears and sadness
People need time to heal. They will be sad. Give them room for a time to cry.

3. Go deeper than deliverance in prayer
Stop trying to pray away suffering. Pray that the suffering will be used to bring God glory.

4. Gently challenge spiritualism and sentimentality with spiritual truth
Teach and preach the truth. Get away from false assumptions about trials & suffering.

5. Anticipate family (both blood and church) pressure points
Hurting people will feel out of place, come along side them, be with them. Help them to start to turn their focus away from themselves.

6. Facilitate turning misery into ministry
Suffering people need to turn their misery into ministry by helping others. Through serving healing comes.

My few notes above do not do justice to Guthrie’s talk. I strongly urge you to listen, pray and apply these few principles for those who are hurting in your church.