If we take just physical suffering for example, there’s no question that it’s much easier to maintain strong faith when our bodies are fit, healthy, and functioning well. Indeed, one of the quickest ways to weaken faith is to abuse the bodies God has given us through overdoing work or underdoing sleep, exercise, and good food.

Three Pills
God has so made us that the body and soul are mysteriously tied together, dependent on one another, and to some degree each determining the health of the other. Many of the depressed people I’ve counseled have ended there through overwork, under-sleeping, and failing to exercise and eat well. A Christian psychologist friend of mine told me once that he always prescribes three pills as a vital part of his treatment plan for depressed patients: good food, good diet, and good sleep!

I know myself that when I’m not sleeping enough, or when I’m not getting daily exercise, that negative thought patterns quickly set in and I start spiraling downwards. My weary body drags down my mind and soul. But a few good nights’ sleep and regular exercise will usually turn me around again so that I can live with a more positive and God-glorifying faith.

Sick Bodies
But what if health is no longer an option? What if our body is sick, diseased, disabled, and even dying? That will happen to most of us eventually, even to those of us who have cared most for our bodies. God is able to work even the worst of suffering together for our good (Rom. 8:28).

He does this by helping us to find a redemptive perspective, which, Donald Miller explains, is really about creating two lists rather than one.

Normally when something hard happens we start a running mental list of all the negative consequences. And that’s fine and normal. Finding a redemptive perspective, however, is about creating a second list, a list of the benefits of a given tragedy. And there are always benefits.

The “Benefits” of Suffering
Why not go back through the yesterday’s list of “benefits” from the conviction of sin and calculate which of these fruits that suffering has produced in your life. Just like sin, suffering humbles us, sensitizes us, silences us, draws us, makes us dependent, increases carefulness, fans hatred for sin, motivates us to oppose the devil, drives us to the Bible and our knees, stimulates love for the Christ who suffered for us, provokes thankfulness for the good days and for the good God draws out of the bad days, makes us better comforters and encouragers, and above all, makes us long for heaven.

As the Apostle said, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 1:18). But we don’t need to wait until heaven to see and enjoy the fruit of suffering. Though “no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11).

Beautiful Balance
That’s a beautiful balance, isn’t it. The Apostles do not downplay sin or suffering; they feel both deeply and painfully. However neither do they view them apart from the sovereign power and wisdom of God who is able to make the most and the best of our least and our worst.

The suffering Apostle Paul put it this way: “As dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yetnot killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (2 Cor. 6:9-10). Both sides together at the same time. Sorrowful and rejoicing. Mourning and being comforted.

This is what distinguishes faith from mere optimism and enables faith to trump optimism. We confront the brutal agony of our lives, our families, our churches, and our society. But, at the same time, we also keep steady faith in the Word of God, especially its sure promises of personal perseverance and the ultimate triumph of faith and of the Church of Christ. Optimism is not faith; but faith is optimistic.

Sometimes they are also our questions.

Where’s God? And what’s He doing?

And sometimes our answers are, “I do not know. And. I do not know.”

But Job provides us with better answers.

God knows where I am.

“He knows the way that I take” (23:10a).

Although I don’t know where God is and I may not even know where I am, God knows my exact location, direction, and destination. As a child on a long car journey, I don’t need to know; as long as Dad knows.

God knows what He’s doing.

“When he has tested me, I shall come out like gold” (23:10b).

He is proving me: He tests me as a skilled carpenter tests his work to its limits – to demonstrate his confidence in his work.

He is improving me: With His eye on the timer and His hand on the thermostat, He knows exactly how hot and how long to leave me in the furnace in order to make my gold purer and brighter.

God knows where I am and He knows what He’s doing!

They belong to Martin Lee, the 2-week-old son of Steven and Jamie Lee. If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you’ve probably been blessed by Steven’s website ministry, SermonAudio.com, of which he is the President.

Steven and Jamie have known for a while that Martin was going to be born with some serious health problems, and, sure enough, within days of his birth, he required a nine-hour open heart surgery, the first of many he will require in the years ahead (D.V.)

Steven’s a dear friend of mine and he gave me permission to post these pictures and point people to his blog, where he’s been been posting updates for the tens of thousands of Christians around the globe who are prayerfully concerned for his family, a family that has been such a blessing to the whole world for so many years.

I love Steven’s blog posts and updates; they are so real, so human, and yet so full of spiritual maturity and stability throughout all the traumatic ups and downs of these weeks. They also have some moving pictures. I mean, who could not pray after seeing such eyes?

They seem to say “Daddy, can you get these tubes off me and take me home!” Yet they are what’s keeping little Martin alive.

We often feel like little Martin, don’t we. There are things in our lives we so want to be rid of and free from. They make us so uncomfortable and unhappy. We look up to our heavenly Father and plead plaintively, “Father, will you please take these things away?”

But He knows they are essential for our spiritual health. No matter how uncomfortable, upsetting, or intrusive, our heavenly physician will not take them away while we need them.

I’m sure He’d love to take them away, just as Steven and Jamie at times would love to pull out all these pipes, sweep up little Martin, and run away home with him. However, God loves us too much to save us short-term pain at the expense of long-term gain.

We keep on praying that the day will soon come, when little Martin will be free of wires, cords, lines, etc, and be safely ensconced at home in the loving arms of his parents.

But the joy of that longed-for day is a mere shadow of the eternal day when the Lord will remove all that discomforts and distresses us, sweep us up in His arms, and take us home to be ensconced in His love forever. Then we’ll look back and say, “Father, thank you for every tube, every cord, yes even every tape removal!”

Please pray for the Lee family, and keep updated with Martin’s progress via Steven’s blog.