Hello everybody, my name is Colin. I'm with Lithia Ministries and we will be doing the
second podcast today. Forgive me if I sound kind of sick, I'm still kind of getting over
a cold. It's been about a month since we did the last podcast. We're still shooting for
a podcast out every week. So bear with us while we get that schedule down and still
kind of are getting in the swing of things. Today I wanted to talk about the topic of
suffering in the Bible. This is a topic that I know is very near and dear. It's going to
be not the right way to put it, but very impactful and important to many people's lives, including
my own. Us as Christians look for solace in the Bible. The topic of suffering is one that
many Christians throughout, well, many religious people, even go back to the Israelites, have
struggled with and understanding with. Suffering is even one of the biggest reasons that people
will give that argue for the non-existence of a loving and caring God. So for all those
reasons I wanted to touch on this subject and obviously we could go hours and hours
for this, but I found a few verses today that I wanted to touch on that are kind of similar
to each other, the overall topic of suffering, but also kind of touch on three different
aspects that I think do a good job of overall encompassing suffering. So our first verse
today, once again I will be using the King James version of the Bible. It is my understanding
that we haven't gotten the podcast on YouTube yet. I think we're doing Spotify and I think
we're maybe doing one other place. I don't remember what though. I had previously mentioned
a podcast so I'll leave it in the comments if we want to use a different version. I don't
think Spotify has comments, but we'll talk it out, us here at Alithea, for a way to get
communication going with the people listening to the podcast. We might decide to set up
people or set up the email or just not set it up, just put that out in the public domain
so that people can email us, share thoughts, and if we get some feedback saying what version
of the Bible. But again we did King James version last time and King James version of
the Bible is obviously very impactful to history so I just like using that. So starting today
we're going to read from Romans 5 verse 3 and 4. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations
also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.
This is Romans chapter 5 verses 3 and 4. So the topic or the understanding of this is
something that we hear a lot. That suffering kind of gives you a deeper understanding of
life and kind of gives you a different perspective. The idea that your tribulations worketh your
patience. Sorry, when I read it I always want to say worketh. But that going through suffering
you are developing your patience. You truly do get a very different understanding and
perspective of life when you go through something specifically traumatic. It almost feels like
the quote unquote mundane things of life. Not that they're not important anymore, but
that they don't weigh on you as heavily. And I don't like using the word mundane, just
every day is the day that the Lord was made. But we're going to use that word. I can't
think of a better word to use. But going to work, making meals for yourself, spending
time with your family, that really racks anxiety in a lot of people. I think I just saw a poll
a couple days ago saying that a lot of people in my generation, Gen Z, have panic attacks
by just the idea of having a phone call with someone. And that's very, it's just crazy
to think about just talking with someone for the five minutes for a phone call. It gives
people anxiety attacks. Just wanted to use that as an example again. Working at your
patients, you really, again, just putting things in perspective, it's just a phone call.
But again, if you don't have that patience, if you don't have that perspective of a phone
call, you get the idea of a lot of people, you see a lot of people online talking about
overthinking, that phone call, you've really spiraled in your head. And then continuing
the verse that patience works experience, a little bit of the same idea of that understanding
just, you know, the experience in this verse is really just patience over time. You're
growing in patience, and then you are experiencing the growth in your patience. So I'm not going
to reiterate a lot of things I just said. But again, just the idea of having that perspective,
you not only have you kind of seen that, again, quote unquote mundane things of life, or of
life, they're not going to weigh on you as heavily. And then as you go through life,
seeing those things not weigh on you so much that is your experience. All of a sudden you're
looking at things and you know, all of a sudden 10 years go by and you're like, Whoa, I really
got worked up about high school, about, you know, being the cool kid and wanting people
to like me in high school. And now you find that very silly. And you look back on it like,
wow, I was that kind of person. And wrapping up the verse experience works hope. And hope
is a very deep theological virtue. We kind of touched on that in the last podcast with
the joy. Hope is very important to us as Christians. We have hope in Jesus resurrection, we have
hope that we have hope in life everlasting. We have hope that Jesus is going to come back
to judge the living and the dead. So hope is a very deep theological virtue. And we
could, again, just go on for hours about that. But keeping it short, I wanted to, that's
Romans just want to touch on patience, experience and hope. Our next verse, second Corinthians
chapter one, verses three and four. Blessed be God, even the father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our tribulation
that we may be to comfort them which are in any trouble, but the comfort wherewith ourselves
are comforted of God. Once again, this is, I don't want to say a stereotype, but again,
it's something you hear a lot. When you're going through stuff in your life, people will
say, oh, you've gone through this, you will be able to better help people in the future
who are going through that. I know I myself, whenever I was going through things, my mom
would always tell me that God was allowing me to go through this so that I could one
day help people going through the things that I would struggle with and still am struggling
with. And I think that's a very comforting thought, at least in my experience. A lot
of people I know, I think, find that a very comforting thought. People like to attach
significance to what's going on in their lives, even if it's a very, very negative thing.
And it can be very tough to just sit in your pain and your suffering and truly wallow in
it. I think that's never going to end. And again, if you don't have that perspective
going back to Romans, that can really hurt. That can really hurt you to your heart. But
God promises us that he comforts us in our suffering. And again, I read verse four again,
who comfort us in our tribulation, referring to God, that we may be able to comfort them,
which are in any trouble. The them is your fellow man, your neighbor. By the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. You almost get this imagery of a feedback
loop. God comforts you, where then you comfort others, and then through your comforting of
others, you are comforted of God, the promise that God makes to us. So I thought that was
a very beautiful verse. And again, that's something that we hear a lot in our modern
culture and from people very close to us is that our suffering, God allows us to go through
it so that we make comfort those around us. And our last verse is Romans 8, 18. For I
reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. And again, like I had mentioned earlier on, these verses
are kind of similar, but I feel I just want to touch on a couple of different aspects
of this. This Romans verse, kind of similar to Corinthians, again, well, and also the
Romans verse, we're getting that idea of perspective again, that the sufferings of the right now,
how insignificant it is when in the face of God and the heavens and our life eternal.
You will a lot of times hear theologians talk about how our life on earth, the 80, 75, 80
years, I think is the lifespan right now, that however long we live on earth is a minuscule
speck of our entire lives we will spend in heaven. And again, I think that's just a comforting
thought, a very comforting thought when you're sitting in your suffering. And when tied to
Corinthians, it's kind of hard to tell people when they're in it. You hear this a lot, it'll
get better down the road, light at the end of the tunnel kind of idea. And you can only
hear that so many times before you're like, okay, well, I'm waiting. So that's kind of
what this Romans verse is, the light at the end of the tunnel. And that's why I wanted
to read that one last, I just wanted to put that in perspective with the other two where,
again, you are gaining that perspective while you are still in the tunnel waiting for the
light at the end, what can you do in the here and now? And just, I just also wanted to read
the Romans verse again, because we, I feel like we as Christians don't, not that we don't
think about our lives in heaven, but I don't think we have like that understanding, or
maybe I'm just projecting here, but I don't know. Just, I really feel like we as Christians
don't spend enough time thinking about the lives and rejoicing that we will have in heaven
when we get to sit face to face with God and the angels. Beautiful, that's what I'm looking
for. Symbolism. I'm reminded of a sermon a few years ago. The pastor was saying how when
we get to heaven, there won't be, it's not going to be the case that there's going to
be no more church services. There will be an idea of church services, but we will actually
be worshiping God with the angels. And I just think that's, what a beautiful thought that
is. That brings me to tears. Worshiping alongside the angels. And this is probably just me nerding
out right now. You guys are thinking, Colin, okay, worshiping with the angels. Okay, cool.
I just think that's a beautiful idea. But anyway, coming back to the topic at hand,
those are the three verses I wanted to read on suffering. Again, I could spend hours talking
about this. I didn't want to spend too much time talking about my own experience of suffering
because everyone understands what suffering is like unless you are a newborn. If you've
gone through life, you understand suffering. So I think I'm going to wrap it up here. I
feel like I'm forgetting something, but I mean, I read the three verses. I covered everything
I wanted to talk about. So I'm going to wrap it up here. Again, thank you guys for your
patience. I'm still getting used to getting down the idea of recording the podcast. We're
still aiming for that. Once every Sunday, we're going to get them out. I'm going to
try and record a few podcasts in bulk just so that if I get sick again or anything happens,
we've got those ready. We can still get those out once every Sunday. I actually don't want
to say Sunday because I think we might actually not be doing that. So it might be Saturday
or whenever we have time to get those uploaded. But once a week, I'll stick to that until
we get an actual firm schedule down. Once a week podcasts going. So thank you guys for
listening. I will mention at our next meeting the idea of setting up an email or even the
email that we use for the podcast just so that you guys can write in, give us your feedback.
Feedback would be much appreciated if you guys have the time. So I think that's everything
I wanted to mention. Have a very blessed day, guys.