Last week, I interviewed Steve Teter—the pastor of Living Faith Church in Franklin, WV—on The Ordinary Pastor podcast.
He shared something in that podcast that has stuck with me.
When people are going through suffering, he said, we must point them to the place where God’s love is clearly displayed: the cross of Christ. He continued:
“I usually liken [the love of God revealed in the gospel] to being in a raging river with the water running up to your neck, up to your nose, but there’s ground under there. You can stand on that rock, even if the river is powerful. You have a rock to stand upon.” Steve Teter
If you’ve ever waded in a raging river and feared being swept away, you know the relief of feeling a rock to stand upon.
The Greatest Temptation in Suffering
Several years ago, Steve Teter preached the message above at our church.
It is entitled “Trusting God in the Darkness.” It is focused on the temptations believers face in suffering and doubt, when walking in the dark.
Our church was deeply affected.
Steve taught us that the greatest temptation we face in suffering is the challenge to suspend judgment. To wait. To trust. To be patient. To refuse to draw conclusions about the goodness of God by what we see in the midst of temptation.
As Os Guiness has written, “Suffering is the most acute trial that faith can face, and the questions it raises are the sharpest, the most insistent, and the most damaging that faith will meet. Here as nowhere else is the supreme challenge to suspend judgment.”
So what do we do when we face this trial? How can we suspend judgment without losing our faith?
The Good News for Those Who Suffer and Doubt
In the sermon, Steve taught us that the reason we can suspend judgment is because: the name of our God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
“What is the name of our God? Our God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that makes all the difference in suffering.
All the difference.
I can suspend judgment now in the darkness because knowledge of [the] love [of God] in Christ puts to rest any doubts about the goodness of my heavenly Father towards me. A person wrote, ‘There are facts of life in a fallen world that we will never be able to explain but must never explain away.’ Faith, however, can suspend judgment on these questions for there is no question we cannot leave with God. And this is so true if He’s the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can leave those questions with Him.” Steve Teter
Wonderfully, when walking in the darkness, we can suspend judgment not merely because our God is sovereign but because our God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Have Mercy on Those Who Doubt”
Have you ever wondered how to obey the command, “Have mercy on those who doubt” (Jude 22)?
This message will show you how. While he preached this message at our church in March 2023, the video was recorded at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville on June 18, 2023.
Take a moment and listen. It will help you suffer well and wisely. And help you help others as well.