INTRO
The other day I needed to take my mind off things, so I opened my computer and played a game of hearts. Now, for those of you who’ve never played hearts, the object of the game is to score as few points as possible. You do this by trying to pass all your hearts to your three opponents (who are also trying to pass theirs to you).
Now, Like all card games, no matter how diligent you play, there’s time when the unexpected happens, and you’re hand turns to disaster. One sneaky move from an opponent and it’s game over. However, like life, there are times when grace intercedes, giving us opportunity to play the perfect hand, and win the game.
Anyway, I tried early on to play the perfect hand — something called “shooting the moon;” but one opponent caught me off guard and, and my hand suffered incredibly. From that point, things didn’t go quite the way I had hoped. In my frustration, I started to groan and fuss; and to be honest, I was ready to quit. Still, I decided not to give in.
I hoped my putrid game would find redemption. Just when I thought my chances of winning were six feet under, I came from behind, “shot the moon,” and won the game. I thought, “You know, Jason, this silly game repeated a life lesson that you needed to hear at just the right time. Here’s that lesson.
There’s times when it seems like we’ve been dealt the perfect hand; but then something happens that unexpectedly that sets us way back. Then, there’s those times when we’re seemingly dealt one crummy hand after another. It’s in times like both of these — and everything in-between —when there’s really not much we can do but groan with deep frustration in prayer, and place our hope in in God that he’ll turn our groans to glory. That’s what we’re going to look at this morning; and I think it’s coming at a good time.
This has been a tough week for our community. We lost loves ones, family and friends; and others are suffering with health related issues. Yet, God’s Word assures us he’ll turn our groans to glory if we put our hope in him. Please open your bibles to Romans 8:18–30. Let’s start out by reading VV 18-23. READ VV 18-23.
CREATION GROANS WITH SUFFERING
It’s like Paul is saying here, “I know you’re suffering. It seems like you’ve been dealt a crummy hand, but your liberation will one day come.” Now, before we go any further, in order to get the truly get the gist of what Paul’s saying here, we need to look at the key word he repeatedly used, that being “creation.” Paul was harkening us back to Genesis 3 and the Fall of Adam and Eve, with special attention on VV 17-19. Let’s turn to Genesis 3, and read VV17-19.
Now, it might seem as though Adam and Eve were as dealt a bad hand, but in all reality, they weren’t. Truthfully, God dealt Adam and Eve the perfect hand at the beginning of the creation. He gave them the ideal place to live, and provided for their every need. They could have “shot the moon” if they had just lived the real-life game of hearts with faithful perseverance.
However, God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Adam and Eve; and Creation weren’t the only three players in this real game of hearts. Satan decided to sit in as the spoiler, and he’s in the game to win it. He’ll take every opportunity he can to make our lives miserable, kill our spirits, and take our souls— if we don’t place our hope, trust and faith in God beforehand.
Now, even though God dealt humanity the perfect hand, Satan caught Adam and Eve off guard. He whispered sweet nothings in their ears, gave them a little wink, and convinced them to ease up from their faithful devotion. You know, Adam and Eve had everything going for them, especially with God instructing them how to live the perfect life. However, Genesis records they didn’t. They played badly, and Satan took advantage of their one, big boo-boo.
Because of that, their lives — and all of creation (including you and me) —was set back for a time. Genesis Chapter Three records that because of Adam and Eve, the ground is cursed; we’re forced to painfully toil all the days of our lives, our relationships will suffer, and we will all perish and return to the dust of this earth.”
Since Adam and Eve’s sin, all creation has been groaning with one bad hand after another. We’ve been made to suffer through this life. But, God doesn’t cause the suffering; however, he does allows it to happen. And sometimes it seems like just when we’re making progress and trying to get ahead; The devil —our opponent — smacks the queen of spades and bunch of hearts, and sets us back, for a time. We’ve experienced a bit of that that these past few weeks in the valley.
This week our greater community said good-bye to a Ray Chapman. Anthony Legard’s life was taken prematurely; and Vern Gunning is in the hospital recovering from quadruple bypass surgery. A few weeks ago, Paul Frank suffered a setback, Chuck had a heart attack, and Doris fell and shattered her hip. These are just a few people I know who’ve suffered recently.
I’ve thought a lot this week about how Ray fought the good fight. He loved God, his family, and this community. He lived the best life he knew how as a child of God. Still, like all of us, his body was subjected to frustration, and was in bondage to decay. His body gave out and returned to this earth.
Yet, we who knew Ray, know that he placed his faith in God. He believed, despite his sufferings, that one day his hardship would end, and that God would turn his groans to glory. He gave his heart over to God by hoping for his salvation in Jesus Christ; and because of that we can say that Ray “shot the moon.” Christ gave Ray his perfect hand, and he won in the end.
Yet, what about Antony Legard? The cards he was dealt that fateful day seemed horrible, as if he didn’t stand a chance —how quickly his life ended. One moment he was saying goodbye to his mom and dad, the next, they’re saying good-bye to him — forever. I’ll be honest, I can’t imagine their pain. I didn’t know him, but I’ve wondered, did he know God; did he have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, as did Ray? We can only hope that God has redeemed Anthony, as he has Ray.
Still, those two men are gone, but many are left to suffer in the wake of the passing — people like their family and friends, and our greater community. Rick Chapman called me this morning and said June had a really bad night. She’s suffering and trying cope through this new reality with Ray no longer around. Then there’s good people like Lori Lake, Paul Frank, and others who suffer incredibly as life seems to continue to deal them one bad hand after another.
It’s in these times when God says “Put your hope in me, and patiently wait for the day I will liberate you from suffering.” He’s saying, “I hear your groans. You’ve lost friends, family and members through death, sickness and affliction; and some of you are suffering in this present time. You’ve lost folks who grew weary and quit the game. But, hang in there, and stick it out, don’t be afraid to call upon me amidst your pain.” Let’s look at VV.24-27. READ VV.24-27
GOD HELPS US IN OUR WEAKNESS
My mom is a retired, Registered Nurse. She once had a tee shirt that said, “Nurses are Patient People.” The wording was a play on words. Nurses are those who comfort their patients and help them heal; but they also need to be temperamentally patient, in order to help their patients. I would hope we could also say, “Doctors are patient people too.”
Anyway, I am sure having patience, as a suffering patient, isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Amidst their suffering, some people struggle with patience; still others model it really well. Lori Lake is probably the best example of a godly person, who amidst her suffering is extremely patient and hopeful that God will redeem her. I think that’s what God wants for us all —to place our hope in him, despite the anguish life sometimes brings our way.
Still, when our pain and suffering is so unbearable that we can’t take it any longer, God says call upon the master physician. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mk 2:17).
What Paul is saying is we become patient sufferers when we place our hope in the master physician, who hung upon the cross to take our eternal anguish. We hope for the day when our decaying bodies will no longer groan, but instead be glorified. We hope that one day God will liberate our suffering, and shoot us over the moon, so to speak.
Sometimes, miracles occur and people’s presents sufferings come to end and the groans to turn to glory in this lifetime. However, there’s times when the body still decays before our eyes — like Lori’s. Despite the ways Satan tried to make her life miserable, Lori doesn’t recoil from her faith; instead she places her hope in the one she can’t see. Through Jesus Christ, Lori is shooting the moon, and despite her suffering, she’s winning this life’s ultimate game of hearts, because she trusts in the Lord her God.
Still, sometimes the body simply gives out. Ray eagerly awaited his adoption as a child of God, and the redemption of his body. And while his body wasn’t redeemed from its present sufferings, someday in the future, God will redeem his body, and make it perfect in the ways God intended before creation’s fall.
What’s beautiful, I think, is that promise holds true for Lori, it holds true for you and me, and it also holds true for all people who hope in God for their salvation, and the liberation of their present sufferings. Let’s take a gander at the last few verses for this morning, VV 28-30.
THERE’S HOPE KNOWING WE’LL BE GLORIFIED IN THE END
READ VV 28-30.
Truthfully, we could spend weeks, if not months, in this one little section. However, rejoice knowing that we’re not going to get into a heavy theological discussion over Paul’s words. Instead, let’s just read between the lines and hear it said more simply like this.
For those who place their hope in God through his only Son Lord Jesus Christ, God will redeem us from all our afflictions, present sufferings, and sins, and glorify us eternally, as Christ himself has been glorified. We might have to suffer in this lifetime, but if we hope in God for our salvation, we’ll be glorified in eternity. And, that’s such good news.
It means that all of us are given the opportunity — while we’re still alive — despite the hands we’ve been dealt along life’s journey — to place our hope in Jesus Christ. When we do that, God turns the tables on Satan by giving us Jesus’ perfect hand, and he shoots us over the moon. And when we do, we become like the butterfly on the cover of you bulletin. God places us in his protective cocoon, and transforms us into something beautiful that can one day fly over the moon.
Let’s close with this. If you sitting here today, and you’re suffering in any way —any way at all —let your groans go out to God, call out to him, and place your hope in Him. For when you do, he’ll give you his perfect hand, and one day he’ll shoot you over the moon.
