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Brothers, Our Affliction Is for Their Comfort | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We're the show that aims to get
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  straight into the heart of biblical ideas, giving you solid
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  understanding quickly but also, you know, thoroughly.
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  Today we're doing one of our deep dives into something pretty
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  universal, suffering, and we're looking at it specifically
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  through what we call a Reformed lens, which for us really means
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  starting with God's absolute sovereignty, his control over
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  everything, and seeing how that shapes our view of tough times.
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  The world definitely wrestles with pain, but we think a
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  biblical framework offers real clarity, maybe even a surprising
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  kind of comfort for this deep dive.
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  Our main source is John Piper's book Brothers, We Are Not
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  professionals. It's quite a plea to pastors for
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  a more radical kind of ministry. We're also weaving in insights
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  from some old hymns, which often capture these truths
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  beautifully. And of course, looking at key
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  Bible passages. The goal to really understand
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  God's specific purpose in suffering, particularly for
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  ministers, and what that means for the church.
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  So let's get into it. Money, one, God's sovereign hand
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  in all affliction. OK, let's start with the
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  obvious. Suffering happens, it's
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  everywhere, isn't it? Big thing, small things.
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  Pain is just part of being human.
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  But for Christians, the Bible says it's not just, well, bad
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  luck, it actually has a divine meaning.
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  It's even described as something we're destined for.
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  Acts 14.22 says through many tribulations we must enter the
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  Kingdom of God. And 1st Thessalonians 3.3 is
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  even plainer. You yourselves know that we are
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  destined for this. But destined?
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  What does that, really? Is it just misery or is there a
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  deeper plan? That's what we want to unpack,
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  right? And the first big idea, the one
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  that's maybe a bit jarring at first, is that all affliction,
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  even the stuff that looks totally chaotic or you know,
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  seems directly caused by evil, it ultimately comes from God.
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  He's the ultimate cause, the ultimate designer.
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  Now that sounds hard, maybe, but think about the comfort in it.
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  If God designs it, it's not random, it's not meaningless
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  chaos. It has a purpose even if we
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  can't see it right away. Job was the classic example
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  isn't he? He loses everything.
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  Kids, wealth, health and Texas clear.
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  Satan is the one doing it with God's permission.
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  But how does Job respond? Does he just point the finger at
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  Satan? No Joe 1.21 he says the Lord
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  gave and the Lord has taken away.
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  Blessed be the name of the Lord. He sees God's hand behind it
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  all. He's not saying Satan didn't do
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  it, but that Satan was operating within God's sovereign
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  allowance. Later when he's covered in
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  Source, his wife says curse God and die.
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  But Job asks shall we receive good from God and shall we not
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  receive evil? That's Job 2.10 he gets it.
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  God is ultimately in control, even of the hard things that's.
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  Yeah, that's tough one for a lot of people, God being the
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  ultimate 'cause when Satan is clearly the agent of the
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  suffering, how does that square with God's goodness?
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  Doesn't that just confuse things?
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  It makes me think of Paul with his thorn in the flesh in 2nd
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  Corinthians 12. He calls it a messenger of Satan
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  sent to torment him. But then he immediately says
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  why? It was there to keep me from
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  being too elated or conceited. So even with Satan involved,
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  Paul sees God's gracious purpose behind it.
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  It wasn't just random pain. God designed it for Paul's
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  humility. Exactly, and that's why seeing
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  God is the ultimate cause brings real comfort.
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  The sources we looked at a pretty clear on this.
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  If you only blame Satan, well, that doesn't really comfort you,
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  does it? Because it makes suffering feel
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  arbitrary, like maybe God lost control or something.
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  It feels chaotic. But the Piper source says the
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  only genuine comfort will come from acknowledging that the all
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  powerful God has done it, and that he is infinitely wise and
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  infinitely loving to those who trust him.
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  Believing that lets you have peace even when things are
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  falling apart, because you trust the one in charge knows what
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  he's doing and means it for your good.
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  Somehow it gives the pain meaning.
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  Right. It shifts it from just sheer
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  awfulness to something purposeful, even if it hurts
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  terribly. And the hymns really pick up on
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  this trust, don't they? But how do you get there when
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  you're in the middle of that frowning Providence, as Cowper
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  calls it? How do you move from just
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  knowing this truth in your head to actually trusting it in your
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  heart? That's the hard part, William
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  Cowper, who knew his own share of deep struggles, wrote in.
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  God moves in a mysterious way. Judge not the Lord by feeble
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  sense, but trust Him for his grace.
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  Behind a frowning Providence he hides a smiling face.
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  That idea that what looks harsh on the outside might actually be
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  hiding God's goodness, That takes faith.
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  A real leap of faith sometimes. It does.
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  It's looking beyond the immediate feeling, the immediate
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  circumstance to God's character. And then there's Carolina
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  Sandelberg's hymn. Day by day, she writes, He whose
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  heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what he
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  deems best, lovingly. It's part of pain and pleasure
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  mingling toil with peace and rest that suggests such a
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  specific, careful arrangement for every single day.
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  The pain isn't just random. God lovingly mixes it in with
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  the good exactly as He sees best for us.
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  It shows a very involved God. Yeah, both him show that
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  understanding God's sovereignty changes how we see pain.
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  It's not just bad luck. And this connects directly to
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  the purpose of suffering. What's Satan trying to do?
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  Destroy faith, right? Job 2 for Thessalonians 3.
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  He wants us to give up on God. But what's God's goal?
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  Piper calls it the deep cure of our soul.
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  It's like that line in how firm a foundation the flame shall not
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  hurt thee. I only designed they dross to
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  consume and thy gold to refine. God uses suffering like a fire,
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  but not to destroy us. He uses it to burn away the
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  impurities, our pride, our self-reliance, our shallow
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  faith, and bring out something pure like refined gold.
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  Is purification painful? Yes, but purposeful to the
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  purpose of ministerial affliction for the comfort and
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  salvation of the flock. OK, so building on that
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  foundation, God's sovereign control over all suffering,
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  aiming for our purification, let's get more specific.
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  Let's talk about why God seems to ordain particular suffering
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  for Christian ministers, pastors, leaders, those
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  shepherding the church. Is there a unique reason for
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  their trials? Paul gives us a huge clue in
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  Second Corinthians one, verse 6. If we are afflicted, it is for
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  your comfort and salvation. That's pretty direct.
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  It really is. Yeah.
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  And it tells us immediately who's behind this design.
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  It's not the minister thinking, oh, I'll suffer so my church
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  feels better. Of course not, and certainly not
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  Satan's goal to comfort and save the church.
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  He wants the opposite. So the conclusion from Piper and
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  others is clear. God himself designs and purposes
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  his pastoral afflictions for the good of the church.
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  This means, and this is huge for pastors, that none of their
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  suffering is wasted. It's not senseless, pointless,
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  absurd, or meaningless. Every struggle, every attack,
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  every weariness has a divine target, Piper says in The
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  Consolation of the Saints. Think about the comfort that
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  gives a pastor who's facing criticism or burnout.
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  Their pain isn't just personal misery.
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  God is using it for the spiritual health of their
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  people. That really changes the
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  perspective. But then you get to a verse like
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  Colossians 1.24 and it can trip people up.
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  Paul says he's filling up what is lacking in Christ's
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  efflissions for the church. That sounds, well it sounds like
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  he's saying Christ death wasn't enough and Paul has to add to
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  it, which from a reformed view we know isn't right.
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  So how do we understand that verse correctly?
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  Right, that's a crucial 1 to handle carefully.
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  And the sources, Piper included, are absolutely clear on this.
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  Christ's suffering on the cross completely paid for our sins.
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  It lacks nothing in its power to save.
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  It was finished, perfect, sufficient.
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  We add nothing to the price he paid.
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  OK, so if his atonement is complete, what is lacking that
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  Paul talks about filling up? What's lacking, according to
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  Piper's reading and others, is the personal presentation in
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  suffering human form to those for whom he died.
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  It's not about adding value to the cross, but about applying or
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  displaying the reality of the across in the present.
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  Christ suffered once for all. But for people today to grasp
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  what that suffering love looks like, they need to see it lived
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  out. Ministers, through their own
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  sacrifices and hardships endured for the sake of the gospel and
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  the flock, show people what Christ self giving love looks
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  like. They make Christ suffering
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  tangible, visible. When a pastor endures slander
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  but keeps loving people or faces hardship, it keeps preaching
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  faithfully. They're showing the pattern of
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  Christ. They are selling at the
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  manifestation of Christ's afflictions, not the merit of
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  them. Ah, OK, so it's about making the
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  reality of Christ's sacrifice visible and relatable through
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  the minister's own life and suffering.
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  It's presenting price to the people through their own costly
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  service. Exactly.
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  It brings the cross into the present experience of the
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  Church. It shows that the way of Christ
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  is often the way of suffering for others.
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  That understanding really gives deep meaning to the difficulties
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  ministers face. It ties back to Philippians 1.29
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  the idea that suffering is a gift God gives, not just
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  something to endure. It's purposeful.
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  God never wastes the gift of pain.
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  It means their hardship isn't just collateral damage of
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  ministry. It's actually part of God's
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  toolkit for building up His church.
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  That must be incredibly sustaining for pastors in tough
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  times. Three how ministerial suffering
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  benefits the minister. So we see how the minister's
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  suffering is designed for the flocks benefit.
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  But what about the minister themselves?
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  What's happening inside them during these trials?
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  How does God use that pain to, you know, shape the shepherd?
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  It seems like there's an internal work happening too.
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  Oh, absolutely. A huge part of the design,
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  according to Piper, is forcing ministers to let go of
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  self-confidence, to crush self-reliance.
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  Think about it. When pastors face things that
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  are just overwhelming, maybe intense criticism, a deep
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  personal loss, burnout, even despair, the natural question is
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  why? And the answer pointed out in
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  Second Corinthians one, verse 9, is basically this.
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  That was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God, who
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  raises the dead. The suffering strips away trust
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  in their own abilities, their own plans, their own strength.
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  It forces them to a place where only God is left to rely on.
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  It's meant to break that self-sufficiency.
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  That sounds terrifying, honestly.
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  That feeling of letting go, like the ground is falling out from
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  under you. That temporary sense of falling
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  the source mentions. But the point isn't just
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  falling, is it? It says that by faith in God's
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  mercy, they actually land somewhere safer.
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  They land infinitely more secure in the arms of our our Father.
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  It's like losing your grip on your own strength allows you to
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  finally grasp God's strength. A really paradoxical kind of
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  security, found only in total dependent.
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  Precisely. And discovering God's
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  sufficiency in that place of weakness that becomes the source
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  of the minister's own deepest comfort.
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  If through God's grace they can hold on to even a tiny mustard
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  seed of faith in God's goodness during that trial, they find an
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  unspeakable comfort. This isn't just had knowledge
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  anymore, it's heart knowledge learned in the fire they
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  experience God holding them up when they have nothing left.
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  That lived reality of God's faithfulness becomes the bedrock
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  of their future ministry. And that personal experienced
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  comfort is exactly what enables them to genuinely comfort
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  others. It brings us back to 2nd
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  Corinthians one, verse 4. God comforts us in our troubles
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  so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
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  ourselves receive from God. Because they've received that
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  comfort first hand, they can offer it authentically.
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  They're not just saying trust God, they're saying I've been
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  there, I despaired and God met me.
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  He is sufficient. It allows them to point people
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  away from human solutions, even their own wisdom, and straight
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  to the all sufficient God because they know He's the only
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  real source of help. Yes, it makes their ministry so
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  much more powerful because it flows from reality, not just
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  theory and this whole internal process.
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  It's that refining fire again, like the hymn says, God designs
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  it to consume the dross and the gold to refine suffering acts as
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  a spiritual discipline. Hebrews 12 says the Lord
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  disciplines the one he loves. It's loving discipline aimed at
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  purification, at the deep cure of our soul.
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  It burns away pride, self-reliance, maybe the love of
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  ease, and brings out humility, dependence, compassion,
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  authentic faith. It shapes the minister more into
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  the image of Christ for how ministerial suffering benefits
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  the flock. OK, so the minister is refined,
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  learns dependence and finds comfort which equips them.
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  But you also mentioned earlier this idea that the ministers
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  suffering directly ministers life to the congregation.
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  How does that work? It's not just about them
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  learning lessons than teaching. It's like the suffering itself
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  has an impact. Yes, it's a really fascinating
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  dynamic. Paul describes it in 2nd
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  Corinthians 4, verses 8 through 12.
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  He talks about being afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck
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  down. And then he says death is at
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  work in us, but life in you. And we always carry around in
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  our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also
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  be revealed in our body. The key insight here is that
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  it's Christ's power working through the minister's weakness
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  that brings life to the church, not the minister's own strength.
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  In fact, Paul says, God's power is made perfect in weakness, so
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  the minister struggles. Their visible reliance on God
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  and their hardship become the very means by which Christ's
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  life giving power flows to the people.
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  So the congregation seeing the pastor, weak, struggling, yet
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  clinging to Christ, that itself builds them up.
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  It shows them where true strength comes from.
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  Exactly. It demonstrates that faith isn't
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  about being superhuman. It's about relying on God when
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  you're not superhuman. It points them away from the
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  pastor and toward Christ, that minister's life.
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  This connects to that idea of the Calvary Rd. doesn't it?
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  Ministers are called to follow Jesus's path, and his path led
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  to the cross, weakness, suffering, death which brought
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  life to us all. So ministers walk a similar path
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  in a sense. They're self sacrifice.
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  They're suffering for the flock actually participates in
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  bringing. That's the pattern.
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  Ministers are called, as Piper puts it, echoing Paul, to be
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  poor, that our people might be rich, weak, that they might be
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  strong, afflicted for their comfort and for their salvation.
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  It directly mirrors Christ. 2nd Corinthians 8.9 says though he
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  was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his
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  poverty might become rich. Ministers live this out, like
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  Paul says later in 2nd Corinthians 6.
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  They are poor, yet making many rich.
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  How? Well, poor can mean emptying
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  themselves of self-interest, ambition, maybe even physical
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  comfort. So the flock can be rich in the
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  gospel, in spiritual growth. Weak means acknowledging their
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  limits, their dependence on God. So the flock learns to trust
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  God's strength, not human leaders and afflicted, for their
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  comfort and salvation means their patient endurance through
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  trials becomes a living example that strengthens the faith of
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  others, comforting them in their own afflictions and pointing
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  them toward ultimate salvation in Christ.
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  It's a profound calling to essentially pour out your life
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  for the spiritual well-being of others, following Christ's
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  pattern. It is, and understanding this
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  divine purpose, this connection between their suffering and the
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  church's health, is what allows pastors like Paul and 2nd
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  Corinthians 7.4 to experience overflowing joy even in the
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  midst of affliction. The joy isn't in the pain, but
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  in knowing God is using that pain for something eternally
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  significant of the comfort and salvation of His people.
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  That's a joy rooted in purpose, not circumstance.
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  Amazing. Well, we've covered a lot of
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  ground in this deep dive. We looked at God's sovereign
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  hand over all suffering, His wise and loving design, even in
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  hardship. Then we focused on why ministers
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  suffer specifically for the Church's comfort and salvation,
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  making Christ visible. And we saw how that suffering
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  works in the minister refining them, teaching reliance, and how
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  it works through them to bring Christ's life to the flock.
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  And maybe the biggest take away from the sources is just that
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  simple, powerful statement. No pastoral suffering is
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  senseless. No pastoral pain is pointless.
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  No adversity is absurd or meaningless.
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  Every bit of it has a divine purpose for the good of the
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  Church. So here's something to think
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  about as we close. How might understanding God's
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  purposeful design and all suffering, maybe including your
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  own, change how you view those hard times?
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  What if the difficulties you face aren't just random, but are
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  somehow part of God's bigger good plan?
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  Could your own pain maybe possibly be used by God to bring
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  comfort or strength or life to someone else in ways you don't
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  even realize? It's a challenging thought.
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  We hope this discussion encourages you to reflect on
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  these truths and maybe help shape your trust in God, even
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  when his ways seem mysterious or difficult.
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  Thanks for joining us for this deep dive on Reformed thinking.