WFC Leavenworth

Suffering can leave us asking why God allowed our pain and wondering whether He is still at work. Romans 5 invites us to bring those questions to God while holding firmly to what Jesus has accomplished for us. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been made right with God, have peace with Him, and stand in His grace. Our future is secure in the hope of sharing in His glory.

That hope changes how we face suffering today. As we continue trusting Jesus, God works through our suffering to develop perseverance, proven character, and hope. The Holy Spirit assures us of God's love, even when our circumstances remain painful and our questions remain unanswered. We can ask, "God, how are You at work in this suffering?" Our pain does not mean He has abandoned us. We can be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Hope doesn't take away our pain. Hope gives us the strength to endure.

Suffering is part of being human, and following Jesus does not exempt us from it. Jesus Himself faced temptation, anguish, and the suffering of the cross. He submitted to the Father's will, enduring suffering for God's glory and for our salvation. Through faith in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit and become children and heirs of God. We do not suffer to earn our inheritance. Because of what Christ has done, we are united with Him and share in the hope of His resurrected life and eternal glory. That hope does not make our present pain insignificant. Hardship, sickness, loss, and uncertainty are real, and we can bring them honestly to God. Yet the apostle Paul reminds us that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. We can endure with courage because Jesus is with us now, and one day we will be with Him. Our suffering will be worth it all when we are with Jesus.

We embody the goodness of God as we submit to Jesus as Lord for the sake of others. When Moses encountered God's goodness and glory, his face became radiant. Through Jesus Christ, we experience something even greater: lasting transformation through the Holy Spirit. Jesus reveals who God is, removes the veil that keeps us from seeing Him clearly, and brings us into the freedom of life with Him. As we contemplate His glory, the Spirit transforms us into His image with ever-increasing glory. Becoming an agent of good begins with God changing us from the inside out. This transformation depends on His strength rather than our own efforts. Even our weaknesses and suffering can become opportunities for Jesus' life to be revealed through us and bring life to others. Our response is to submit our attitudes, desires, and actions to Jesus as Lord and depend upon the Holy Spirit's power. He transforms us so we can live for God's glory and for the sake of others.

God's goodness is revealed in both His justice and His mercy - through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection God provides forgiveness and new life, and having received His mercy we overcome evil with good: repenting, showing mercy to those who wrong us, and pursuing justice for others.

Grace is God's undeserved goodness given to us in Jesus - free to us, but costly to Christ - and grace received becomes grace given as we forgive others from the heart.

When I submit to Jesus as Lord, I seek to understand what others are experiencing and respond for their good - empathy sees and enters another person's experience, and compassion moves us to act.

Church hurt is real because every church is made up of people who still struggle with sin. We can hold onto hurt or cause hurt when we lose sight of God’s goodness, ignore our own sinful desires, or fail to reflect His character in the way we treat one another. Jesus fully reveals God’s goodness and shows us the life we were created to live. He did more than set an example we could never reach on our own. Through faith in Him, we are born again, and the Holy Spirit gives us what we need to grow in goodness and love (2 Peter 1:3–8).

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet and told them to do as He had done (John 13:13–17). When I submit to Jesus as Lord, I place myself last. Others are always ahead of me, when Jesus is my Lord. That is how we embody God’s goodness in our relationships and become a community of healing and hope.

What is one relationship in which it is difficult to place yourself last? How can you depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide those interactions and change your heart?

What stands out to you about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet in John 13:13–17? What does His example teach us about placing others first?

In 2 Peter 1:3–8, which quality do you see the Holy Spirit growing in you? Where do you still need His help?

What is one next step you need to take today?

Who do you need to tell about what you’ve learned?

Philippians 2:1-8

Galatians 5:13-14

Romans 12:1-10

1 Peter 2:21-25

Micah 6:8

John 15:12-13

TEACHING SUMMARY:

God created everything good because creation reflects its Creator—and God alone is good. Human sin began by doubting God’s goodness. Sin distorted our view of God and one another, bringing suffering and death.

God did not abandon His creation. He revealed Himself to Moses as compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, forgiving sin, and administering justice. Israel returned to this revelation as the picture of God’s character.

Jesus Christ is the complete picture of God. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus reveals God’s compassion and grace, provides forgiveness, satisfies justice, and begins restoring what sin has cursed. We cannot achieve goodness through moral effort; we can only receive and reflect the goodness that originates in God.

Only God is good, and goodness originates in Him. As we see and trust God’s goodness revealed in Jesus, we can embody His goodness for the sake of others.

TALK-IT-OVER:

How does your personal definition of good differ from the biblical definition of goodness as seen in Jesus?

In what areas of your life do you find it easiest to doubt the goodness of God?

What would your life look like if you made decisions through the filter of embodying God’s goodness?

What is one next step you need to take today?

Who do you need to tell about what you’ve learned?

FURTHER READING:

Psalm 34:8

Micah 6:8

Genesis 50:20

Matthew 5:1-12

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Romans 12:9-10

What do you do when the battle in front of you is bigger than the strength inside of you? 

Jehoshaphat shows us a battle rhythm: seek God, pray, fast, bow, worship, praise, then advance in obedience. The battle belongs to the LORD. 

Praise does not make God King; it declares that He is King. Worship surrenders our posture before Him. 

When the diagnosis, report, relationship, or opposition feels bigger than you, remember the victory that Jesus has already won. Look up, bow down, lift up, sing out, and move forward. Assign your praise and worship to lead your advance.

What battle feels bigger than you right now? What would it look like to say, “My eyes are on You”?

Which biblical posture is hardest for you — singing, shouting, lifting hands, kneeling, or bowing? Why?

Where do you need to stop trying to control the battle and trust that it belongs to the LORD?

What posture of praise or worship will you intentionally practice this week?

What is one next step you need to take today? 

Who do you need to tell about what you’ve learned?

• 2 Chronicles 20:1-30

• Psalm 22:3

• Psalm 66:1-4

• Exodus 17:8-16

• 2 Samuel 6:14-22

• Matthew 4:8-10

• Matthew 6:9-10

• Psalm 150

• Romans 8:37

• 1 Corinthians 15:57

TEACHING SUMMARY:

What if the greatest threat to your faith is not that the enemy is stronger, but that he can convince you to fight alone? Jesus has already secured the victory, yet Scripture warns that we have an adversary who seeks to distract, divide, tempt, and devour.

Like the builders in Nehemiah 4, God has given each of us a mission, a sector, something to build, and people to stand beside us. We were never designed for isolated Christianity. We are called to cover one another, rally to one another, and together take the fight to the enemy. The question is not whether we will get attacked, but what we will do when the attack comes. Who is covering you? Who are you covering? Who will hear your alarm, and whose alarm will cause you to rally?

We do not fight for victory; we fight from victory. When we get attacked, we sound the alarm. When the alarm sounds, we rally. You were never meant to fight alone.

TALK-IT-OVER:

What is the “sector” God has entrusted to you to build, protect, and influence? Where are you experiencing the greatest resistance right now?

Why do you think isolation can be so dangerous when we are struggling or under spiritual attack?

Who is covering you, and who are you covering? What would it look like to become more intentionally connected to people who will pray for you, challenge you, and rally when you sound the alarm?

What is one next step you need to take today?

Who do you need to tell about what you’ve learned?

Further READING:

Nehemiah 4:1–23

Ephesians 6:10–18

Matthew 28:18–20

Romans 8:31–39

1 Peter 5:7–9

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12