How to Live in Suffering?

A Tim Keller Sermon Summary

Psalms is a book of prayers. It has 150 chapters, with only Psalms 39 and 88 ending in despair. Why is that? Let’s take a look at Psalm 88.
 
Psalm 88 talks about suffering, an inevitable aspect of life. In this Psalm, everything seems to go wrong, with friends, loved ones, and life withering away. Feeling totally rejected by God, the psalmist criticized and cross-examined God (v10-12). Such darkness can last for a very long time (v1, 18).
 
The Bible is realistic about the effects of suffering on people. Psalm 39 even ends with the psalmist asking God to turn away so that he might enjoy life again before death.
 
Though the psalmist was mad at God, the psalmist still prayed to Him.
 
Psalm 88 was written by Heman, who was in charge of music according to 1 Chronicles 6. Under him, Psalms 42-49 and some in the Psalm 80s were written.
 
Just as suffering turned Job into someone great, darkness may have turned the psalmist into a great artist. Did he ever imagine people thousands of years later still learning from his work? Did God really abandon him?
 
We, the self-centered, deserve God’s abandonment. To reconcile with us, God paid the greatest price; God, the Father, turned away from Christ, so that absolute darkness fell upon Him (Matthew 27:45).
 
Our loving God was willing to go through such pain for us. So, even when it seems we are in total darkness, we should trust God and know that we are never truly forsaken.
 
Times of darkness may be when we ask ourselves why we follow God. Do we just want earthly things from Him? That’s often how we start with God because we can’t see Him. But as time goes by, after experiencing His power, love, and wisdom, have our hearts’ desires changed? Do we still serve ourselves or Him?
 
And let’s not forget, even though Christ died a terrible death, He was resurrected. One day we will be resurrected as well, so take comfort that we will never go through anything that resurrection won’t fix.
 
To conclude, suffering is inevitable, and we may not fully understand why. But trust that God always loves us. Suffering may be an opportunity to grow deeper in Him and become more like Christ. Trust that one day, we will live in glory with Him.
 
Summarized from a Tim Keller’s sermon:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/heman-s-cry-of-darkness-5556/