Renew: Our Affliction, His Grace (Part 1)

I am late; really late; really, really late. Three of us from Covenant Community Church had the privilege of attending the Renew Conference Feb. 10-12 in Nashville, Tenn., and I have yet to report on it, as promised much earlier. So this is the first of at least a couple of posts on that event. This year's conference, titled "His Affliction, Our Grace," was on suffering and the gospel.

It was a great conference -- excellent speakers, encouraging and strong songs, effectual testimonies and warm fellowship with other saints. I will touch on some of those elements in a later post, but I want to use the rest of this post to quote from the opening comments of Byron Yawn, pastor of Community Bible Church, which sponsored the conference. I think they provide some important truths to consider when approaching the topic of suffering from a biblical perspective. Here is what he said in explaining the goal of this year's conference and what the organizers hoped not to do:

Our aim this weekend is:

To worship the Lord Jesus Christ and prove his worth (even if that means worshiping from a heap of ashes).

To demonstrate the power of the Gospel in all things (including inexplicable suffering and pain).

To deconstruct the version of Christianity which has our happiness as the chief goal (and supplant it with God’s glory which is our chief happiness).

To demolish our idols of comfort and ease (by smashing them with the infinite weight of Christ’s glory).

To tangibly love you (by touching your leprous spots with Christ through prayers and tears).

To humbly admit that the severest suffering we could know (was taken by our Savior on the Cross of Calvary).

To exuberantly pump our fists in the face of the devil (as we remind ourselves through song that Jesus crushed the serpent’s head).

What we hope not to do:

Not to give the false impression that suffering is unusual or avoidable (but that suffering is at the root of our faith and a rumor of that for which we have been redeemed).

Not to tell you that you’re stronger than you think you are (but that Christ is more sufficient than your weakness. When you are weak, He is strong.).

Not to tell you that you can beat this thing if you just believe (but that Jesus defeated what caused all this and you can believe in His life, death and the hole blown in the back of death by the resurrection).

Not to tell you that you will come out the other side of this a better person (but that you will come out the other side of this thing a better worshipper).

Not to tell you that you deserve to be happy because you are a child of God (but that you will never receive what you deserve because you are a child of God and this produces a peace which surpasses your happiness).

Not to tell you to avoid hard questions or that you should never question the goodness of God (but that you can trust His goodness even when you don’t get answers).