Will you accept the mystery of God's providence in the pain of your life?

And as verse 11 says, be trained by it for the sake of good and peace and holiness and righteousness and life.

Or will you kick against this chapter and say, no, my God is not like that.

It can't be like that.

And demand of him that he give a greater account of himself in your pain that You can't be like that.

And demand of him that he give a greater account of himself in your pain than he does in this

chapter.

What does it mean to see God's hand in our suffering?

In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper opens Hebrews 12, 3 to 11 to show how God's fatherly care shapes our pain and calls us to trust his sovereign work in every trial.

This sermon was originally delivered at Bethlehem Baptist Church on August 24, 1997.

Father, as I begin now to unfold this passage, I pray for the Holy Spirit to come in power,

that unbelieving hearts would be melted, that sight would be given to see spiritual reality, that rebellion would be subdued, perplexity would be clarified, hiding would be revealed.

And I pray for protection for me from my own sinfulness and my own fallibility,

that nothing I say would be unbiblical or imbalanced or unloving.

And I pray that you would give ears to hear so that every saint would be made strong for the day of trial.

And every unbeliever would be converted to the glorious salvation that we have in Jesus.

Let this hour not have been wasted in those two ways. I pray, but rather may there be strength for the saints

and salvation for the sinner in Jesus' name. Amen.

Most of you know that the Christian life has two sides to it.

There's a restful side and there's a wrestling side.

Jesus said, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you what rest there's a restful

side to Christianity or Paul said let your request be made known to God and the peace of God

...