Not only is there the example of Job in the Old Testament but also the example of Paul in the New Testament. I used to have the concept that a servant of God will not have any trial or lack if he subjects himself to God and is in fellowship with God. Consequently, I felt that he must have done something wrong if he was destitute or in lack. As I considered this concept, I could not understand. The apostle Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 4:11, however, helped me to understand. He said, “Until the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked and buffeted and wander without a home.” At that time, I began to ponder the experience of Paul, the top and most faithful apostle. According to my concept, since he was so faithful and perfect, he should not have had a need for food, clothing, and peace. At the most, I thought he would be suffering some persecution for the sake of the Lord’s word. However, this was not Paul’s reality.
According to the record of the Bible, Paul not only suffered for the Lord inwardly but also was in want outwardly. Many people spoke of him dishonorably and gave evil reports about him (2 Cor. 6:8). Even some from the church in Corinth, which he had established personally, said that Paul was crafty and that he took them by guile (12:16). Why did this kind of shame befall Paul, who was the most faithful servant of God? According to our concept, he should not have had any lack because he was God’s servant. Many brothers and sisters have this kind of faith when they are called to serve the Lord. When a brother who served the Lord was asked about his living, he said, “When I serve a man, he takes care of my living. If I serve God, do you think that God will not take care of my living?” At some point, however, God truly will not take care of our living. We may ask God, “Why do You not take care of me even though I am serving You?” However, He will remain silent and supply us only after we have calmed down. Some may not accept this word, but this was Paul’s actual experience.
None of us can be more faithful or have more faith than Paul, but even such a faithful one as Paul was always in lack. However, his feeling toward poverty was different from ours. He said that his lack was a proof that he was a servant of God. Some asked him for proof of his apostleship, and he replied that his poverty was his proof (6:3-10). According to our natural thought, the proof of apostleship should be a fullness of faith and an abundance of material things, but this is not the case. When a servant of God hears someone say, “God has truly caused you to abound,” he will secretly say, “You do not know the hunger I have known.” Our concept is altogether natural; it is the concept of fallen man, not the concept of the Bible.
The most godly and irreproachable man in the Old Testament was Job; the most faithful man in the New Testament was Paul. Job did not have either a supply or peace in his sufferings, and Paul was even put in prison. At the end of 2 Timothy Paul wrote that his co-workers had left him, that those who had received help from him had forsaken him, and that no one was with him to support him at his defense—all had abandoned him (4:10, 16). His condition was desolate to the uttermost. Some surely must have said that Paul had done something wrong and was therefore being forsaken by God. Saying this is due to blindness. The stories of Job and Paul reveal that God is doing a continual breaking work in those who pursue Him and serve Him. Regardless of whether they are right or wrong, God must tear down their person. Only by being broken can Christ’s life have a channel to be released; only by being broken can Christ’s life swallow up all our death.
On the surface, it seems that David suffered while Saul was at ease and in peace. Saul was the prosperous one, and David was the suffering one. But was Saul right before God, and was David wrong? In reality, even when David was being chased by Saul, no fault was found in him. From the examples of David and Saul, we should realize that a person who is in God will be under His pressure and that a person who is apart from God will not experience much difficulty. Because Saul was outside of God’s hand, his steps were smooth, and he was prosperous in his ways.
When we preach the gospel, we usually tell people that there is no rest and happiness in human life without the Lord, and we encourage them to receive the Lord in order to find rest and happiness. While many people believe in the Lord, they come to realize that even though they suffered before believing in the Lord, they are suffering even more after believing. However, after believing in the Lord, the feeling that we have in our sufferings is different from the feeling we had before we believed in the Lord. Sometimes we may not be happy with God because it seems that we have been deceived; nevertheless, even this feeling is good. Every believer can testify that it is truly joyful and satisfying to follow the Lord, even with all the difficulties and pressures. Many examples in the Bible show that those who are truly in God’s hand will suffer affliction and be troubled; only those who are not in God’s hand are at ease and in comfort.