THE PURPOSE OF TRIALS (Romans 8: 28-39; 9:23)
By: Pastor Greg Tupas, Jr.
Grace Bible (Baptist) Church International
614 Brimley Rd., Scarborough, ON, Canada
PAUL wrote in Romans 8:28”… we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who has been called according to His purpose.” This is a wonderful verse in the Scriptures, but sometimes we don’t really understand what it is saying. Some Christians seem to think that it is telling us that God has promised those who loved Him that everything that will happen to them will always be good. But that is not true. That is not what God is promising at all. What this verse says is that when we love God, although we experience some bad things in our life, the Lord will work it out for our good.
Let me share with you the trials that my family had experienced. I pray that as I share with you our painful trials, you will be able to see the greatness of our God. At the beginning of 2007 our faith was put to a test as Lemuel (our only child) underwent two (2) series of surgery (biopsy) to determine the growing cyst in his left arm. On March 12th (Monday), Lemuel & I went to the Sick Kid Hospital to meet his surgeon and discuss the result of his biopsy. I was surprised that the surgeon was absent, instead a group of doctors, nurses and a social worker entered the consultation room. The Oncologist (cancer specialist) informed me of the results of the 2 biopsies. She said that Lemuel had a cancer called “Clear Cell Sarcoma”, a very rare type of cancer. She immediately presented to us a treatment plan. The Oncologist told us that since this type of cancer is rare, they don’t know how to treat it, but assured us that they will contact some hospitals in the US & Europe for reference. We were told that they will be using the strongest chemotherapy to stop the spread of the cancer in the other parts of his body. First Lemuel needs to undergo the first series of chemotherapy that will last several weeks, but it may cause damage to his heart, and he needs to stay in the hospital for a few days in each treatment.After the first series of chemotherapy, they will remove the cancerous cyst in his left arm through a surgery.
On March 12th (Monday), Lemuel & I went to the Sick Kid Hospital to meet his surgeon and discuss the result of his biopsy. I was surprised that the surgeon was absent, instead a group of doctors, nurses and a social worker entered the consultation room. The Oncologist (cancer specialist) informed me of the results of the 2 biopsies. She said that Lemuel had a cancer called “Clear Cell Sarcoma”, a very rare type of cancer. She immediately presented to us a treatment plan. The Oncologist told us that since this type of cancer is rare, they don’t know how to treat it, but assured us that they will contact some hospitals in the US & Europe for reference. We were told that they will be using the strongest chemotherapy to stop the spread of the cancer in the other parts of his body. First Lemuel needs to undergo the first series of chemotherapy that will last several weeks, but it may cause damage to his heart, and he needs to stay in the hospital for a few days in each treatment.After the first series of chemotherapy, they will remove the cancerous cyst in his left arm through a surgery.
Then the second series of chemotherapy will follow, but it may damage his liver. The Oncologist also wanted to have another biopsy on his lymph nodes and bone marrow on the Friday of the same week because Lemuel’s hemoglobin was only 55 - normal is about 120-160 and they saw some lumps growing in his lymph nodes in the CT scan results.
As we left the hospital, I felt devastated with the thoughts of losing my only child at his young age of 14. I’m the only boy in our family who carries the Tupas family name and through Lemuel, the family name ends with him.
I believe that every time God sends us trials, He has specific purpose in mind. Let us look at just 3 out of the many purposes of God for allowing trials in our life:
1. To save us (v. 28) ‘…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who has been called according to His purpose”.
A good example of this is the story of Joseph in the Old Testament (Gen. 37-50). Joseph was his father’s favorite son and as a result of his favoritism his brothers hated him. You know the rest of his story. He was sold into slavery in Egypt, put into and
2. To shape us (v. 29) “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…” The trials we experience in life are allowed by God to mold us into the image of Jesus Christ. A wood sculptor starts with a log, an ordinary piece of wood without much value, to create a work of art that can become a masterpiece. As a child of God, our life is like that log. At the moment we cannot see what God is doing in our life. All we see are the chips flying and we feel deeply the blow of the chisel. The chisel’s blow is not a sign that God has left us or that He is angry at us. In fact, He is too close to us, smoothing the rough edges of our life, patiently bringing the image of Jesus Christ out in us.
James 1:2-4 says, “Count it pure joy,…whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature & complete, not lacking anything” . As gold is purified by fire, so is our character purified by trials (I Peter 1:6-7).
3. To reveal His glory (Romans 9:23) “And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory”. Indeed, “All things work together for good, to those who love God…” I truly believe that God sent these severe trials to our family in order to show us His power and so that His name will be praised among you.
In closing, sometimes we do not know the reasons for our trials & sufferings. But we must not waver in our faith to God. We need to continue to trust Him. God’s purposes for our trials are to save us, shape us and to reveal His glory. Let’s remain faithful to God, for he has promised to work out all things for the good of those who love Him
Let’s continue with my testimony. With the uncertainty of the outcome of the treatment that they proposed, I told the Oncologist that I want to start the chemotherapy after our vacation in the Philippines. I said that in order to comfort Lemuel, as I know he wanted very much to visit his cousins in the Philippines. When he heard that, he stopped crying. The Oncologist objected because she said “time is the essence”, but I firmly insisted that his treatment will commence after our vacation. When we got home I immediately researched in the internet about the cancer called “Clear Cell Sarcoma”.
I learned that there is only one (1) case in Canada and 3 cases in the US and that there is no known cure yet. Few ever survived with this type of cancer and those who survived have a cyst of less than 5 cm, if I remember right. Lemuel had a tumor as big as my fist. It also says that that cancer does not respond very well to chemotherapy.
When my wife arrived from her work that night, I told her that our son had cancer and she broke into tears. I kept to myself the seriousness of Lemuel’s condition. Also, we did not tell my Dad, who was scheduled for a heart valve transplant surgery the following week, for it may trigger a stroke on him. On that year, I faced a situation where there was a possibility that I may lose both my only child and my Dad. My faith was put to test at that moment! Like Abraham I struggled with the thought of losing my only child. I prayed to the Lord to give me grace that I could endure the darkest moment of our Christian experience. I fasted and prayed for several days and cried a lot before God. I said to God in my prayers, “Lord, regardless of the outcome of our trials, I will continue to serve you.” On Thursday morning, a day before the scheduled 3rd biopsy of Lemuel, we went to the hospital for a pre-surgery meeting with the surgeon.
I was also scheduled to pick up the ticket for the Philippines for our trip on Monday. I booked the ticket without knowing where to get the money to pay for 3 tickets that day. When we arrived home, I checked my online banking and I received on that very day my tax refund which was a few dollars short of the cost of our tickets - the first of a series of God’s provision to us. We were ready to pick up our plane ticket at 4:30 P.M. when my phone rang. It was the Oncologist. She asked me if we were leaving Monday, I said we were leaving on Tuesday instead. She said she has good news for me. She said she cancelled Lemuel’s surgery and his chemotherapy. “Enjoy your vacation and take it as long as you want. We have just finished our emergency meeting with the panel of doctors handling Lemuel’s case, and after a careful review, the Pathologist gave us an assurance that it was not “Clear Cell Sarcoma” but a benign aggressive tumor that behave like cancer. Sorry for what you and your family went through. You can call for his surgery when you come back from your vacation.” I fell on my knees and thanked God for His love. I know that the purpose of our trials is to bring glory to His Name. Here are some questions that until now I don’t know the answers:
Who called an emergency meeting to the Specialists that Thursday when we left the hospital? What made them change their diagnosis from cancer to ordinary tumor? What if God did not intervene on the right moment?
Some positive outcomes of our trials: We picked up our plane tickets and the cancellation insurance ($250.00) was given to us as a gift to Lemuel. Angelyn’s work granted her an unlimited number of vacation days for compassionate reasons. I shared my testimony to GBCI, the Congregation entrusted to me by God and asked them for understanding for my unplanned vacation in the Philippines. That Sunday night and Monday, for the first time ever, I experienced the overwhelming love and concern of our church members who came to visit us. As a Pastor, we normally pour out our love and life to the church members, without having an opportunity to be recipient of their love. . There was an overwhelming gifts from GBCI
members and some from FFBC members which provided all our financial needs to cover our tickets and vacation expenses. (I was out of the country for almost 19 years that time; Angelyn did not see her family in 17 years and that was Lemuel’s first time visit)..
I was given a chance to preach for 2 Sundays in Ilocos and I was able to share God’s greatness to our relatives and friends in Iloilo City. My Dad had a successful heart surgery (valve transplant) and came out of the hospital at the day of our return to Canada. There was an overwhelming joy, tears and praises given to God for everyone who heard our testimony. As a result of these trials, I will quote Romans 9: 23 “God make known the riches of His glory upon (Lemuel His…) vessels of mercy, which
