Your Distress Will Not Bury You: It Reveals His Glory

Introduction

You may be going through a season where everything seems to be working against you. An illness that settles in, a job that falls apart, a family that's shaking, a prayer that remains without any visible answer. And deep inside, the same question keeps coming back: if God loves me, why this distress?

In a message delivered with force at Efficient Church, Elder Junias ANANE flips this perspective around. He doesn't minimize the pain, he doesn't deny the turmoil. But he declares with authority that adversity is not there to bury you, it's there so that the glory of God can burst forth in your life. Jesus himself said this about Lazarus: "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God" (John 11:4).

This article follows the thread of that message, so you can learn to see what you're going through differently. Not as a curse, but as the ground where God is preparing a display of his power.

Outline of the Message

1. Distress Changes Your Priorities

Jairus was a synagogue ruler. A respected man, connected to the religious and even political authorities of his time. According to John 12:42, several of his colleagues believed in Jesus but didn't dare confess it, afraid of being put out of the synagogue. Jairus, though, falls at the feet of a thirty three year old man, in full view of everyone. Why the sudden turnaround? One reason only: his daughter is dying.

Junias ANANE says it plainly: distress has the power to reorder your whole existence. What held you back yesterday (your reputation, the fear of other people's opinions, your attachment to a status) suddenly becomes secondary. You become ready to run to Jesus, even if it means overturning tables, even if it means losing your place in certain circles.

Nicodemus also comes to Jesus, but at night. His distress wasn't yet deep enough for him to face the light of day. Some of us are still living like Nicodemus: keeping God in the shadows, afraid of what people will say. Adversity, though, breaks that compromise. It tears off the masks and puts you face to face with the only one who can truly save you.

2. An Open Door Always Comes With Adversaries

In Ephesus, the apostle Paul writes: "A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries" (1 Corinthians 16:9). Paul could have fled. He chose to stay, because he understood that adversaries didn't cancel out the door, they confirmed it.

The preacher hammers this point home: if the enemy is raging around you, it isn't a sign that God has abandoned you. It's often a sign that a great door is open to you. Caleb, facing the sons of Anak, told the people: "They are bread for us." The presence of the giants proved that the land was worth conquering.

So stay at peace. Don't leave your "Ephesus" because of the turmoil. Look at the door, not the giants. Look at the milk and honey, not the sons of Anak. God is taking care of your adversaries; you, take care of your destiny.

3. Adversity Is the Facilitator of Your Rise

Junias ANANE shares this personal moment where a servant of God prayed for him: "Lord, if he needs adversity to see your glory, please raise it up." That prayer at first sounded like a curse. Then he came to understand it as a blessing.

Proverbs 10:22 declares: "The blessing of the Lord makes rich." We often hear this as a promise of material wealth. The preacher reveals another layer to it: the blessing that enriches is the blessing that equips. It builds your strength. It shapes you. It prepares you to carry what God wants to entrust to you tomorrow.

Adversity, then, is not your ending. It is the springboard that lets you go further. God uses it to readjust your thinking, the way you look at things, the way you weigh your circumstances. The very event that seems to be breaking you is in fact the instrument he is using to grow you.

4. Without Peninnah, No New Song

In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah is despised by Peninnah, Elkanah's second wife. Peninnah has children, Hannah doesn't. Peninnah provokes her, mocks her, wounds her year after year. Without that suffering, Hannah would never have gone up to the temple with that same intensity of prayer. Without Peninnah, she wouldn't have had the revelation of the "God who speaks and who fulfills."

That's why, after her prayer was answered, Hannah can sing: "There is none holy like the Lord: there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God" (1 Samuel 2:2). That song was born out of distress. Without Peninnah, that kind of worship would never have risen to heaven.

At the end of the season you're going through, God will put a new song on your lips. A testimony never heard before. A worship that now has substance, because you're no longer praising the God your ears have heard about, but the God your eyes have seen.

5. God Leaves Some Enemies in Place to Train You for War

In Judges 3:1-2, it's written that the Lord left certain nations in Canaan "to test Israel by them, in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war". The fathers who came out of Egypt had fought. Their children had known nothing of it. Without adversaries left in place, the next generation would have grown soft, unable to hold their ground in the faith.

There are adversaries you'd like to see consumed by fire. But God leaves them there. Not to punish you, but to train you. "When you walk through fire you shall not be burned" (Isaiah 43:2). You will come out stronger, spiritually tougher, more rooted in the faith than your fathers were. What is killing others is in the process of building you.

6. Speak to Your Soul: "You Haven't Seen Anything Yet"

In Psalm 42, the psalmist speaks to himself: "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God." Your soul is the seat of your emotions. That's where you weep, that's where depression settles in, that's where oppression makes its home. You must not let your soul dictate your theology.

Take the time to talk to it. Remind it of the Lord's goodness. Declare to it that it hasn't seen anything yet. That what's happening right now "works together for good" (Romans 8:28) and for the display of God's glory. Refuse to let your soul be cast down, refuse to question the faithfulness of the one who has never lied.

Key Takeaways

• Distress is a tool God uses to readjust your priorities and draw you closer to him.
• The presence of adversaries is often proof that an important door has opened in front of you.
• The Lord's blessing enriches first by equipping: it builds your strength before it gives you anything.
• Without the "Peninnahs" in your life, you would never have discovered certain dimensions of worship.
• God leaves certain battles in place to teach you war, not to crush you.
• Speak to your soul and declare to it: "You haven't seen anything yet."

Personal Application

• What distress are you going through right now? Are you ready, like Jairus, to fall at Jesus' feet without worrying about what others think?
• Is there an "open door" you're at risk of walking away from because of the turmoil? What would it take for you to look at the door rather than the giants?
• What is God equipping in you through your current season? What spiritual muscle does he want to build up?
• Who is your "Peninnah"? Can you thank God for the depth he's bringing about in you through this person or circumstance?
• What new song, what fresh testimony does God want to bring up from your lips once this trial is over?

Verses Cited

• John 11:4 · This illness does not lead to death; it is for the glory of God.
• Romans 8:28 · All things work together for the good of those who love God.
• 1 Corinthians 16:9 · A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
• Proverbs 10:22 · The blessing of the Lord makes rich.
• John 12:42 · Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him.
• 1 Samuel 1 · Hannah and Peninnah.
• 1 Samuel 2:2 · There is none holy like the Lord.
• Judges 3:1-2 · The nations the Lord left to test Israel.
• Isaiah 43:2 · When you walk through fire you shall not be burned.
• Psalm 42 · Why are you cast down, O my soul?
• Acts 10 · Peter and Cornelius.

FAQ

Does God send suffering into my life?

The Bible points to several sources: our own choices, the enemy, a fallen world, and sometimes a trial that God allows or raises up to shape us. What this message affirms is that even when distress doesn't come from God, it passes through him, and he uses it to display his glory (Romans 8:28). It never has the last word.

How can I recognize an "open door" in the middle of adversity?

An open door is often confirmed by inner peace, a clear call from God, the confirmation of his Word, and the wise counsel of people mature in the faith. The adversity surrounding it doesn't cancel out the door, it confirms its value. Like Paul in Ephesus, the question to ask yourself is: "Did God put me here?" If so, stay.

What should I do when my soul is cast down despite prayer?

Speak to it, like the psalmist did. Remind it of past deliverances, God's faithfulness, the promises he has already kept. Surround yourself with brothers and sisters who pray with you. Feed your faith with the Word. And above all, declare to your soul that it hasn't seen anything yet: the best is still ahead, because your Redeemer lives.