Watchman on the Wall

Announcer: Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and swrc.com. God is still on the throne and prayer changes things. Today, Josh Davis visits with Pastor Chad Roberts as they explore what it means to suffer well. And then a little later, Pastor Larry will answer a question about a verse we find in the New Testament.

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In 2018, Chad Roberts' life changed forever and through a season of intense suffering, Chad found that God was still good, even when his challenges didn't appear to be. Why does God allow His followers to face suffering? Pastor Chad Roberts, thank you so much for joining me today in studio to discuss these essential truths.

Chad Roberts: Well, thank you for allowing me to be here. It's such a joy. Thank you.

Josh Davis: It's great to sit down with you. You've written a wonderful new book, and it’s something that you have lived through yourself. It's called Blind Faith: Seeing God Through Darkness. Can you take us back to that season of suffering that you went through? This is the first time that you've been on with our audience, so please introduce us to some of who you are and what happened that started this journey that led to the book, Blind Faith.

Chad Roberts: I appreciate that. I was 36 years old and my wife and I, our family was growing, my church was growing, and I went to Central America to help train pastors for an eight or nine-day trip. When I was there training pastors, we decided to hike this large mountain to go to the top of a Christian radio tower. As a matter of fact, it's a tower that this very station has had a hand in helping.

Josh Davis: Just before you came into the studio, you were talking with our SWRC Ministry president, Dr. Kenneth Hill, and through a lot of the missions endeavors that he has connected through his radio stations and also through Southwest Radio Ministries. That's an amazing story.

Chad Roberts: When I got to the top of that tower, blood vessels burst behind my left eye. It was like looking through a spider web of blood. I panicked internally, but I didn't say anything to anyone. I just excused myself and came down from the tower and off the mountain as quick as I could. By later that evening, all of the blood had dissipated, but I knew something significant had happened. At that moment, I was 36, and when I pictured my future, I never one time ever pictured blindness. It came so fast and so suddenly.

When I got home, through a series of doctors and all kinds of specialists, they told me, "Chad, you have no choice, you have to have surgery." I had two failed surgeries back to back, and in the last failed surgery in my left eye, the surgeon accidentally ripped my retina. It left me immediately blind in my left eye. 15 months later, it took 15 months for my eyesight to rapidly and suddenly deteriorate. It just diminished day by day.

15 months later, I had to stop driving. I could no longer see my phone or see a tablet. So you can imagine the questions that it left me with. By the time I went completely 100% blind, I was 38. Could I go on preaching? I would ask the Lord, "How can I even preach if I can't read or see a Bible? How can I continue to lead my church and staff when I'm completely blind?" It just left us with more questions than answers. But the greatest question that my family and I had to answer is how is God good even when life isn't? That's the position we were put into.

Josh Davis: Amen. Wow. And that is a question that we want to delve into as we continue exploring these things and learning more about your story. What propelled you to write this book? Through the suffering, you have wanted to put this into print. Can you tell us what has motivated you to put these things into the book?

Chad Roberts: When I felt the Lord want me to write a book on suffering, what an intimidating topic. I remember telling the Lord, "What could I possibly say that has not already been said through all of the centuries of the church? How can I add anything to the collection of what's already been said?" I just remember the Lord speaking to my heart that these are things I’ve not learned in other books. These aren't cute sermon illustrations. These aren't sermon stories.

The Lord said, "I'm teaching you things and you're learning it firsthand and I want you to share it with others." When I made this partnership with Lifeway and B&H Publishing, naturally, they wanted me to continuously go back to my story. Lifeway has been one of the greatest ministry partners I could have ever asked for. They are tremendous. But we continuously said, "Let's shift it from my story," because I didn't want to do a book on my narrative.

I've made it very clear to the publisher: My life doesn't teach any Christian how to suffer well. It's the scriptures that teach us how to suffer well. I want this book deeply rooted in the pages of the Bible. I want it to be a teaching book. So that's the direction we went. At the heart of it, it's a book that teaches people out of the Bible—those who suffered in the Bible—how we can walk through our own seasons of suffering, glorify God, suffer well, and then I sprinkle lessons I've learned, principles God has graciously taught me, and I share a bit of my experience. But overwhelmingly, the book is rooted in the Bible.

Josh Davis: That's what I love about it so very much, that we need to understand what God's perspective is on these things. It's one thing to share our story, and there can be some validity and benefit in that, but if it's not rooted in a right understanding of scripture, then we're going to really miss it all. I appreciate you sharing that perspective.

Friends, if you'd like to get a copy of this book, it's called Blind Faith, written by Pastor Chad Roberts, and you can get your copy today by giving us a call. Call toll-free 1-800-652-1144. You can also order it on our website swrc.com. The name of the book again is Blind Faith: Seeing God Through Darkness.

Let's get into some of those characters that you were just mentioning, Pastor Chad, as you weave your story together with the biblical accounts and describe how many people faced their suffering. You begin with Joseph. Can you tell us some of the lessons that God taught you as you reflected on the life of Joseph and the suffering that he endured?

Chad Roberts: Joseph is just one of my favorite and most beloved people of the Bible, and so many others love his story. I called this chapter "The King's Prison: When Life Isn't Fair." When I listen to the life of Joseph and preach through his life, I find myself rooting for him all the way. It seems like he passes a test with flying colors, and just right when God, it seems, should bless him or promote him, God seemingly does the exact opposite. His situation gets worse until eventually, he finds himself in a prison. But it's not an ordinary prison. The Bible calls it the King's prison.

The basis of the chapter is we all know life isn't fair. We get that. But what does a Christian do when God doesn't seem fair? When we pray and we know that God has the ability and the power to change our circumstance or even to prevent what we're about to walk through? That's where I found myself, asking God, "Please don't make me walk this path of blindness. Prevent it." So what do you do when it seemingly the prayers aren't answered? Or at least they're not answered the way we thought they could be or they should be? That's the life of Joseph.

Josh Davis: That's true. And you see that in the New Testament and throughout the pages of scripture. As you were sharing that about the life of Joseph, my mind was running to John chapter 11 where Mary and Martha are wondering, "Jesus, why didn't you show up? We sent for you. You're supposed to love us and be one of our best friends, and our brother is on his deathbed. We called and expected you to do something, but you didn't do anything." We struggle with that.

I know that we're going to touch on God's waiting room and different things like that when God is calling us into these seasons. Thinking about the life of Joseph and the suffering that he endured, what are some of the other powerful lessons that God taught you as you were walking through that journey of suffering compared to the life of Joseph?

Chad Roberts: What I love about Joseph's life is he spent roughly 13 years in great suffering. But then he lived another 84 years after that. If you and I could have sat in the prison cell with Joseph, especially the scripture after the cupbearer goes back to the Pharaoh and Joseph thinks he's getting out of prison, but the Bible says two whole years later—that had to be the longest stretch of Joseph's life. We know his story. We could have sat on his prison bunk and said, "Joseph, chin up, you're going to be fine." But Joseph didn't know that. He didn't know how his story was going to turn out.

It is the same with us. Joseph had no promises from God's Word. You and I have nearly 7,000 promises in the Bible. We can trust our future to God. Often when we're going through seasons of hardship, it's so easy to get stuck right there and we don't realize God has so much more later for us. When you even compare that to eternity, that's why Paul said our afflictions and our sufferings are light and momentary compared to the weight of glory that awaits us.

Josh Davis: Amen. We'll try to get to that in the next episode in a little bit more detail when we talk about Paul. One of the best things that we can do as Christians is to have that eternal perspective. I've often wondered and marveled at the fact that Paul could call it light momentary affliction. He had just rattled off some of the things that he had been through: the beatings, shipwreck, time in jail, and so many issues that are anything in our perspective but light and momentary. Yet he kept eternity in mind. What a great perspective that is. We want to circle back to that in the next program and dive a little bit more in depth into Paul's life and his suffering as well.

But when Christians think about suffering, a lot of the times the very first person that they think about is Job. In chapter 3 of your book, you describe how Job began to grapple with the question that has entered a lot of minds since the dawn of civilization: Where is God in the times of uncertainty? What are some of the lessons that you learned about Job's suffering in scripture and how did that tie to your story?

Chad Roberts: Job's story is all about the goodness of God. So many of us relate to him because we've asked the exact same questions. My favorite scripture in Job is chapter 23, verses 9 and 10. Job says, "I looked for God. I looked ahead of me, behind me, I looked on my right, my left," and Job could not sense God. He couldn't make sense of what God was allowing. If someone is in that same boat where they just don't feel God near them, you're not a bad person for that. You're not an unspiritual person for that. Job felt that.

What we have to do is choose to trust. That's what Job did in verse 10 when he could not sense God near him. Job said, "But he knows the path that I take." I may not know what's going on in my life and I may not understand why God's allowing what he is, but what I can trust is that God has me right on track. God knows what he's doing. He's not haphazard or coincidental.

He's not accidental. I don't believe for a moment that when that surgeon ripped my retina, God went, "Oh no, what am I going to do?" No, God saw it and He had grace for it. God doesn't waste any of our sufferings. Job said, so beautifully, "When I have been tried, I will come forth purer than gold." What faith he had.

Josh Davis: Absolutely. That's powerful exactly what you just said, speaking about the fact that it wasn't accidental. I think that for whatever reason, in American Christianity, maybe it's because we've had it so easy for so many years, people are so averse to suffering and they view it as the hand of God's judgment upon them. What do you think causes the misunderstanding of why God allows suffering, especially among Christians in the United States of America?

Chad Roberts: I think a lot of it's our humanity. You recall the blind man in the Bible when the disciples came across him. What was their first question? "Jesus, who sinned? This man or his parents?" I felt that way when I went blind. I said, "God, have I done something that I didn't realize? Have I made you angry?" It's just our humanity.

Especially in our American culture, we link suffering to judgment. That's not the case. God calls Christians to suffer. He appoints us to suffer. Why? Because we have an entire eternity of no suffering awaiting us. To the degree that God will wipe away every tear out of our eyes. That means the years or the decades that we suffer on this earth to the glory of God, it is going to glorify God forever and ever. What an opportunity.

Josh Davis: It is, absolutely. I think that's the message of First Peter. That whole book is just emphasizing the message that Christ-like suffering leads to Christ-like glory. Our Savior Jesus suffered so much and willingly laid down His life. Of course, that was no accident. It wasn't the schemes of people who nailed Jesus to the cross. It was God's divine plan of redemption to lead Him to the cross. We are called to suffer like our Savior has while we're in this world so that later on, we can enjoy the glory of heaven forever and ever.

Friends, we're talking with Pastor Chad Roberts. We're discussing his fantastic brand new book, Blind Faith. This is the kind of book that will encourage you and inspire you. It's the kind of book that you can open up anytime, especially in those days when you're feeling down or those times when those questions enter into your life. You're going to find hope, encouragement, and inspiration rooted in God's Word through the pages of this book. Again, it's Blind Faith: Seeing God Through Darkness by Pastor Chad Roberts. If you want to get a copy, give us a call: 1-800-652-1144. Or visit our website swrc.com.

Pastor Chad, we just have a couple minutes left, and I want to ask a personal question. I know you've been sharing a lot of your personal story, but what lessons have you learned about God through the suffering that you faced that you wouldn't have learned if you had maintained your sight? What messages would you like to leave with our listeners as we close this segment today?

Chad Roberts: Thank you. The Lord was so gracious to teach me in the early days. I'm praying with all of my might and heart, "God, don't make me walk this path. Heal me, prevent this, don't let me go through this." The Lord took me to Mark 11:22 where Jesus said, "Have faith in God."

The Lord graciously taught me, "Chad, your faith is in a miracle. Your faith is in a good outcome. Your faith, in reality, is in the answer you want to your prayer." That's not what the Bible says. The Bible says have faith in God, period. When I stopped having faith in faith itself and stopped having faith in the outcome that I wanted and I began to place my faith in God to say, "God, your ways are higher than my ways, your thoughts are above my thoughts, you know what you're doing, you're sovereign, you're good, you're not accidental. I trust you." That's when I gained an unshakable faith that nothing in life has taken away. Amen.

Josh Davis: That's so well said. It applies so much to many areas of our life and Christian experience. I know many of our listeners are burdened over what we see happening in the USA, and we look around the world and we want to see America changed. But sometimes I'm afraid that we just want to see America changed and we don't really want God. We want His blessings, not the Blesser, the one who brings those blessings. Pastor Chad Roberts, thank you so much for joining us. I'm looking forward to continuing our conversation on tomorrow's episode. Thank you.

Chad Roberts: Thank you.

Announcer: We are featuring Chad Roberts' brand new book, Blind Faith, in our resource spotlight today. In Blind Faith, Chad Roberts invites readers into a deeply personal and profoundly biblical journey through pain, loss, and unwavering trust in God. At just 38 years old, Chad faced the rapid loss of his eyesight, an unexpected descent into physical darkness that mirrored the spiritual struggles so many endure. Yet, what emerges from that darkness is not despair, but clarity.

With honesty and conviction, Chad explores what it means to suffer well, anchoring every step in the truth of scripture. From the trials of Joseph to the anguish of Job to the ultimate suffering and victory of Jesus Christ, this book connects the reader's pain to God's greater purpose.

Order your copy of Blind Faith today. Call 1-800-652-1144. You can also order on our website swrc.com. Blind Faith is more than a personal story; it's a guide for navigating life's darkest seasons with confidence in a God who never leaves and never fails. Whether you're facing loss, uncertainty, or deep disappointment, this book offers a steady reminder: even when life feels dark, God is still good. Blind Faith: 1-800-652-1144.

Pastor Larry Spargimino comes now to answer a question about Jesus. Pastor Larry, what does Colossians 1:15 mean when it calls Jesus the firstborn over all creation?

Larry Spargimino: For centuries, those groups who did not accept the deity of Jesus Christ have pointed to Colossians 1:15 to teach that Jesus Christ is less than God. Allegedly Jesus Christ is God-like, but definitely not God. It is on the basis of this belief that the Jehovah's Witnesses translation of John 1:1 reads: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god."

Though the grammar of John 1:1 does not justify this translation, they justify it on the belief that Jesus came into being at a given point in time as the first created angel. The witnesses erroneously claimed that the term firstborn consistently means the firstborn of a larger group, such as the firstborn son of Pharaoh. On this basis Jesus is the greatest man who ever lived, truly great, but only a man.

We must notice, however, that Jesus is not called the firstborn of Jehovah, as if Jehovah created Jesus first. If we are to draw a parallel between the firstborn of Pharaoh and the firstborn of creation, then we must conclude that in some sense creation created Jesus. The Apostle Paul makes it clear that Jesus is the supreme creator.

This truth is also stated in John 1 verse 3: "Through him all things were made. Without him nothing was made that had been made." It becomes clear then that Jesus was not the first created being as the witnesses erroneously teach. Hence we must look more closely at the word firstborn. What does the word really mean?

The word means first in rank, the preeminent being. Jesus Christ is the firstborn in the sense that He is the highest in rank. It is not speaking of priority in time. Let me give you a good example. David was the youngest, that is the lastborn son of Jesse, yet Psalm 89 verse 27 says "I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth." Though David was the lastborn son of Jesse, David is called the firstborn because of the preeminent position in which God has placed him.

We find another example of the meaning of firstborn by comparing Genesis 41 verses 50 and 51 with Jeremiah 31:9. Manasseh was actually the firstborn son of Joseph and Ephraim was born sometime later. Nevertheless, Ephraim is called firstborn in Jeremiah 31 verse 9 because of his preeminent position.

We can conclude that firstborn does not mean priority in time, but priority in rank. In the same way, Ishmael was 13 years older than Isaac, yet Isaac is called the firstborn because he was the child of promise. An important principle in understanding scriptures is to understand the meaning of words in the culture in which they were given. For us, firstborn indicates the child born first, but as we have seen, that is not what it means in the Bible.

In his book Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses, Dr. Ron Rhodes gives the following example. Let's imagine that a person came to the States from a foreign country and learned English while here. While in the States he hears someone use the term Wall Street on the news. From his understanding he understands Wall Street to refer to a literal paved street. But that was not the intended meaning of the reporter; he was referring to the New York Stock Exchange.

There are many historical examples of the misuse of scripture. In England, when doctors first developed chloroform to ease the pain of childbirth, some Christian women thought the use of chloroform was immoral. Jesus refused the sop offered him; therefore, they believed they should not take anything to lessen the pain. In Genesis 3:16 the Lord said to Eve, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing, with pain you will bring forth children."

Cults have a way of misusing scripture to justify their erroneous understanding of scripture, such as prohibiting blood transfusions. We will deal with that in another Ask Pastor Larry.

Announcer: In the brand new book Blind Faith, Chad Roberts invites readers into a deeply personal and profoundly biblical journey through pain, loss, and unwavering trust in God. With honesty and conviction, Chad explores what it means to suffer well, anchoring every step in the truth of scripture.

Order your copy of Blind Faith today when you call 1-800-652-1144. You can also order online at swrc.com. Friends, Blind Faith is more than a personal story; it's a guide for navigating life's darkest seasons with confidence in a God who never leaves and never fails. Whether you're facing loss, uncertainty, or deep disappointment, this book offers a steady reminder: even when life feels dark, God is still good. Blind Faith: 1-800-652-1144.

We have more encouragement from Pastor Chad Roberts coming up on tomorrow's program, so be sure to tune in. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by you. To learn more, visit swrc.com.