"Let All That You Do Be Done With Love"
- 1 Cor. 16:14
Suffering
No one likes to suffer. People do not wake up in the morning and, in their prayer time, say, “God, I would like to suffer today,” but suffering is part of being a Christian.
Think about it. Jesus chose to suffer on the cross and die in our place. His suffering made it possible for us to receive eternal life. What is the key to enduring suffering? Trusting God.
Suffering pulls on our emotions and causes us to reach out to God and begin to develop an intimate relationship with Him. God is a jealous God, and when we are in need, He desires for us to put our trust in Him, rather than another person.
2 Timothy 3:12t tells us “All those that desire to live godly lives will suffer persecution.”
When I chose to dedicate my life to the Lord, I was essentially giving God permission to do with me whatever He pleases, and sometimes that includes suffering. I have had to endure my so-called friends stabbing me in the back, and walking away from me. I have been laid off from a job, falsely accused at a job, and fired from a job. I have been evicted from an apartment, and had my home go into foreclosure. I have been rejected and shunned by my family who I love; yet, according to God, they “hate me with a perfect hatred.” I have endured physical injuries and illnesses that were meant to destroy my very life, yet I am a very joyful Christian. How can that be?
Simply put, God teaches us that suffering is what makes us a mature, seasoned Christian; it prunes us and reshapes us to be more Christ-like. We become more compassionate and understanding of someone else’s trial and tribulation.
I pray you find encouragement, comfort and strength in the below scriptures as you allow God to mature you.
Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
1 Peter 5:10
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Acts 5:41-42
So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Philippians 1:29
For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.