All in Suffering
Do you suffer and not understand why God allows it to happen? Do you experience misery in your life, or see it in others, and ask God in prayer to remove this from you, or from those you intercede for in prayer? Well, as men it is natural for us to wince and withdraw from pain, but as faithful creatures it brings us to perfection in our faith, obedience, and prayers for the suffering and afflicted. How perfect are you being made? How perfect are your prayers?
We must face tribulation on our journey towards the kingdom of God. Some who begin their walk Of faith seem to believe that by following Jesus they will not face hardship or suffering yet that is not the case. What is true is that Jesus will be right there with us in the midst of our tribulation, and that the promise of heaven remains our solid promise, and that the joy of God shines before us in the form of Jesus as a continuous reminder.
Is your life full of hardship and adversity right now? Are you going through the gates of sorrow, or crossing a desert in which you are feeling lost and parched? Perhaps it is illness, mourning, or some other wrenching moment! If so, then are you tempted to lash out at God and ask Him why, or to look for Jesus and cry out “Where Are You?” Sometimes we feel like we are being punished when nothing could be further from the truth.
It has often been said, and it is true, that we come closest to God when we are in the midst of our suffering... so, how is your life at this moment? Are things going exceptionally well for you? Is your day to day life bountiful, and you find yourself struggling with little to pray for? Perhaps it is time for a good cry! Maybe the tears and sweat of your prayers need to be fed by an emotional response to something dear to you... love is a great example. There is no cry so satisfying in its release and restoration than that of a broken heart.
As Christians we study a great deal on the life of Jesus, and we focus heavily on the cross, but there is one fact that we minimize... Jesus was always doing the will of God. Jesus rose in the morning to speak with His Father, continued speaking with Him all day long, and then spoke to Him before retiring in the evening. Why did He do this, and why should we likewise be in constant conversation with God?
When times are hard in your life do you think that God has walked away from you, and abandoned the gifts He gave you through Jesus Christ? Do you think that the promise of salvation, His protection, and provision has been reneged on? Well that couldn’t be further from the truth. You see, God’s promises and callings last forever, and remain forever with you as well. When the easy times turn hard, and you suffer, continue to look all the more to God.
Are you sorrowful, feeling the many pains of life, or otherwise suffering today? Well be of good cheer because a time is coming soon when the tears of your eyes will be dried forever by God Himself, and you will be led by Jesus Christ to founts of living water. For we as Christians the agony of the world is only temporary, but our joy in being with God is eternal.
In times of peace and plenty it is easy to maintain our faith, and to remember the gift of redemption that God has given us through Jesus Christ, but when we are faced with suffering and hardship this is when our faith is placed in the furnace and dipped in the water that strengthens it. We weep and begin to question God, mistaking what we have always held to be valuable and real in our lives to be more precious than Him who tempers us... above Him who redeems us.
Are you born again in the hope and resurrection of Jesus Christ? If so do you go through periods when you are vexed by suffering and calamity in your life? Does this cause you to confront your faith, and if so does it challenge it, or strengthen it? Many of us seem to believe that when Jesus steps into our lives we cease to feel the pain and suffering of living in the natural world, but is that really the promise?
When you look at Jesus, do you see Him sitting at the right hand of God radiating light, do you see Him hanging on the cross at Calvary, or do you see Him carrying, and dragging that Cross down the Via Dolorosa? What is the Cross of Jesus Christ to you? If you really don’t know then you had best decide because it is by the Cross that we follow Jesus.
Are you in need of a comforter today? Is your heart broken, are you filled with sorrow, or perhaps a fear that deflates you sails? Whatever brings you to that place where you need an arm on your shoulder, and a comforting embrace from God... know He is there, and will ease your burden, and lift you once again to your feet.
How does hardship effect us, and specifically, how do we react to illness or calamity that threatens to take our life? Do we remain steadfast in our faith, or do we give up on God and believe only in our own demise? Suffering, and facing imminent death lays waste to the importance of all the things of life that once seemed so valuable to us, and whittles us down to just those that are central to our core... what is that for you? Do you even know?
How often we view the strife and tumult of daily life as an encumbrance to our abiding in Jesus Christ, in God, but that should not be so. In the vineyard the wind blows, the leaves rustle loud, and the sound of the storm grows intense, but at the root, the vine never moves, and the nourishment continues unabated. Every storm provides rain that is drawn into us as strength from the wet ground, and what appears as a raging flood becomes the watering can of our faith.
Are you suffering through something today and as a child of God find yourself wondering if it is because you have failed God in some way? Do you find yourself asking Him why He would allow you to feel such pain, humiliation, illness, deformity, grief, mourning, or other unpleasant form of distress? Well there is a mystery and a revelation in our suffering that brings us where happiness can’t, in it we find the reflection of Christ, and we find holiness.
Are you in the midst of some trauma in your life? Are you looking to God and asking “Why Lord? Aren’t I your child?” Of course the answer to this question is that He loves you too much not to discipline, or teach, you. The storms in the life of a Christian are meant to teach and perfect us, but they sure feel like pure punishment don’t they? Yet, amidst the hardships and discipline, never lose sight of the fact that you are indeed a child of God.