04/14/2018
Are you suffering through something today and as a child of God; finding 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.
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 ESV
When we are in the midst of our suffering it is hard to see the miracle of sanctification (or in other words holiness), that will result from it. Pain and travail perfects us in our obedience and demonstrates our desire to do God’s will like nothing else; it draws us ever closer to Him... it affirms us as a reflection of Jesus; not just in the pain, but in the obedience of accepting it.
“saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."”
Luke 22:42 ESV
Jesus died to defeat sin and death, and we can understand that because he became for us the Lamb of God... the blood sacrifice that would be made once and for all. He replaced the unblemished lamb that was offered each year in the temple for the sins of Israel.
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 ESV
This much we understand, but why did He endure such pain and suffering in the process? No lamb was ever tortured or beaten before the altar. No lamb was bloodied and brought such pain before being offered as a sacrifice. We resist this as human beings, and even insist on the slaughter of food animals to me humane, but with Jesus death came at such a physical cost, and it was no accident. It was prophesied centuries before, and many times.
“As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—”
Isaiah 52:14 ESV
So, beaten beyond recognition He fulfilled the prophecy of Himself, and no man can claim they have suffered more than He; all of this for us. The perfection of His sacrifice was coupled to the perfection and price of His obedience through His passion.
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:3-5 ESV
So we too suffer in similar fashion, and become images of Jesus in the process. The price He paid being reflected faintly in us. Yet there is another aspect to our travail, and that is the mysterious way in which it strengthens our faith, and draws us close to God in a powerful way. Suffering becomes like a sharp knife, a cleaver, and when applied to us it separates the meat of our faith from the spoils of the animal. It can cause what is within us to fall one way or the other as the knife cuts us asunder. It forces us to face who we are, and to choose within ourselves whether we will become a steak, or entrails, on the table of God. Does our faith endure as we do His will, or fall away in our own?
“For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”
2 Corinthians 4:11-12 KJV
We struggle and suffer in this life as a reflection, and a portrait, of Jesus. The choice of faith becoming ours as we face the hardship and distress in the face of God’s will. To gain something we must offer something in return. To have love we must give love, and to have loyalty we must pledge our loyalty in return, and to be redeemed from sin Blood was required. What do we give in barter for righteousness and holiness? We give our love and obedience.
You are not paying a tax on life, but seeking a fullness of it. The hardship you face each day comes with an overflowing cup of faith, and the life it brings. Placing your hand in that of the Father, and saying “Lord I am in pain, help me.” or “My God sustain me as I love you in the midst of my suffering.” Is another way of saying “not my will, but yours, be done.”
“And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
Luke 9:23-24 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you in the midst of my suffering, and I praise you in my distress. Lord, I thank you for the grace you provide, and the comfort that follows the most painful of my trials. You ask much of me Blessed Father, but you provide such bounty in return. I give you obedience by the cup, and you return to me love, and an increase in faith by the bucket full. I close my eyes Holy Father, and see Jesus the Christ upon Calvary... beaten beyond recognition, humiliated beyond understanding, and suffering the agony of mankind’s sin... in this image I find heartbreak, and my love for you reaches climax. My tears wash the foot of your throne. How can what you are asking me to endure compare? How can I not say “your will be done?” Pour the oil of your love over my wounds Merciful Lord, and increase my faith. Cleave from me, with the sharp edge of Christ, the sin that has separated us. Help my unbelief Father, and lift me up in the throes of my agony as I look to you and trust in your goodness. Your revelation is in your glory and goodness, and the mystery resides in our increase through obedience, even in suffering unto death. Hear my prayer Father.... if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. In this I seek your grace and mercy forever. In this I ask you to help me in my unbelief, and strengthen me in my faith. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God Almighty, and Great are you who draws goodness from the well of pain itself.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
Rich Forbes