11/21/2020
We suffer through the afflictions of a life in this world, and we pray for God to release us from them, but do we learn anything from the effort? Do we not only see the hardship, and thank the Lord for helping us, but also recognize the lessons of faith that He has taught us? Our suffering is only the beginning of a profound instruction, are we looking for it and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us?
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.”
Psalm 119:71 ESV
When we see Jesus in His final days we see Him experiencing horrific suffering, and our heart breaks for Him, but learning how to suffer is not the only lesson He teaches us. We learn the depth of prayer, to be obedient to God’s will, to show mercy, the power of forgiveness, and so many other lessons that apply to our lives of faith. His journey to crucifixion, and beyond, is so rich, and although the suffering was His to bear, the lessons were ours.
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV
As for our own suffering, we learn mighty lessons because we have borne it, and the Lord, our God, teaches others similar lessons as they witness us shouldering the tribulation of our crosses. Just as there were lessons taught by the two thieves who hung on either side of Jesus; one accepting Christ, and the other not... we will reveal truths to those who stand at the cross of Jesus, as they see us hanging there with Him. What does the example of the one thief who recognized the truth of Jesus teach us?
“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”
Psalm 119:92 ESV
So we are meant to suffer, and do the other things as Jesus did so that our faith will be increased. This is the way of the cross, and we are a reflection of Christ as we imitate Him, and pick up our crosses to follow him.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25 ESV
So, in all Christ’s suffering, and the suffering of those who witnessed, there is a wonderful lesson that God has taught us from within the empty grave of Jesus...
“The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.””
Acts 5:30-32 ESV
And, one day, by the grace of God which flows through Jesus Christ, our graves will also be empty. This is our hope, and our promise... are we ready to face the tribulation that teaches us, and be thankful for it?
“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the lessons we have learned though the suffering of Jesus, and those we have gained by our own hardships, but we thank you most Lord for those lessons that you have taught the lost souls around us as they have witnessed our hardships, pain, suffering, and ultimately your answered prayers. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our merciful God who sent your only begotten Son to redeem us from upon the cross, and through whom you are pouring your grace out upon us. Praised be your name for every act of mercy, and every lesson we have extracted from life’s tribulation. Merciful and great are you Lord who teaches us of yourself in the light of your goodness... even when Satan tempts us to see only darkness in our suffering. Hear our prayers Father, and reveal your will to us so that out prayers are rightly offered up. Then, hear Jesus as He intercedes, and fulfill you promise of answered prayer. Holy Father, forgive us our sins, and see only the perfection of Christ as you judge us on the day of Christ’s return. Find pleasure in our faith, and accept us at your table forevermore.
“If you can be assured in your own soul that God has taught you as well as chastened you, you are a blessed man. O brethren, it is sad when men come out of affliction the same as they went in — when they continue to be just as ignorant, proud, worldly, impatient, unsavory, and as much strangers to Christ and their hearts as before — how exceedingly sad!” - Thomas Case, ‘A Treatise of Afflictions’
Rich Forbes