Suffering

8/10/2020

1 Peter 4:19 “Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing”

“No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not.”                                                                                ~Oswald Chambers

Right now, I am having a chronic issues with my left knee. I can walk okay, but it stiffens up after I sit down for just a few minutes. It is painful and takes a lot out of me by the end of the day. Am I suffering? A little I guess. Would I choose to suffer with this pain? Nope, never. Would anyone choose to suffer mentally, emotionally, or physically? I highly doubt it. Yet, we all experience affliction of some sort in our journey through life. The question is, what do we do with our suffering?

God allows us to go through travails, and in my life it is these times that draw me closer to Him; it is the refining fire. I have experienced times when I have felt the support and love of fellow believers, and alas, there have also been times where my brothers and sisters in Christ pulled away. The one constant during these times of anguish was always my Savior. These times can weaken faith or strengthen it. I can live in a state of asking why or a state of trusting. (It is, of course, also common to start with the why and move to the trust.) The more I can lean on and rest in Jesus, the more apt I am to learn the lesson wrapped in the trial; the life-giving marrow inside.

Being there for another who is suffering is what we are called to do, but we cannot walk through those times of distress for them. They must also learn to lean into Jesus, and to choose God’s will through the trial. What we can do is be a compassionate ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and a prayer warrior for those around us. We can also share times when we have suffered and God has seen us through to the other side. In my life, the most profound blessings come when I am able to share what Jesus has carried me through. The single most important thing, however, is that we share the truth of the gospel, for it is every believer’s purpose in life. “For it is God who works in you to will and act to fulfill His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13