"There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us" Romans 5:3 (MSG)
Suffering. What comes to your mind when you read that word? Starving people around the world? War torn communities? Abuse? Physical pain? Mental anguish?
A number of things come to mind. But what about religious intolerance against Christianity?
What does it mean to suffer for your faith and how does that develop you as a Christian? To understand this question you have to understand what faith does for you.
True faith is supposed to start your journey in following the example of Christ. That means faith prepares us to handle troubles or problems knowing God is watching as well as others. It also leads us to do the right things with the right intentions. Now I cannot get into a huge list of what faith does for us or should do in us, I just want us to think of faith as moving us to to do the right things (or doing good as you will see in the verses from 1 Peter).
If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:13-18 (MSG)
I think a lot of developing Christians have the biggest problems not with problems but with underestimating or not understanding that suffering happens in everyone's life. Becoming a Christian does not take you off the suffering list.
The Christian faith should, however, become the empowering force that helps you get through every adversity - not with perfection but with strength through the Holy Spirit. Too many Christians get tied up in knots because they believe that they don't have enough faith due to suffering. That's not true and too many pastors lead people to believe this false teaching.
Let me say this once - JESUS SUFFERED, not because He lacked faith but so that we will have an example to live by. Through His suffering we have access to God. How many people would be attracted to a Saviour who lived a boring regular non-suffering life?
Taking what Peter writes, we also see that because we have access to God through the life of Christ when we suffer and endure as Christ did, others are attracted to God through how we endure suffering.
Suffering teaches us reaction. It teaches us how to react while suffering. It teaches us how to react after suffering. Suffering develops patience (which I will talk about tomorrow) and it develops humility.
Why humility? Enduring suffering is not about us. It should never make us believe we are more righteous or better than others. Suffering should remind us that we are still in the hands of God and His will is to never let us suffer beyond anything we cannot handle. It builds strength and character in us and in those around us.
Are all troubles that come into our life from God? No. We also have to remember that our decision and the decision of others are produced through free will. We cannot control the actions of others because we are Christians. 9/11 is proof of that. Drunk drivers who plow into innocent victims are proof of that. Abuse is proof of that.
Our developing faith needs suffering to help us learn how to react during any situation. This only happens a commitment to Christ, a commitment that was matched by Jesus on the cross when He willingly choose to die for our sins. He believes in us that much. Then He rose from the dead, because He to gives us hope.
So as a developing Christian, how have hard times or difficult situations affected you? Are you a Christian by title or as a way of life? Moments like these in our history are only endured through faith. So be prepared to suffer, but just make sure you are suffering for doing good things or the right things.
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