A GIFT CALLED SUFFERING

                 

Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychologist, lived during the Holocaust and was a prisoner in a Jewish concentration camp during World War II. While seeking to survive the horror of this imprisonment, Frankl began observing his fellow prisoners in the hope of discovering what coping mechanism would help him endure this horrendous existence. What Frankl discovered was this:

Those individuals who could not accept what was happening to them and could not make their present suffering fit with their faith, or couldn’t find its meaning in their world view, despaired, lost hope, and eventually gave up and died. Those prisoners who found a meaning from their faith, were then able to find hope for a future beyond their present suffering, and so could accept what they were enduring as a part of their existence. It was these prisoners who survived ( Keith krill)

Today churches are promoting the Christian life for all its benefits without mentioning the cost involved.   In Philippians 1: 29 Paul corrects that error. He says “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” When you get born again you receive two gracious gifts from God which are mutually inclusive.  The first is the gift of faith (to believe in him) and the second is the gift of suffering for Christ.

The gift of faith enables us to believe in Christ and be saved. Salvation is a free gift, not something we earn through works. Jesus said “no one can come to me unless the father me draws them (John 6: 44). Paul says “For by grace (unmerited favour) you have been saved through faith that not of yourself, it is a gift from God, rest anyone should boast (Eph 2:8).

Though Christians are alive now, they must never forget where they came from. God made alive who are dead in trespass and sins (Eph 2:1). They were under the power of darkness (Col 1:13) and slaves to sin (Rom 6:17). They were lovers of darkness (John 3:19-20), they loved their sin and did not want to face it or face a God who will judge their sins. Without the help of the Holy Spirit no one can say “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor. 12:3).

After conversion God gives us the capacity to live by faith and to transform into Christ- likeness.   The Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) which is the evidence of God at work in our lives continues to grow. God works in us both to will and to do his good purpose (Phil 2:13). God’s divine power has given us everything we need for living a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). Jesus is the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2).

Day by day in our progress along the path of sanctification, faith is exercised continually. God is rich in goodness, forbearance and long-suffering (Rom 2:4). He does not destroy us along the way even when we deserve it. He knows and sees all our sins yet he shows mercy because he is rich in mercy. Every day we fall short of his glory yet he holds back his judgment against us. The goodness of God leads us to repentance.

Jesus said “my sheep…I know them …I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me for my father has given them to me and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the fathers hand (John 10:27-29).  From the beginning to the end, our salvation is a gracious gift from a loving God. A Christian ought to be truly grateful that he has been privileged to believe in God.

The second thing we receive from God after conversion is the gift of suffering for Christ. This is a gift no one wants. God’s plan for each one of his children is that they should not only believe in Christ, but should also suffer for him. We are quick to attribute our salvation to God’s grace but slow to realize that suffering is also a gracious gift from him. Faith in Christ is the means of salvation; but suffering is the evidence of salvation.

Suffering comes in variegated forms: body pain, abuse, injustice, grief, disappointments, hopeless situations, shattered dreams. A lot of suffering is self-made, the result of sinful actions and is not the "quality" of suffering Paul is referring to here. Some people suffer because of their sins; they bear the consequences of their actions. All suffering not for Christ's sake, albeit very real, is but worthless (1 Pe 2:20).

A Christian will suffer even when he does what is right. Jesus warned His disciples that they would be hated by all on account of his name" (Mt 10:22, John 15: 18-21). He pointed out that no one who had left home or brothers or sisters for him and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age along with persecutions” (Mark 10:29-30). 2 Timothy 3:12 says “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Becoming one with Christ brings believers into a unique fellowship, one that carries with it the privilege of sharing in His suffering. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Cor. 4:8-10). Jesus “was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised and we held him in low esteem” (Isa. 53:3).

Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21). Christians have ever had to endure severe persecution for their faith. When you go through a tough time it does not mean that God let something get through while He was not alert. Everything comes to you through the filter of His faithfulness. The attacks and challenges you face are ordained by him as a tool in his hand.

Suffering accomplishes great things in a Christian’s life. Jesus suffered so that he could empathize with those who suffer (Heb 2:18). He learnt obedience from what he suffered (Heb 5:8). The psalmist said “it was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees” (Ps 119:71).  Testing matures and completes faith (James 1:2-4).  Suffering refines our character and renews our hope (Rom 5: 3-4, 2Cor. 4:16).

Suffering keeps our pride down (2 Cor. 12:7). Suffering produces compassion that equips us to comfort others and weans us from self-reliance making us fully dependent on God (2 Cor. 1: 3-4, 9). Suffering creates in us a longing for our kingdom in heaven (Matt 5:10-12), where suffering will cease (Rev 21:4) and our earthly suffering will be rewarded (James 1:12, 2 Cor. 4:16-17).

Christians are not exempt from the pangs of living in a fallen world.  But they have hope that enables them to see through the suffering to the goal of suffering. We know that our gracious heavenly Father never does anything to harm us. Just as it is his character to punish sin, it is his nature to love his children. Since he is the sovereign God, nothing can happen to us that he does not superintend or control for his good purpose.

Many Christians have and will suffer intensely. When your turn to suffer comes don’t run, but remain steadfast. While we do not enjoy suffering, we should rest in the sovereignty of our Lord. Everything that comes our way has been allowed by Him and He has a purpose for it. While we may never see the end result, we could rest knowing the Lord would be glorified through our faithfulness, even in suffering.

From a human perspective, suffering is terrible; but from a godly perspective, suffering is for your good. God's love often leads us down roads where earthly comforts fail us. When we come to the end of all our dark valleys, we'll understand that every circumstance has been allowed for our ultimate good. No other route would have been as safe and as certain as the one by which we came. If only we could see the path as God has always seen it, we would have selected it as well.