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In what appears to be a never ending saga of turbulence that has taken over the world at present, you have a God who is a refuge you can turn to. The turmoil of your heart therefore, you can safely and trustingly, pour out in His presence in prayer. And the time will surely come in your life, when your cup will overflow, even as you seek to know Him more and more, to be blessed, and be privileged to be part of His plan. And continuing to meditate upon the prayer of David, that says, Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; And may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. [Psalm 143:10] may it speak into your heart, to be led forward in your life, and in your circumstance. For, He is a God of forethought.
And, this sudden, and lingering health crisis, is not beyond the might of His Hand, in order to keep you secure in the shelter of His wings. It was in a time of difficulty, of famine, that Isaac was led and provided seed to sow, that in the same year saw him reap a hundredfold, or it’s ultimate potential. [Genesis 26:12] And, He is the same God, even today. You will find therefore, that the grace He provides, will empower you to fulfill God’s plan for your life. You will be fruitful, be blessed, and be a channel of blessing to others, to the world around you that is living in fear and insecurity. For, it is in doing His will and plan that He has worked out for your life, that you press on, to move forward in your life. The apostle Paul, has laid out the steps to it, applying it to his own calling, focusing on the one thing, that you and I ought to aspire too, as he says, but I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death. [Philippians 3:10]
Knowing HIM involves:
Knowing Him, is in a fellowship of His suffering, as the Suffering Servant, who came to suffer and die on the Cross, and rise again on the third day. Knowing Him, through it all, is to be called out of darkness, into His marvelous light. Knowing Him, is to be, made more and more like Him.
And, what is the fellowship of His suffering?
His suffering, as the prophet Isaiah has described, is the heavy cost of sin, cruel and harsh, that mars your entire being. And the Lord, the sinless Lamb of God, became sin on the Cross. He is despised, and rejected by men, Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. [Isaiah 53:3] And all that He went through, the shame and reproach of sin, was on account of you and I, and the sinful humanity. It is what the word of God makes painfully clear. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him; And by His stripes we are healed. [Isaiah 53:5] It was for your well being, and mine, that Christ suffered and died on the Cross, that in knowing Him, one can live in the power that He provides through it, His death and resurrection power, and even in His suffering.
For, His closeness to your suffering, brings about His salvation in you, accomplished through His suffering on the Cross. He suffered on Calvary, so that what He accomplished by it, can be made available to you, through the Cross. And so, when engulfed by pain and sorrow, the Savior’s words will give you all the comfort and strength that you need, to speak into your heart, to assure you that there will be a good ending, fulfilling your godly destiny, ‘In this world, you will have trouble; but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world’. [John 16:33] The world, or in other words, the world system, lies under the sway of sin and satan and is bound to cause trouble and discomfort to you, when you are a child of God. But, ‘I have overcome the world’, He says to you. The chastisement for your well being, has been laid on Him. It was His suffering on the Cross. And Christ, conscious of the will of His Father, bore it all, the pain of sin’s weight, that He knew awaited Him. As the apostle Peter has described what transpired on the Cross, Who Himself bore our sins , in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sin, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you have been healed. [1 Peter 2:24] It was in the garden of Gethsemane, in prayer unto His Father, in agony, but in love and obedience, instead of avoiding His will, that He bowed willingly to it.
He arose, to proceed towards what He knew, suffering notwithstanding, would glorify God’s Name, in accomplishing the purpose for which He had been sent. For, you and I, and every child of God, have received salvation, to be seated in the heavenly realms with Him this day, by trusting in Him, and His finished work of redemption, through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins. You have been saved, and for a purpose. It is to do the Father’s will for your life. You will also then, attract the devil’s attention, and as a consequence of it, may face suffering. But it does not mean that you need to give up on doing what is good and right, in the sight of God. You do not have to follow the crowd, and go along with the pattern of the world, that often dictates, in ways big and small, to compromise with the devil. For, in difficult circumstances that arise in your path, you will be energized and encouraged, by the sufficiency of His grace. In the eyes of the world, the theory that it lives by, is that if you are good, and also do good, you will in return, receive what is good. But, it is not necessarily so, in this fallen world. For, Lord Jesus, the one perfect person, to walk on earth, went through suffering, and a gruesome death, and all because He went about doing good, for God was with Him.
In your suffering – God’s favor:
Therefore, when tribulation comes to cause pain and sorrow in your life, the apostle Peter, in God’s word highlights your eternal perspective, saying, But what credit is it if beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But if you do good, and you suffer, it is commendable unto God. [1 Peter 2:20] It is then that the favor of God comes upon you, blessing you, as you experience the fellowship of His suffering, in knowing Him more and more, to count it all a privilege, as Paul has declared, in his letter to the Philippians.
In, your suffering for His sake, – joy:
For to you, it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also suffer for His sake. [Philippians 1:29] And it is why, through it all, knowing the One who has overcome the world, you can be in agreement with the words of Peter In this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. [1 Peter 1:6] And in the fellowship of His suffering, knowing Christ more and more, in His attitude towards it, is what can be a blessing, in which you can greatly rejoice. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. [1 Peter 2:21]
In your suffering – His example:
He has gone ahead, in the path of unimaginable suffering, undergoing injustice and extreme reproach, ‘Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth’. Who when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself, to the One who judges righteously. [1 Peter 2:22,23] In not retaliating against those who were causing Him great suffering, but entrusting Himself into the hands of His Father, the Righteous Judge, He has shown you and I, the way. For, though nothing can ever compare to the pain and injustice of the Savior on the Cross, you and I often face suffering in the path of doing God’s will, owing to gross injustice, and works of wrongdoing, both unreasonable and vile. And what needs to be your response to it, and mine, is what the Lord has displayed, and is also empowering by His matchless grace.
In your suffering – HIS attitude:
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh, has ceased from sin. [1 Peter 4:1] It is what will keep you from discouragement that could lead you to giving up on your goal, of knowing Him more and more, to be blessed, and privileged, to be a part of God’s plan for you. Christ is always the answer; Focusing on how He went through suffering, is the solution. For, consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. [Hebrews 12:3]
Christ, the innocent and sinless One, suffered in the hands of sinners! It was a contradiction; one that you see happening in life at various levels, at various places. But, what should bring hope and encouragement in your heart, and the desire to know Christ more and more in the fellowship of His suffering; is the good that the Father brought about ultimately. For, to Christ, His suffering and painful death, painful at various levels, was not the end. A victor’s crown awaited Him! And, His present glorious position, is that, having suffered, He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He is the Mediator of the New Covenant, interceding on your behalf, in your time of pain and suffering.
In your suffering – your Compassionate High Priest:
In life, as you walk through the pages of it, there are various levels of fellowship, with varying degrees of closeness, that you experience, at different stages. It would generally be your fellowship as a family, the fellowship you enjoy in your place of education, that lingers through the years in friendship, and even as colleagues in your workplace, to mention just a few. And it has also been said, and seen that, the closeness is the deepest; when it develops as you go through suffering together, as two people, or as a group. It is the fellowship of suffering; one that Paul wants to know more and more, together with Christ. God is closer to the broken hearted, is what the scripture declares.
And in your suffering, Christ is there with you, to help you, sympathize with you, your High Priest, interceding in the Father’s presence, for He Himself has suffered. He has been through it all, to be able to understand your every weakness and pain, to empathize and also help you to come out of it,. Such is the merciful and loving Saviour, whom you worship and serve! For we do not have a Great High Priest, who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who was at all points tempted as we were, and yet without sin. Let us come boldly therefore, to the throne of grace, to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:15,16]
In your suffering – your help:
Sometimes in your challenges and suffering, people may not stand with you, to help you. But, in the context of your suffering, the Lord God, says to you, ‘I will help you’, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth … [Isaiah 41: 14,15] And the Lord, your Maker and Redeemer, also goes on to establish your glorious status, that cannot be disputed, even in your suffering . It is that you belong to Him! ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine’. [Isaiah 43:1] Therefore, in a time of suffering, Paul’s charge to Timothy, to endure affliction, and fulfill his ministry, or the calling of God, to press on towards the goal, is one that comes also to you, and every child of God. [2 Timothy 4:5] You are His, and He is your ever present help, in trouble. He comforts you, as only He can.
In your suffering – your comfort:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies, and God of all comfort. [2 Corinthians 1:3] He is the God of all comfort, and it is how He helps you, so that through the comfort you received, you may comfort others. For as the sufferings of Christ, abound in us, so also the consolation of Christ abounds through us. [vs 5] He does not give, what you and I deserve as a consequence of our sins. Rather, He died to sin on the Cross, rose again, to be seated now on High, with the Name above every other Name given unto Him. And, in your suffering He now gives you, comfort, empowerment, encouragement. For, where sin increased, grace super abounded, that you may live in the resurrection power of the Spirit of God in you, treasure in a jar of clay, your human frailty. And if you suffer with Him, you shall also reign with Him. Therefore, in your life, you may encounter tribulation, but you will not be crushed. In knowing Him more and more, you will know what to do. For, He is holding you by your right hand to help you. In your trouble, He will reach out to lift you up.
And as the apostle Paul exults confidently, as you continue to know Christ more and more, you will know that nothing, including tribulation or suffering can separate you from the love of God, that is in Christ Jesus. [Romans 8:33-35] Rather, you will be more than a conqueror in it, for the Lord is holding your hand. Your suffering, for the sake of Christ, whatever and however great it may be, is not permanent. It will soon pass. For the Lord Himself will perfect, strengthen, establish and settle you. [1 Peter 5:10]
And, Oh, what peace we often forfeit, and needless pain we carry, when we do not turn to the Lord in prayer. He has borne all our sins and grief, to grant us solace and comfort, help in our time of need, interceding in the presence of the Father. May we also entrust ourselves, in our time of suffering and pain, into the hands of the Father, knowing that He will judge righteously, for the glory and honor of His Name.
