Morning Musings with the boys at breakfast...
Suffering can help us to be "done with sin" (1 Peter 4:1) and accomplish good things in our lives and even in the lives of others through us. Jesus proved this beyond measure. Of course, the point of His death on the cross and resurrection suffering and the sin He "was done with" was humankind's sin.
In the book of James we are asked to "consider it pure joy...whenever we face trials of many kinds" (1:2), to "be patient...until the Lord's coming" (5:7) and to "stand firm" (5:8). When we do so our faith develops perseverance through it, producing a chain reaction of many good things: maturity and completeness of faith, wisdom (James 1); self-control; holiness, obedience to God and His ways (1 Peter 1:13-15); and living in harmony and love with the brothers in Christ, and riddance of malice and slander and grumbling (1 Peter 3:8-11; 4:9).
So you see when we can persevere and overcome we will be done with much sin. This is something to be happy about yet not take for granted as "him who thinks he stands best take heed lest he fall..." (1 Corinthians 10:12). Jeremiah 17:9 reports that "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" but God in His mercy allows us to become more like Him in holiness.
We will also have the "Spirit of glory and of God resting upon us" (Read 1 Peter 4:12-19). "Ahhhhhh..." Sigh of relief and gratitude to God. Brings tears to my eyes, actually to think, despite our many failings in the pursuit of holiness and Christ-likeness, He would still rest His Spirit on us. Doesn't that still your heart? Comfort you? Humble you? Compel you?
I want to talk about the suffering of persecution for one's faith in Christ. Many of the people back in the apostles' time suffered in this way thus the writing about it by several of the writers of the New Testament. Even today many of our brothers and sisters around the world suffer severely for the Name of Jesus and their faithfulness to Him. This is not because they have sinned any more than any of us who do not experience any form of persecution. No, this is a trial of their faith and will work good things for them. There are many testimonies to that fact and that the "blood of the martyr's, seed of the Christians" as one fellow named Tertullian in the year 197 wrote, show that where there is persecution, the church grows. Their sufferings were not in vain.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world every opportunity we can get, both in personal prayer and collectively; it is critically important. We need to show our solidarity in this even if they do not know we pray nor when we do not know specifics. Beseech God to help them to remain faithful to Him and to have courage and to remain focused on Jesus Christ in faithfulness to Him. When we pray thus and...
"...if open persecution comes to your local church that has learned to pray in these various ways, the prayer life of the church will continue. Even if Christians are scattered, they can continue to share prayer requests and answers to prayer with one another by mail....The prayer and devotional life of the Christian family...remains the basic unit of spiritual power. If Satan wins a temporary victory of completely scattering a local body of believers, the prayer fellowship of the family remains..." *1
When we go through our respective suffering, don't be surprised by it, rather allow it to accomplish what is needful in our life. Let us be glad and rejoice with gratitude, and thanksgiving for what He does for us through that suffering. Let us commit ourselves anew to our faithful Creator and continue to let the goodness of God to infiltrate us through that suffering (whether due to specific sin in our lives or not) and lead us to repentance while continuing to do good in Jesus's Name.
Father God, I thank You that You do go with us through our suffering and You know what it is like. Help us to continue to do good and remain faithful to You and Your Son, Jesus Christ. I also want to ask you to strengthen those of our brothers and sisters-in-Christ who suffer severe persecution throughout this world. Help them to know Your presence there with them and be a comfort to them. Let them know they have not been forgotten. Help them to have the courage they need to stand firm in their faith in You and to focus on You in their desperate time of on-going tribulation in their hostile environments. I ask all this in Your Son Jesus' most precious Name and upon Whom we know we can depend.
~ERC 2016~
*1 Standing Strong Through the Storm Compiled by Paul Estabrooks and Jim Cunningham, Open Doors International, Copyright 2004 by Open Doors International, Inc USA. page 265.
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