Chapter 9: To trust God Through Suffering
Philippians 1:29-30
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
We have been called to suffer; in fact, Paul writes that it is our privilege to suffer for Christ. Our purpose, our privilege to suffer? these words seem some what strange to our ears today. His desire to conform us to the image of Christ and His ways of doing this are certainly opposite of our ways and our thinking.
- To grow through suffering
Real life requires death. Death involves the experience of suffering. Suffering is required for growth. Even the Son of God was required to suffer on order to enter the fulfillment of His maturity and mission.. (Hebrews 2:10;5:8-9) Suffering is equally necessary for us because it strips away the pretense that life is reasonable and good, a pretense that keep us looking in all the wrong places for the satisfaction of our souls.
It is important that when we suffer, we are not alone. Not only is God with us, but our fellow believers share the same experiences of suffering that we go through.(1 Peter 5:9) The way to find your self is n the fires of sorrow.. If you receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.
- To trust God
Think about how God uses affliction and suffering to help you grow and to trust Him.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Question to guide your medication.
- What encouragements from the Scripture can help me to persevere through suffering?
- What keeps me from fully trusting God with my life?
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