Monday, June 29, 2015

For God Knows Our Suffering



Does God have a plan for our suffering? Why do we suffer? What do we do with our suffering? Does God know about our trials? True faith will be tested. Ouch! One of the hardest things to remember during suffering is the focus being on making our faith stronger. If we pray for a stronger faith, we can expect some testing of our faith. For our faith to be strengthened, it must go through the refiner’s fire. Just like Job in God’s Word, God can and does allow Satan to test us to see how strong a believer’s trust in God is. Ouch! again, Do you believe God might be allowing some testing in your life right now? God sets the limits on how much suffering we will endure, just like Job. God does not want us to suffer, nor is He being cruel or unfair. However, we sometimes make things or people are idols, and we put these idols above our God. Other times our character needs refining by the Holy Spirit.

Do you have a desire to serve Christ? Then He has to cleanse you and refine you, and sometimes this can only happen in the context of refinement through suffering. You will be purged and cleansed during times of deep suffering, and sometimes nothing else will cause us to undergo this type of purging than suffering. Maybe your suffering is not a direct result of sin, although it can be. Sometime, yes, we live in a fallen world and suffering happens, but sometimes God allows suffering to refine our character. We will be strengthened for God’s service, if we do not become bitter and angry toward’s God.

After our trial and suffering, we are never the same, unless you have allowed an attitude of anger, bitterness, self-pity, and doubt. The trial exposes our weaknesses and deepens our strength and opportunities for ministry. The tears of our trials are what God uses to change our hearts, painfully, but for purpose.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into the grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy spirit, who He has given us.  Romans 5:1-5, NIV

Do not give up! Keep going. The Lord has His eyes upon you and your situations. God is for you and will use everything for His glory.

Why We Suffer?


Use suffering to build your character. Don’t resent it or let it tear you down. When we suffer, if we faithfully represent Christ, our message and example affect others for good. Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. It is easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances or to take unimportant events to seriously. Some people think that troubles are always caused by sin or lack in faith, trails may be a part of God’s plan for believers. Experiencing problems and persecutions can build character and perseverance and sensitivity toward others who also face trouble. Problems are unavoidable for God’s people. Your troubles may be a sign of effective Christian living.

Some people turn to God with the hope of escaping suffering on earth, but God does not promise that. Instead He gives us power to grow through our suffering. James does not say if you face trials, but when you face them. He assumes we will have trials and that it is possible to profit from them. James tells us to turn our hardships into times of learning. We can’t really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure. We should see our struggles as opportunities for growth.

The key to surviving trials are patience and faith. When we are faced with crushing troubles, we can have faith that God is using our trials for good and for His glory. Knowing God is fair and just will give us patience in our suffering because we know that He has not forgotten us. In God’s perfect timing, He will relieve our suffering. Can you trust God’s timing?

As we live for Christ we will experience troubles because we are trying to be God’s people in a perverse world. Our problems can help us look upward and forward instead of inward. They can build strong character and they can provide us with opportunities to comfort others who are also struggling.

Read Philippians chapter 1 and 1 Thessalonians chapter 3



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