Suffering

“He who scorns instruction will pay for it.” Proverbs 13:13.

            “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s disciple, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” Hebrews 12:5-6.

" Son though He (Jesus) was, He learned obedience from what He suffered  and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him  and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek."  Hebrews 5:8-10.

            In heaven, where the will of God is done, there is no death, sickness, poverty, or hunger—every tear is wiped from our eyes; but, in case you haven’t noticed, we are not home yet.  We all know that that devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but suffering cannot only be dismissed as evil. Our flesh has not yet died and the Lord of Lords has not been allowed to have His will totally done in our lives.  Not accepting the discipline that comes through suffering can come from the old common hackneyed sin of pride—you don’t need the Lord’s correction, because you can’t see how this suffering could benefit you.  Since you don’t understand, it must be evil. Our answer to suffering is not a formula we can execute without submersion in the Spirit of God in order to know how to respond.   We cannot wave the “Christian” version of the pagan dead chicken over suffering and proclaim “If you just had enough faith, this wouldn’t have happened.”  Love alone abhors such dictates.

            If suffering has entered your life, our loving Father has the power and wisdom to turn the pain into joy.  I know through experience that He is trustworthy with our pain and shame.  By submitting these things to His loving care, He is able to turn them into gold.  These stormy days can draw us into a depth in Jesus that sunny days can never comprehend.  If you remember, the blind beggar the Jesus healed in John 9 had no fear of the Pharisees and even openly rebuked them for their spiritual blindness.  He is remembered throughout history, not as a bum, but for his unabashed refusal to fear men.  If you submit this suffering to your loving Father, what great thing will you be remembered for?