She Reads Truth: 1 PeterSample

Suffer to be like the One who suffered

We know that Christ suffered during His life on this Earth. Of His suffering, we are explicitly told of three instances in Scripture. We know of His loneliness and temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane, His humiliation and torture during His walk to Calvary, and His ultimate crucifixion and death. The good news is, none of this suffering occurred without passing through the sovereign hand of God the Father.

If Christ suffered so much in His Earthly life, then why as Christians do we hesitate to expect suffering in our own lives? Still, there is good news in our suffering, too. First, we will be blessed when we suffer for righteousness sake. Second, there is no need to fear the scorched suffering that can befall us in this life, because Christ has died and overcome.

Christ, while deeply and truly understanding our suffering, has also provided an end to suffering once and for all.

That is the hope we carry (Revelation 21:1-4)—and should be ready to share (v.15)—the hope of Glory in Jesus and with our Father. There will be no more suffering, no more tears, no more tragedy, no more terror, and no more worry when the full Glory of God is revealed to us. But, it took Jesus’s suffering to reconcile us to God, and our suffering can make us more like Christ (Philippians 3:10).

We needn’t fear suffering of any kind, for nothing is wasted in God’s economy. He uses everything for His Glory and for our good. Christ’s suffering shows us how to bear such a burden, the Holy Spirit will intercede for us in our suffering (Romans 8:26), and God will work everything together for our good (Romans 8:28).

So, praise God if you find yourself suffering for righteousness sake. You will become more like Christ and experience more of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. Know that Christ has walked in suffering before you and Christians all over the world are walking with you. Suffering with the Lord and the Church is better than suffering alone.

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