Post by servantofthelord on Jul 24, 2021 21:01:21 GMT -6
I've been going to start a thread on this for awhile, but I was mulling it over in my mind as to the best way to present it that would offend the least amount of people. LOL But I have realized that like most things in life you just can't please everyone, no matter what or how you do things. So, I'll just do my best and that will have to do.
I am fortunate enough to have a vast bank of suffering to use for the examples, so as not to randomly apply this. Also I'll refer to the early church, the apostles and Christ.
First let me say that suffering is very misunderstood in our day. It is something we tend to avoid, and will even at times allow others to experience, rather than do it ourselves. This is a natural human reaction.
What we have to bear in mind, which I personally never saw, is that our "natural" desires are our enemy more than our friends. Lust, greed, fear, are all natural to us, but all are also Satans greatest tools. Paul shows us this when discussing himself. No matter how hard he'd try, despite his best efforts, he still wouldn't do the things he wanted to do. In another place in scripture he's in prison and talking about bringing his body under control. Making efforts to tame urges and control the desires of the flesh. That isn't just lust, he's in prison. He's talking about ALL the desires of our body. they work against us constantly.
Suffering is a promise of Jesus. He makes it clear that if we are to follow Him, we are to "take up our cross". That isn't intended to sound easy and free of suffering, as we know what that meant for Him.
We are also told that if we follow Him, doing His will, we WILL be persecuted. But it also says our suffering pleases God. That suffering perfects our faith. That we are to be LONG suffering and to persevere!
In fact I haven't seen any NT verses that promote avoiding or running from any sort of suffering. This whole concept of embracing and using suffering to help me, was a lesson that took a lifetime to learn. I may have just needed what I went through to be able to grasp it, or I might just as easily have been far too hard headed to actually accept it was true.
But the scriptures leave no doubts as to what suffering does, and how we are expected to not only experience it, but repeatedly so. It will become a fact of life if we are truly walking in the path of the Lord.
I'm not saying life will be nothing but misery, but suffering usually doesn't come when you expect it or how you do. It sneaks up and rocks your world.
My own experiences with it have taught me some hard lessons, which I didn't learn the first, second or usually the third time round. The Lord let me take the reins and run as far into it as I wanted, which I repeatedly did.
Eventually I learned the first step. ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance is not what many think. Acknowledging a thing to be true is not the same as believing it in your heart. Often times, as with me, true acceptance can't be had till you have exhausted all other avenues first. I knew God would protect me, I knew I was being taught something. I didn't understand what I was doing wrong or how to do it any differently. But He did. I suffered long and hard at my own expense, creating my own problems and suffering for that over and over and over and.......
Finally, when I felt truly helpless and I was at my emotional end, I just gave it up. I stopped trying to fix things, stopped trying to control outcomes, stopped running from problems, just accepted that He was in control. But I did it in my heart, not just my head.
Almost immediately the Holy Spirit began working in me. Showing me how to do things His way, not mine. Revealing how much stronger I had become as a result of all this suffering I had tried so hard to avoid, which always ended up catching up to me anyway.
Up to this point, when ever I had an issue, especially a painful one, I'd pray and ask God's help, which He was giving me by placing the suffering in my path, that I was seeking to avoid. LOL anyway, I'd pray, and whether I asked for it out loud or not, what I really wanted was for the suffering to go away, for him to take it away. I just couldn't understand why He would let me or even cause me to suffer!
That is such a human/worldly way to see things! He was helping me even before I asked. I just hadn't accepted the possibility. I was focussed on me, not on Him.
As soon as my mind was changed, (thank you advocate!), it was abundantly clear that had I been looking at things from a spiritual/God centered place and not a me/worldly centered one, I'd have taken that opportunity to glorify Him! I'd have held strong, asked for strength and not deliverance, trusted Him to know how much I can take, and persevered. Proving my faith as strong enough to withstand the challenge of the pain and suffering I'd been fortunate enough to find myself in.
This is the mindset of the apostles, and the early Christians. This is how they were able to face their executioners and welcome their imminent death with glory and prayers for their accusers. Even the children were able to do this. There are all kinds of writing where 12 year olds went to their deaths happily praising the Lord.
They had accepted their suffering and their faith was made perfect, so that when the time came, they prayed for strength, that they wouldn't show weakness. Not that they be delivered from their sufferings. They knew that God would be glorified in this, that they were about to get a one way ticket to the promised land! They just had to be strong long enough to die well. And because they had such faith, the Holy spirit buoyed their strength and many didn't even cry out, other than to praise God.
This is a totally foreign attitude to modern Christians. We are convinced God doesn't want us to suffer. He is our protector and keeps us safe from harm, etc.
We struggle mightily with things like children dying and the need to protect ourselves from pain and suffering. Even to the point that many are willing to kill another to avoid being killed themselves.
If we truly have the faith we proclaim we have in our Lord, why do we insist on trying to control what is not ours to control? He has clearly told us "Vengeance is mine". But we conspire to take it anyway. Worse, we tell ourselves it is His will. Blasphemy.
If it is your time to go to God, if thats where your going, then no bullet, bomb, robber, or anything else in this world can keep you here. Period. That was decided from the foundations of the world and will not change.
The same goes for if it is not your time, no power on earth can overpower God. Trust that. Accept that in your heart, not just your mind. If you can't yet, ask God's help and then stay the course. It may get ugly, but if you persevere, He promises to help and hold you. He always keeps his promises. He can't help as long as you insist on knowing His will better than He does. It will only insure more suffering.
One last thought to take to heart and mull over. Are you saved? Have you been given the Holy Spirit? Scripture says it will be obvious to all. "manifest" Would most everyone you meet, say, he's a Christian!
If the answer is yes, than you already should know in your heart that death is just a gift into eternal life. It holds no power or fear over you. So why seek to avoid it at all costs? Why "protect" a person from going directly into God's glory? Is that really in their best interest? to be stuck here in sin even longer?
Learn to see your suffering as a gift from the Lord, that you may perfect your faith, so that when and if the time comes for you to be a witness/martyr for him, you can do so with confidence and glorify Him. In these times, it just may come to that, suffering and learning to control your bodies desires is the only opportunities you may get to prepare for what glory you may be destined for.
I am fortunate enough to have a vast bank of suffering to use for the examples, so as not to randomly apply this. Also I'll refer to the early church, the apostles and Christ.
First let me say that suffering is very misunderstood in our day. It is something we tend to avoid, and will even at times allow others to experience, rather than do it ourselves. This is a natural human reaction.
What we have to bear in mind, which I personally never saw, is that our "natural" desires are our enemy more than our friends. Lust, greed, fear, are all natural to us, but all are also Satans greatest tools. Paul shows us this when discussing himself. No matter how hard he'd try, despite his best efforts, he still wouldn't do the things he wanted to do. In another place in scripture he's in prison and talking about bringing his body under control. Making efforts to tame urges and control the desires of the flesh. That isn't just lust, he's in prison. He's talking about ALL the desires of our body. they work against us constantly.
Suffering is a promise of Jesus. He makes it clear that if we are to follow Him, we are to "take up our cross". That isn't intended to sound easy and free of suffering, as we know what that meant for Him.
We are also told that if we follow Him, doing His will, we WILL be persecuted. But it also says our suffering pleases God. That suffering perfects our faith. That we are to be LONG suffering and to persevere!
In fact I haven't seen any NT verses that promote avoiding or running from any sort of suffering. This whole concept of embracing and using suffering to help me, was a lesson that took a lifetime to learn. I may have just needed what I went through to be able to grasp it, or I might just as easily have been far too hard headed to actually accept it was true.
But the scriptures leave no doubts as to what suffering does, and how we are expected to not only experience it, but repeatedly so. It will become a fact of life if we are truly walking in the path of the Lord.
I'm not saying life will be nothing but misery, but suffering usually doesn't come when you expect it or how you do. It sneaks up and rocks your world.
My own experiences with it have taught me some hard lessons, which I didn't learn the first, second or usually the third time round. The Lord let me take the reins and run as far into it as I wanted, which I repeatedly did.
Eventually I learned the first step. ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance is not what many think. Acknowledging a thing to be true is not the same as believing it in your heart. Often times, as with me, true acceptance can't be had till you have exhausted all other avenues first. I knew God would protect me, I knew I was being taught something. I didn't understand what I was doing wrong or how to do it any differently. But He did. I suffered long and hard at my own expense, creating my own problems and suffering for that over and over and over and.......
Finally, when I felt truly helpless and I was at my emotional end, I just gave it up. I stopped trying to fix things, stopped trying to control outcomes, stopped running from problems, just accepted that He was in control. But I did it in my heart, not just my head.
Almost immediately the Holy Spirit began working in me. Showing me how to do things His way, not mine. Revealing how much stronger I had become as a result of all this suffering I had tried so hard to avoid, which always ended up catching up to me anyway.
Up to this point, when ever I had an issue, especially a painful one, I'd pray and ask God's help, which He was giving me by placing the suffering in my path, that I was seeking to avoid. LOL anyway, I'd pray, and whether I asked for it out loud or not, what I really wanted was for the suffering to go away, for him to take it away. I just couldn't understand why He would let me or even cause me to suffer!
That is such a human/worldly way to see things! He was helping me even before I asked. I just hadn't accepted the possibility. I was focussed on me, not on Him.
As soon as my mind was changed, (thank you advocate!), it was abundantly clear that had I been looking at things from a spiritual/God centered place and not a me/worldly centered one, I'd have taken that opportunity to glorify Him! I'd have held strong, asked for strength and not deliverance, trusted Him to know how much I can take, and persevered. Proving my faith as strong enough to withstand the challenge of the pain and suffering I'd been fortunate enough to find myself in.
This is the mindset of the apostles, and the early Christians. This is how they were able to face their executioners and welcome their imminent death with glory and prayers for their accusers. Even the children were able to do this. There are all kinds of writing where 12 year olds went to their deaths happily praising the Lord.
They had accepted their suffering and their faith was made perfect, so that when the time came, they prayed for strength, that they wouldn't show weakness. Not that they be delivered from their sufferings. They knew that God would be glorified in this, that they were about to get a one way ticket to the promised land! They just had to be strong long enough to die well. And because they had such faith, the Holy spirit buoyed their strength and many didn't even cry out, other than to praise God.
This is a totally foreign attitude to modern Christians. We are convinced God doesn't want us to suffer. He is our protector and keeps us safe from harm, etc.
We struggle mightily with things like children dying and the need to protect ourselves from pain and suffering. Even to the point that many are willing to kill another to avoid being killed themselves.
If we truly have the faith we proclaim we have in our Lord, why do we insist on trying to control what is not ours to control? He has clearly told us "Vengeance is mine". But we conspire to take it anyway. Worse, we tell ourselves it is His will. Blasphemy.
If it is your time to go to God, if thats where your going, then no bullet, bomb, robber, or anything else in this world can keep you here. Period. That was decided from the foundations of the world and will not change.
The same goes for if it is not your time, no power on earth can overpower God. Trust that. Accept that in your heart, not just your mind. If you can't yet, ask God's help and then stay the course. It may get ugly, but if you persevere, He promises to help and hold you. He always keeps his promises. He can't help as long as you insist on knowing His will better than He does. It will only insure more suffering.
One last thought to take to heart and mull over. Are you saved? Have you been given the Holy Spirit? Scripture says it will be obvious to all. "manifest" Would most everyone you meet, say, he's a Christian!
If the answer is yes, than you already should know in your heart that death is just a gift into eternal life. It holds no power or fear over you. So why seek to avoid it at all costs? Why "protect" a person from going directly into God's glory? Is that really in their best interest? to be stuck here in sin even longer?
Learn to see your suffering as a gift from the Lord, that you may perfect your faith, so that when and if the time comes for you to be a witness/martyr for him, you can do so with confidence and glorify Him. In these times, it just may come to that, suffering and learning to control your bodies desires is the only opportunities you may get to prepare for what glory you may be destined for.