One of the things that costs a Christian the most to accept is the suffering of the righteous. Until the time of Christ, the Jews associated prosperity and good health with piety.
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They believed that if one had riches, good health and other blessings, it was because God showed him in that way that he was pleased with one. That's why it took the disciples so much to understand Jesus' statement that "it's easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle, let a rich man enter the kingdom of God "(Matthew 19:24). The disciples asked:
"Who, then, can be saved?"
Similarly, in our day there is an erroneous doctrine that says that if one is in a covenant with God, he will never suffer; it is enough for him to invoke his partner in the covenant and he will come running to solve everything immediately. But that is not the gospel! The heroes of the faith listed in Hebrews 11 all walked in a covenant with God, and yet they suffered stoning, ridicule, torture, and violent death (v. 36-38). Paul himself, who walked so close to God, was shipwrecked, stoned, scourged, left for dead, assaulted, imprisoned and persecuted. He lost many material things. Why? They were proofs of his faith for the glory of God.
I do not know what the test field may be for you; but I do know that many children of God have prayed for years to be set free, and particularly to obtain healing, and they are still waiting. I think we will have afflictions, and I also believe in healing. But God allows healing afflictions. David said: "Before I was humiliated, I went astray; But now I keep your word "(Psalm 119: 67). Sometimes I have had to endure physical suffering for years. On all those occasions I have asked God to heal me; but through suffering I could feel that God was acting in my life, approaching Christ and keeping me on my knees. After each episode of suffering passed, I was able to say that it had been good for me. Do you want to be a man or a woman of God? Do you want to see the hand of God in your life? Then drink your cup of suffering and wet your bed with tears. Ask God not only for healing, but also for Him to show you what He wants you to learn through that test.
Perhaps his suffering is not physical; Sometimes a suffering of another kind feels much more. The pain of being mistreated and rejected by friends, the pain that parents feel when their teenage children trample on their hearts and become strangers to them.
It is that pain that fills the hearts of the spouses when walls of silence rise and the first love disappears. How tragic are the inner turmoil, the difficulties in the home, the nights of restlessness and sleeplessness ... knowing that God is real, that one is walking in the Spirit and loving Christ with all his strength. And still the affliction follows.
I tell him to stand firm: God promises to deliver him.
The apostle Peter gives these words of encouragement about our trials and difficulties:
Beloved, do not be surprised at the trial fire that has come upon you, as if something strange were happening to you, but be glad that you are partakers of the sufferings of Christ, so that in the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with great joy. 1 Peter 4: 12-13
In which you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you must be afflicted in various trials, so that your faith is tested, much more precious than gold, which though perishable is tried with fire , be found in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is manifested.
1 Peter 1: 6-7
I think we have to learn the lesson before the suffering is removed.
We put this into practice when we discipline our children. One of the worst things a father or mother can do to his son when he disciplines him is to show solidarity, comfort and wellbeing before the child learns the lesson. That can
destroy the child! If the rod is not applied and the lesson is never learned, rebellion takes root. The child will believe that he can do something wrong and get away with it. That will not only affect your relationship with your parents, but it will extend to all aspects of your life ... including your faith.
Christ is our trustworthy father, and while we are disciplined we can cry out to Him whenever we want. But He will not move until we have learned what He wants to teach us. It will not allow the destructive sin to take over our hearts; That's why not He will remove the rod until we surrender.
We must not forget that during all the time we are tested and disciplined, we are under the protection of God. Peter goes on to say that those who are tested by many afflictions and temptations are "kept by the power of God through faith" (1 Peter 1: 5). When Jesus allows suffering and trials in our lives, he is trying to accomplish only one thing: the same thing he was looking for when he asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. God allowed Abraham to lead Isaac all the way to the top of the mountain, and to raise the dagger above him. Only then did the Lord say: "Stop!"
What was God looking for? Simply this: "Abraham, do I mean to you more than the object of your deepest earthly affection?" Abraham showed that he was willing to give up what he loved the most - even the son who was the sole object of the promise made by God. -, and put their future completely in the hands of God. He gave everything to the Lord.
During that time of testing we must review our attitudes. Is our heart still grateful to God for his love and mercy? Do we continue to praise his perfect kindness? Or do we murmur and complain that He has forgotten us, that we do not really care much?Nothing will reveal what is in our heart as suffering. Make sure that if a spirit of complaint manifests in you, repent of it! God abhors murmuring and complaining. Actually, it allowed the children of Israel to suffer all kinds of
hardships in the desert because they had become habitual whispers. The origin of their hardships could be traced from their languages!
