Patience In Suffering
Good Morning,
All of us go through trials; in fact God says we are “subject to like passions.” (James 5:17) Paul wrote that we are all tempted in a common (similar) manner.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
We will all face trouble: our Lord made it clear that we will face tribulation due to the world in which we live.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
So what are we supposed to do? We often spend our time trying to get out of trouble or avoiding trouble. The Lord instructs us as to proper actions in trials.
Romans 12:12 “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;”
Romans 5:3 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;”
When trials come, we are to be patient, and to glory... not in the sorrow, but in our faith! We have a God Who is sovereign, good, and faithful. Glory in the fruit our lives will bring forth due to the difficulties with which we are dealing.
God is to be the One to Whom we go for strength in difficult times, not to the world, the drug companies, or the foolish counsels of the lost world.
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
Jeremiah spoke about dealing with sorrow in Lamentations.
Lamentations 3:24 “The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
vs. 25 “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”
vs. 26 “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”
God is our portion and our hope -- the One upon Whom we wait.
Peter writes much about sorrow since the church faced much persecution in his day. He urged us to stay faithful amidst suffering;
1 Peter 1:5 “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
vs. 6 “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:”
vs. 7 “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
Though in much heaviness knowing that our faith is being tried, tested, and proven by our continued faith and rest in God, we are to rejoice. Think of words like longsuffering -- I guess that means we should suffer long, right?
Peter sums it up simply;
1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:”
vs. 13 “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
The trial we face is not new, nor is it some terrible strange problem no one else has ever encountered. We can rejoice just as others have — by the grace of God. If we will keep our eyes on Jesus, we can be glad with exceeding joy.
Pastor