Our Hope in Suffering...

Whenever I feel alone in a situation, despairing or confused, hurting or sure that I don't "deserve" what I am experiencing, I seek out God's Word. His Holy letter of love. God tells us that we have an intercessor who understands our experience. This intercessor, our High Priest~ Jesus Christ, lives to pray for us and work on our behalf... Amazing love!

"That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let su cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will recieve His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NLT).

Not only does He yearn to help us, He longs for more. He longs to dwell within us that God might be magnified and glorified. We fallen human beings, who are like nothing when compared with the holiness and majesty of our Lord, are the vessel He has chosen to inhabit and Love! I am amazed, humbled, and awed that He desires a relationship so caring and intimate with us. We are so undeserving and far from His righteousness in and of ourselves, yet He desires not only to make us holy and pure in His eyes, but to call us "friend." We are blessed indeed.

Friends, we are deeply loved by our Creator. He is our Redeemer, Comforter, Healer, Deliverer, Father, Brother and Friend. God gave His only begotten son, whom He deeply loved, as a living sacrifice, wholly poured out of His godliness yet walking in purity, that we might have the opportunity to walk through our trials side by side with Him. Amazing! God is glorified by our willingness to trust in this truth and walk in faith during hard times. Others are drawn closer to Him and His truths by our witness. Jesus assured His apostles that He conquered the wiles of the enemy once for all, and He told them in Luke 10:19 (KJV) "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." We must cling to His many assurances during rough times!! Such Hope in His power and grace! Following the above verse in Luke's gospel, we are reminded that we should rejoice because our names are recorded in heaven and nothing of this earth can change our eternal destiny when we love and trust in Jesus as Lord.

So, if we follow the commands recorded in Hebrews 12:2a and Psalms 55:22a (NIV), "fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and casting our cares upon the Lord," the promise is that "He will sustain us; he will never let the righteous fall." (Psalm 55:22b) Now isn't that good news?! It excites me so when I sit and ponder the magnitude of this promise. God assures us that if we turn to Him, not only will He give us the faith we need, but He will also sustain us and keep us from falling. Hallelujah! We can trust that He knows exactly what we are experiencing, and that He is more than willing to walk us through the pain. He wants nothing more than to draw us nearer to Him. What an incredible honor and blessing!

Having struggled through some extremely difficult circumstances in the past few years, I have had the glorious opportunity to put these promises to the test. Many times I hvae been on my face before God, begging for mercy and asking for the visible work of His hand in my life; seeking some assurance that all was not in vain. During one particular hot spot, He spoke to me through Henry Blackeby's book "Experiencing God." I can't recall how the sentence was worded, but what His Spirit illuminated to me was that God was not calling me to something that I could succeed at in my own strength, but something I could only prevail through while submitted to and trusting in Him. In this way, I could grow in faith, He could be glorified and others could be blessed by His hand in my life. It would have been easy for me to assume that I had gotten through things in my own strength if the trial had not been beyond my abilities to manage. Despite always praying and seeking God, I would never have been fully assured that it was His hand and not a lot of mine. I am far too self-sufficient by nature. God's power and might are most easily illuminated when we join with Him in God-sized assignments that we cannot possibly accomplish alone. Many of these involve suffering.

So rejoice, brothers and sisters ~ Our Father seeks to be glorified through us, through our love and obedience! Praise Him if He has deemed you willing and worthy to carry the burden of suffering with Christ. Consider it an honor and privilege! And when growing weary of the dubious (in the eyes of self) privilege of difficulties, we can consider the sufferings of our Lord and Christ which were far more than most of us could imagine walking through...and He did it in order to save us from our sinful hearts and destructive lives. "For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:3 (NASB). Praise Him.

Suffering allows us to share a deeper understanding of Christ's life, thereby drawing us closer to His likeness. "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:16-17 (NIV). Amen? Hallelujah! Such sweet hope!