Illustration.Suffering is the pursuit of Endurance to Persevere through to the end,trusting with a reverence to The Father that He's in control of our lives,Only when we come to him with a surrendered Heart and on Humbled knees.It demonstrates our "Faith" in the world around us.
The greatest hitter in the world:
A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball and bat. "I'm the greatest hitter in the world," he announced.
Then, he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed.
"Strike One!" he yelled. Undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world!" He tossed the ball into the air.
When it came down he swung again and missed. "Strike Two!" he cried. The boy then paused a moment to examine his bat and bail carefully. He spit on his hands and rubbed them together.
He straightened his cap and said once more, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world!" Again he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it. He missed. "Strike Three!"
"Wow!" he exclaimed. "I'm the greatest pitcher in the world!"
"Suffer".... in old English means "allow" or "permit".
experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant):
Gaining a New Wisdom From Endurance or to say "He suffered it"....
In our suffering,We draw closer to God and he to us,because,He see's a need growing within us that needs some attention.When this happens,He starts growing with promise and a movement on a positive note.The "Promise is being "Wiser" at the end of our suffering!But on the other hand, He also says,"Don't get comfortable yet..Our lives are as mountains and valleys.After a few of these trials ,We are blessed with the "God-Given" wisdom to know what we need to do,to get through these trying times in our lives!You see,as we go through life,we all,Live and Learn,When in all actuality,We are being conditioned by the almighty God,isn't that a wonderful thing , to know how in control he really is?We've all heard the old saying,"For God brought us to it,He'll get us through it!"AMEN!! But here is also a truth saying...He never said it would be easy,But it would be worth it! signed...Jesus
From my own account,and as a testimony,We become as stagnant water when were not growing in the word,the spirit,and missing out on the blessing of wisdom of Gods love for us through Christ Jesus.
Jesus didn't sit around in his time,He was constantly on the move,From one town to the next,spreading the Gospels.Here is what happens when we aren't moving forward,where there is no progression in our lives,The Enemy moves in and begins to hunker-down and hold us back from making any progress in life,and that's a scary thought!That's his nature,to keep us from the will of God.
Lets look at Matthew 5:1-12
The Sermon on the Mount,
Can you imagine what was going through Jesus mind at the multitudes of people,that were there to hear him speak.He knew that he was going to have to "suffer" the people to get his message across to them!But we see the suffering being turned into a positive and verse 12 is the result of his endurance and that is "REJOICE"!!and be exceeding glad,For great is your reward in Heaven: For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.He's not only saying "Be Blessed",but showing us the positive out-come of persevering any suffering that come up in our lives.
Now,if we look at Matthew 10:22-23
Remember what I said about that it would be worth it?
Here is the answer Jesus gives us and that is...."ETERNAL LIFE" all rapped us a single word"SAVED"
When we endure,not only Jesus shows us how,but what to do next.The result of suffering is Wisdom and the "KNOW_HOW" about getting through it when it comes around again.All we have to do is just stick with it or to "Endure" to the end,God always shows us the way out,only if we just simply make a stand of Faith and trust in his timing!!James gives an example of "PATIENCE IN SUFFERING"
James 5:7-12
5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains. 5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! 5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 5:11 Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 5:12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.
1Peter 4:12-13 Tested
Sometimes,The Father test our faith just to make it known to us of where our faith lies ,at a particular place and point in time in our lives.Like I said at the beginning,May be just to manifest a need in a certain area of our lives or just to say,"I'm here here when you want to talk.So,We shouldn't act surprised when this happens,Peter shows us this in verse 12
and there,again, is the out-come in verse 13 of perseverance.We as Christians,Don't have anything to worry about when God is dealing with certain areas,issues,or anything for that matter,in our lives,He's just showing how much he loves each and everyone of his children.We of all people should know ,He's "NOT going to stir us wrong...Amen!!
An Answer to "Why God's Children Suffer"....
(Hebrews 12:3–15)
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye
be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving
against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
sons, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art
rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son
whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement,
of which all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we
have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall
we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they
verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit,
that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable
fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised by it. Wherefore, lift up the
hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your
feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord;
looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness
springing up trouble you, and by it many be defiled.
Life is full of decisions. And, since God's Word is clear that we reap what we sow, it's important that we make the right decisions. Even when we undergo loss and pain, we can witness God's goodness. Perhaps He is using our suffering to draw us more closely to Himself or to remove those things in our lives that keeps us from being spiritually fruitful.
Reasons for Suffering
Now I want to suggest to you three reasons why God’s children suffer. You may discover
others, but I do think these are comprehensive and cover the field . God can prevent His child from suffering. I don’t think anyone would argue that point. The question is, of course, why doesn’t He? Why has not God kept His children from suffering — especially the severe suffering that a great many saints have had to go through?
The First Reason — STUPIDITY
The first reason God’s children suffer is for our own stupidity, our own willfulness, our own
selfishness, and our willful ignorance. Many times we try to blame God for this kind of suffering,but it is our fault.
For what glory is it if, when ye are buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?
But if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable
with God. (1 Peter 2:20)
Now the word here for “faults” is the Greek word hamartano, which means to miss the mark. It
is a picture of a man with a bow and arrow who is shooting at a target. He comes short of that
target, which simply means he misses the mark. Many of us today, because of our willfulness and our stupidity, miss the mark in many judgments that we make.
The Second Reason — A STAND FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
The second reason God’s children suffer is for taking a stand for truth and righteousness.
Again I turn to 1 Peter:
But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their
terror, neither be troubled, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is
in you, with meekness and fear. (1 Peter 3:14, 15)
In other words, Peter is saying here that when trouble comes to you because you have taken a
stand for righteousness, first be sure you are right and that you have a right relationship with
Jesus Christ. Then when you are sure of that, you can take your stand knowing that God will see
you through. I think of a man who was an official in a very large corporation — its headquarters
were in Chicago and he was the western representative. They wanted to give him a promotion
and make him one of the vice-presidents. But in that office he would have had to entertain customersby cocktail parties and procuring other forms of entertainment for them. So he refused it.He said, “I am a Christian. I won’t do that.” It cost him the promotion, and he was actually
demoted. But he was willing to make that sacrifice. It cost him something to take a stand for
righteousness. And I believe, friend, that any Christian who takes a stand for God today will
somewhere along the line have to pay a price for it.
The Third Reason — SIN
There is a third reason God’s children suffer. We suffer for sin in our lives. If a child of God
commits sin, does he get by with it? The answer, of course, is no. But God says that He will
give us an opportunity to judge sin in our lives.
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. (1 Corinthians 11:31)
In other words, when we sin God gives us an opportunity to confess that sin and make it right.
If we do that, God will not judge us. But God says in effect, “You are My child and if you commit that sin, I’ll take you to the woodshed — if you won’t deal with it yourself.” And, friend, if He doesn’t take you to the woodshed, you are not His child because He never whips the devil’s children, only His own. If we don’t judge ourselves, then God says, “I will judge you.” And I think that is what John meant when he said there is a sin “unto death” (1 John 5:16), meaning physical death for a child of God. In other words, a child of God can go just so far, he can commit certain sins for which God will take him home, remove him from this life. A child of God cannot get by with sin.
Conclusion,
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher [architect] of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at
the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
The most important thing is to draw near to God. When we do, He promises to draw near to us.
We need to keep very close to Him in these days.
Let me conclude with a very homely illustration. There was a boy, who went to grade school in
southern Oklahoma. On April Fool’s Day it was then,a custom among the bad boys to play hookey.
Well, although he was a good boy , He went with a bad crowd. On April Fool’s Day he would play hookey with these boys. Well, one time they came to school on April the first, put there books in there desks,then about a dozen of them went down to the old creek to go fishing. It wasn’t a good time to fish because it was the spring of the year and the water in the creek was at a high level.Fish just don’t bite when the creeks are up. But they fished nonetheless and had a good time running up and down the creek to the different holes they knew. None of them caught any fish, but they had a great day. When they started back home, the problems began to arise. They decided the best thing to do was to go by the school, get there books and take them home so there parents would not suspect what they had done. When they reached the schoolhouse, everybody had gone. And when they walked into the room, the principal, apparently knowing
what they would do, walked in after them.
“Boys, did you have a good day?”
“Yes, sir.” It had been a good day up to that moment!
“Did you catch any fish?”
“No.”
“Well, follow me,” he instructed. And he began a parade down the hallway to his office. He
sat them down and gave them a little talk. They all knew what was coming. He said, “Now I keep my switches down the hallway locked up in a closet. I’ll go down and get them, and I’ll come back and punish each one of you.”
So while he was gone to get his switches, one of the boys, who had been in there more than
any of the rest of them and knew his way around, gave the best advice that he could. He
said, “Now when he hits you with that switch, the first lick will just burn you up because he
starts off with you way out on the end of the switch. But as he whips you, take a step toward
him. Keep moving toward him. The closer you get to him, the less it’ll hurt.”
He remembered the first lick — it really burned.
But he began to edge toward him, and when he finished, He was somewhere pretty close to his
hand and it wasn’t hurting him at all.
People,God also disciplines His children.If you don’t want it to hurt, the thing to do is to get close to Him. The closer you are, the less it will hurt. You remember that the Lord Jesus said (as recorded in John 15) that He is the vine,we are the branches, and the Father prunes the branches. That hurts to be trimmed like that! But,as an old Scotch divine said, the Father is never so close to the branches as when He is trimming them. That is wonderful. We need to get close and stay close to Him.
