GOD'S WILL AND SUFFERING-Part 2
“THE POSITIVE BENEFITS OF SUFFERING”
series :Knowing The Voice of God
KEY VERSES: Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him.
In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider that God has made the one as well as the other, So that man will not find out anything that will be after him. AMP
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake
INTRODUCTION
In part one of this teaching, we talked about how to develop proper attitude towards suffering. And in that teaching we discovered that:.
Trouble is not necessarily a sign of being out of God's will:
The Bible declares that "many are the afflictions of the righteous" (Psalms 34:19).
When you suffer innocently and not because of your own sin, you should maintain a proper attitude towards suffering. Paul was calm in the storm
The real test of your spirituality is how you respond in the day of distress:
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. (Proverbs 24:10)
THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARDS SUFFERING
The Bible describes the attitude you should have when you suffer as a believer within the will of God.
1. You should not be ashamed:
If any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. . .(I Peter 4:16)
2. You should not think it strange when you experience suffering:
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you;… (I Peter 4:12-13)
3. You should commit your soul (your suffering) to God, knowing He works all things for your good:
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator. (I Peter 4:19)
• When you run from God in seasons of challenge, all you’re left with is your own limited ability to cope with what you’re walking through.
4. You should be happy when you suffer according to the will of God:
And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. (Acts 5:41)
• Paul says you should be: Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
5. Don’t be filled with worry, overflow with worship.
• Something powerful happens when we actively choose to worship through our suffering.
• We aren’t denying reality, we are simply redirecting our posture from one of worry to one of worship.
• Worship changes our perspective.
• Worship speaks about where our confidence and hope resides.
• Worship redirects our thinking.
• Worship places the results in God’s hands.
when you begin to worship the Lord through your struggle, spiritual chains begin to break so that you aren’t ruled by your circumstance but you set your sights on something higher.
This is why Paul and Silas could praise when chained in prison. They recognized God was using their imprisonment for the spread of the gospel which ultimately resulted in the first New Testament church on the continent of Europe.
6. Fill your life with God’s Word and God’s people.
• When you fill your life with God’s Word and surround yourself with people who speak hope and encouragement into your life, your experience will be much healthier.
How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” Psalm 119:103
Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8
When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.” Jeremiah 15:16
• When we fill our minds with God’s Word, we are reminding ourselves of who our God is, what he’s like,
• When we fill our minds with God’s Word, we replace the lies of the enemy with the truth of our good God.
7. You are to endure hardness like a soldier:
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (II Timothy 2:3)
8. Believe that God will turn your sorrow into great joy.
• One of the paradoxes of Christianity is that our good God uses pain for our good.
• Meaning that our biggest sorrows can result in our greatest joy.
When you think about Jesus’ greatest sorrow – suffering the shame, punishment, and death for our sin, the result was great joy – the redemption of humanity and the opportunity for a relationship with the living God.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:4,“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
Jesus willingly suffered the greatest pain because he knew the end of the story, and so do we.
Scripture shows us in Revelation 21:3-4,And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Humanity loves movies that end with happiness and joy because we’ve been created to know and walk with God and for those who place their faith in him, that ending will become their reality.
Eternity is coming, and our pain and suffering will not be totally forgotten, but the sting will be removed and eternity will be even greater as a result.
you ever walked through a situation in life that left you wondering why God would allow you to experience the hurt, pain or even discouragement that resulted? There is no doubt that some challenges in life are the result of poor choices, but for every believer, the reality is that we will walk through hardship and will experience pain.
Jesus told us pain and suffering would be a part of our lives
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Jesus doesn’t simply say we’ll have trials and sorrow and then leaves it to us to figure out. Instead, he promises peace and reminds us that he has overcome the world
I love that Jesus doesn’t simply say we’ll have trials and sorrow and then leaves it to us to figure out. Instead, he promises peace and reminds us that he has overcome the world, meaning our hardships aren’t without purpose.
This is why the Apostle Paul who experienced much pain and difficulty can boldly declare these words in Romans 8:28,“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Our pain and suffering have a purpose
Paul chooses his words carefully, and notice he writes we know. For a man who underwent beatings, shipwrecks and multiple imprisonments, Paul recognizes something that is absolutely essential for us to remember as believers – our pain is not meaningless but has a purpose. And not just some situations, he writes all things.
Every individual God used mightily throughout Scripture went through seasons of hardship.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him.
B. CONSIDER
KJV Dictionary Definition: consider
1. To fix the mind on, with a view to a careful examination; to think on with care; to ponder; to study; to meditate on.
• Know, therefore, this day, and consider it in thy heart. Deuteronomy 4.
• Hast thou considered my servant Job? Job 1.
• Consider the lilies of the field how they grow. Matthew 6.
2. To view attentively; to observe and examine.
• The priest shall consider the leprosy. Leviticus 13.
3. To attend to;
• Blessed is he that considereth the poor. Psalm 41.
4. To have regard to; to respect.
• Let us consider one another, to provoke to love, and to good words. Hebrews 10.
5. consider is equivalent to,
think with care, attend, examine the subject with a view to truth or the consequences of a measure, observe, think, attend.
6. To think seriously, maturely or carefully; to reflect.
• None considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge or understanding. Isaiah 44.
• In the day of adversity consider. Ecclesiastes 7.
7. To deliberate; to turn in the mind; as in the case of a single person; to deliberate or consult, as numbers; sometimes followed by of; as, I will consider your case, or of your case.
• The apostles and elders come together to consider of this matter. Acts 15.
8. The following questions are designed to help us “consider” in the day of adversity:
1. How am I responding to it?
2. How should I respond to it?
3. Am I learning from it?
4. Does my response demonstrate faith, love for God and for others, Christ-like character, values, commitment, priorities, etc.?
5. How can God use it in my life?
6. What are the benefits or values of suffering according to the will of God
7. is it worth it
The Apostle Paul taught, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29).
The Bible says, “let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Peter 4:19).
Jesus spoke of the suffering of the cross as: “the cup which the Father has given Me.” Jesus, although He was innocent, suffered the shame of the cross for the greater glory of God. “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:22-23).
Those who believe in God hold that He will ultimately work all things together justly for good.
C. SUFFERING IS TO BE EXPECTED
1. Suffering is to be expected as part of the will of God:
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (II Timothy 3:12)
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake. (Philippians 1:29)
. . .that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer. . . (II Thessalonians 1:5)
For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass and ye know. (I Thessalonians 3:4)
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. (Matthew 24:9)
. . .they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my names sake. (Luke 21:12)
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. . .(John 15:20)
Part of the follow up plan in establishing early churches was to teach believers that they would experience suffering. This is missing in many churches today:
. . .They returned. . .confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)
2. The call of Jesus to followers is one of denial and suffering:
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38)
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)
. . .Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me. (Mark 8:34)
. . .come, take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10:21)
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27)
When you suffer according to the will of God, you should realize you are not alone:
. . .knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (I Peter 5:9)
D. THE VALUE OF HUMAN SUFFERING
Here are some positive benefits or values of suffering according to God’s will:
1. YOUR FAITH IS TESTED:
Everything in the spiritual world is based on faith. This is why the strength of your faith must be tested:
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. (I Peter 1:7)
It is a trial of faith when you pray as Jesus did, for God to let the cup of bitterness pass, and yet it does not pass. Instead, you are forced to drink deeply of its suffering. But faith will learn that our prayers are not unanswered just because they are not answered the way we want.
2. YOU ARE ABLE TO COMFORT OTHERS:
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. (II Corinthians 1:3-4)
3. YOU LEARN NOT TO TRUST YOUR OWN SELF:
Paul spoke of the purpose of his sufferings in Asia:
. . .In Asia we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life;
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God which raiseth the dead. (II Corinthians 1:8-9)
You will come to recognize that. . .
. . . we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (II Corinthians 4:7)
4. POSITIVE QUALITIES ARE DEVELOPED:
We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, (resulting in the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts). (Romans 5:3-4)
. . .after ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. (I Peter 5:10)
These qualities conform you to the image of Jesus, which is God's plan for you (Romans 8:28-29; Hebrews 2:10,18).
5. SUFFERING IS THE SEED OF COMPASSION
Suffering prepares us to be compassionate to others.
There is an old adage that says, “Do not judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.”
I suggest another proverb: “One cannot comfort effectively until he has lain in the bed of suffering.”
That may be a bit of an overstatement, but it contains a grain of truth. In the second chapter of Hebrews, the writer effectively argued that Jesus Christ, as our High Priest, is qualified to “succor” (ASV) or “aid” (NASV) those who are tempted.
How is that so? Hear him: “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18, NKJV).
The song lyric, “Are you weary? Are you heavyhearted? Tell it to Jesus; tell it to Jesus,” is wonderfully meaningful in light of this passage.
It has been said that the difference between “sympathy” and “empathy” is that in the former instance one “feels with” (i.e., has feelings of tenderness for) those who suffer, whereas in “empathy” one almost is able to “get inside” the friend who suffers—because the one doing the comforting has been there!
6. THE WORKS OF GOD ARE MANIFESTED:
When the disciples saw a man who had been blind from birth, they asked who was responsible for his condition. Was it the sin of his parents or of the man himself? Jesus answered:
Neither this man sinned nor His parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in Him. (John 9:3)
7. THE POWER OF GOD IS PERFECTED:
And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (II Corinthians 12:9)
8. THAT WHICH IS UNSTABLE IS REMOVED:
Suffering results in all that is unstable being shaken out of your life. You cease to depend on people, programs, or material things because these all fail in your time of need.
God permits this. . .
. . .removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.(Hebrews 12:26-27)
During the storms of life, everything crumbles that is not built upon God and His Word (Psalm 119:89 and Matthew 7:24-27).
Suffering separates the superficial from the stable. Paul cautioned the Corinthian saints against building up the church superficially. Some folks are of the “wood, hay, [and] stubble” variety, while others exhibit those qualities of “gold, silver [and] costly stones” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Saints of the latter category endure; those of the former do not.
Why so? It is simply because the two groups are tested by “fire” (hardships), and that testing fire separates quality converts from those who really are not serious about their Christian commitment.
Jesus once spoke of those who receive the gospel impulsively, and, for a while endure. Eventually, though, “tribulation and persecution” arise, and rather quickly the superficial fade away (see Matthew 13:20-21).
And so, while no one actively seeks suffering in his life, honesty compels us to admit that hardships do have value—great value. Certainly, the existence of suffering is not a valid reason for rejecting the Creator.
9. YOUR FOCUS IS CHANGED:
• When you experience suffering you often focus your attention on cause and effect.
• You are concerned with what caused the difficult circumstances and the terrible effect it is having in your life.
God wants to change your focus from the temporal to the eternal:
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (II Corinthians 4:17-18)
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
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. (I Peter 4:12-13)
If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. . . (II Timothy 2:12)
10. SUFFERING CAN DRAW OUR INTERESTS TOWARD THE TRUE GOD.
When one is in a state of anguish that offers little respite, the natural inclination is to turn toward a higher source for help. Only a deliberate and forced stubbornness can quench that urge. When we are hurting, the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3) is waiting to help.
Suffering can get our attention! David once wrote: “In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and cried unto my God” (Psalm 18:6).
11. THE OLD SELF-NATURE IS CHANGED:
God said of the nation of Moab:
Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity; therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. (Jeremiah 48:11)
• Because Moab had not experienced the troublesome pouring out and stirring similar to that necessary to develop good wine, the nation did not change.
• Because Moab was at ease and settled in prosperity the nation did not develop and mature spiritually. Therefore there was no change. His own scent remained in him.
• Suffering rids you of the old self-nature. As you are stirred, troubled, and poured out, your spiritual scent changes from carnal to spiritual.
12. GOD PREPARES YOU FOR MINISTRY:
• You want to be used by God.
• You desire to be more like Jesus and be a chosen vessel for His use.
God answers your prayer through suffering:
Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10)
• It is through affliction that you move beyond the calling as a child of God to become chosen of God.
• Affliction according to the will of God refines you for His use just as metals are refined in a furnace in the natural world.
13. YOU ARE PREPARED TO REIGN WITH CHRIST:
If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. . .(II Timothy 2:12)
14. SUFFERING BRINGS SPIRITUAL BLESSING:
Jesus said:
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
15. YOU LEARN OBEDIENCE THROUGH SUFFERING:
Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. . . (Hebrews 5:8)
16. SUFFERING TESTS THE WORD OF GOD WITHIN YOU:
The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (Psalms 12:6)
17. SUFFERING HUMBLES YOU:
Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end. . . (Deuteronomy 8:15-16)
18. SUFFERING ENLARGES YOU:
This means you grow spiritually:
Thou has enlarged me when I was under pressure. (Psalms 4:1 Revised Standard Version)
19.SUFFERING CREATES AN ENVIRONMENT TO BUILD COURAGE.
Courage may be defined as the ability to act rationally in the face of fear. If, however, the human family were immune to hardship, danger, suffering, etc., there could be no facing it, hence, no courage.
When we sit down to a delicious dinner with friends and loved ones on a, no courage is needed.
Courage arises in the presence of danger.
There are certain qualities that we simply cannot possess in the absence of hardship.
Without danger there would be no adventure. Without friction our cars would not start and our spirits would not soar. Without tears, eyes would not shine with the richest expressions
20. YOU COME TO KNOW GOD INTIMATELY:
You come to know God on a more intimate basis through suffering. Job, who suffered much, learned this truth and said. . .
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5-6)
• Some of us know God only second handedly.
• When you are experiencing the blessings of life, God is often a luxury instead of a necessity.
• But when you have a real need, God becomes a necessity.
• Job came to know God more intimately through suffering.
• Before he suffered, Job knew God through theology. Afterwards, he knew Him by experience.
Paul expressed a similar desire when he said:
That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.
(Philippians 3:10)
You can only come to know God in resurrection power through the intimate fellowship of suffering.
Throughout his trial, Job questioned God as to the cause of his suffering. It is not wrong to question God.
Jesus knew the purpose for which He had come into the world was to die for the sins of all mankind. Yet in His hour of suffering He cried out, "My God, My God, WHY hast thou forsaken me?"
It is what follows the questioning that is important. Jesus's next words were, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit."
Despite the questions, Job's response was. . .
Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. . .(Job 13:15)
For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. (Job 19:25-26)
• After all the questioning is finished, the emphasis must change from "me" to "Thee."
• You must commit your suffering, with all its unanswered questions, into the hands of God.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
God may reveal some of the purposes in your suffering, but it is possible you will never fully understand it:
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing. . .(Proverbs 25:2)
The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us. . . (Deuteronomy 29:29)
There are some secret things that belong only to the Lord. As Job, you may never understand all the purposes of your suffering:
Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way? (Proverbs 20:24, The Living Bible)
When God finally talked with Job, He used several examples from nature which Job could not explain. God stressed that if Job could not understand what he saw in the natural world, he certainly could not understand that which he could not see in the spiritual world.
When Job faced God, it no longer mattered that he did not get an answer to his questions about suffering. He was no longer controlled and tormented by human reasoning. He replaced questions, not with answers, but with faith. You need to replace your questions with faith.
When you come to know God intimately through suffering, you see yourself as you really are. You no longer know God second-handedly. That face-to-face encounter with God does what arguments and discussions cannot do.
When Job stood before God, he had no new answers. He was given no new facts about his suffering. But he replaced questions with faith. Job had been in the direct presence of God, and that experience left no room for questions or doubts.
When you are in direct presence of God, that experience leaves no room for questions or doubts. Your questions and doubts are replaced by faith.
IN CONCUTION
Some people view suffering as a sign of failure or lack of faith.
If this is true, then the Apostle Paul had no faith and was the greatest failure in the history of the church.
Paul said that while in Asia he was so utterly crushed that he despaired of life itself (II Corinthians 1:8). He presents a different image than that of the cheerful evangelist who promises believers nothing but peace and prosperity.
When Paul was first called of God to ministry he was told of "great things" he would suffer for the sake of the Lord (Acts 9:16).
Paul's response to suffering was to endure "the loss of all things to win some for Christ."
He wrote to believers "to you it is given not only to believe, but to suffer for Him" (Philippians 1:29).
Paul was not alone in suffering for the ministry. The whole church suffered in New Testament times (Acts 8).
Hebrews chapter 11 records the stories some of the cruel persecutions they endured. Many of these men and women of faith were delivered by the power of God. Prison doors were opened and they walked out. They were sentenced to death in fiery furnaces but emerged unaffected by the flames.
But some of these believers, who are also called men and women of faith, did not receive deliverance. They were imprisoned, afflicted, tormented, and even martyred because of their testimony of the Gospel (Hebrews 11:36-40).
We focus on living faith but God also reveals His power in dying faith. This is a faith that stands true in the bad times, not just in good times when mighty deliverances are manifested.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him.
Job
God's testimony of Job was that he was a righteous man (Job l-2). Job did not suffer because he sinned, as his friends claimed. They believed if Job repented, his circumstances would change. These friends tried to make a universal application based on individual experience. It would be similar to saying that because God delivered Peter from prison He will do the same for you. This is not true. Many have been martyred in prison despite their great faith and sinless lives.
We must be careful when we view the suffering of others that we do not accuse them of sin, faithlessness, or unbelief. The Bible does teach that a sinful man reaps a bitter harvest because of sowing in fleshly corruption (Galatians 6:8). But sowing and reaping cannot be used to explain the suffering of the innocent.
Job did not suffer because of anything he did. He was a righteous man. This was God's testimony of Job, Job's testimony of himself, and his reputation before man. Behind the scenes in the spiritual world was the true cause of Job's suffering. There was a spiritual battle going on over the heart, mind, and allegiance of Job.
There is warfare going on in the spiritual world over you. That warfare is manifested in the difficult circumstances you experience in the natural world. An important truth evident in Job's suffering is that nothing can enter the life of a believer without the knowledge of God. God does not cause your suffering. It is inflicted by Satan, but its limits are set by God.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him.
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake
Study the following references about suffering:
HARDNESS: II Timothy 2:3
TRIBULATION: Acts 14:20; Romans 5:3; 12:12; I Thessalonians 3:4, II Thessalonians 1:4
PERSECUTION: Matthew 5:10-12, 44; 13:21; Mark 4:17; Luke 11:49; 21:12; John 15:20; I Corinthians 4:12; II Corinthians 4:9; Acts 8:1; 11:19; 13:50; II Timothy 3:12; Romans 8:35; Galatians 6:12
SUFFERING: I Peter 5:10; Philippians 1:29; 3:8; 4:12; II Corinthians 1:6; II Timothy 2:12; 3:12; Galatians 5:11; 6:12; Acts 9:16; I Thessalonians 3:4; II Thessalonians 1:5
AFFLICTION: Psalms 34:19; 119:67,71,75; Matthew 24:9; Acts 20:23; II Corinthians 2:4; 4:17; 6:4; I Thessalonians 3:3; II Timothy 1:8; 3:11; 4:5; II Corinthians 1:6; James 5:10; Hebrews 10:32-33 and chapter 11
Dr.Tg Badia
