By: Ursula Kemp, For Columbus
Perhaps for all of us there comes a time when we prayerfully ask for deliverance from a trial. We do everything in our power to find the “way out” of pain and hardship. We pray as our Lord did in the Garden of Gethsemane for the cup of suffering to pass from us. Perhaps you have prayed for complete healing for yourself or for someone you love and instead the symptoms worsen. So often the way out the Lord offers us is the way through.
Yet how can we persist in prayer when the outcome we so long for seems to be denied? How can we endure hardship without feeling totally defeated and forsaken by God?
When speaking of his own trials, the apostle Paul states:
“...I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move… I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-28, NIV)
When we consider for a moment the unimaginable extremity of Paul’s sufferings from this passage, it’s hard to believe that earlier in 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9 he states that he and his companions were “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
If Paul could write a letter to you now, encouraging you to take heart in the midst of your suffering, perhaps he would put forth the following insights:
The One who is able to save you is the One who is able to keep you
Not one ounce of your suffering is wasted
God is faithful to fulfill every promise He makes
1. “Able to save, able to keep”
“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9)
Beloved, make no mistake, it is not by our effort that we persevere in the faith. It is a gift and a miracle that we are kept faithful by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the work of God to not only save us, but also to keep us (John 10:27-29). No matter the darkness of the valley of suffering you enter, the true and living Jesus Christ will be with you to keep you. He will strengthen you and carry you through.
Paul further asserts in Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” It is the sovereign Lord who began a good work in you. He is the one who carries His work on to completion. If any of us endure to the end as a believer, it is by God’s grace that we endure. It is a gift. Perseverance is a miraculous, supernatural work. This truth gives us a comforting assurance that we do not have to muster up the effort for perseverance on our own. We depend not on ourselves, but on the Lord’s enduring strength and forever faithfulness to us.
2. “Your suffering is not wasted”
“This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Paul described his earthly suffering as “light” and “momentary” in comparison to the surpassing “weightiness” of glory that we will partake in for all of eternity. Not only does the comparison between the temporal and eternal bolster his faith, but he claims in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that our earthly sufferings actually prepare us for this “beyond comparison” glory in eternity. In other words, something glorious is being accomplished in this earthly process. The pain we endure and even the agony of death is never without meaning. Our suffering is never wasted - not one groan or one moment of enduring pain goes without storing up for us a future eternal joy that will far surpass even our highest expectations (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Jesus illustrated the concept of temporal grief turning into long-lasting joy with the analogy of childbirth (John 16:21). In a very real sense, the pain of childbirth is making a way for and accomplishing something glorious: the delivery of new life into the world. Though difficult, there is great purpose to the process of childbirth. The same can be said of our momentary afflictions. God’s purpose for us is always good - in fact - it is a glorious purpose. He is faithful to carry us through. When we fix our minds on this truth we are better able to endure and persevere even in the most difficult trial.
3. “We persevere by God’s precious promises”
The best posture we can have as believers is to rest in Jesus’ Everlasting arms. When we put the full weight of our dependence on Him, we are not coming to a place of vague, abstract hope. On the contrary, our prayers and our inner life of communion with our Savior have concrete promises on which we can stand securely. Oftentimes the most powerful, persevering prayers are ones in which we repeat back to God what He has already promised to us. Not as though He needs reminding, but to bolster our faith and to help us thrive even in the valleys and trials of life. A few of these precious promises are listed below, but the Bible is full of many more promises you can discover as you study the scriptures yourself.
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Jesus (Matthew 28:20).
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12a).
“How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13).
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5).
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19).
“My Father’s house has many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you…” -Jesus (John 14:2)
“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love Him—” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
In the midst of unanswered prayers, doubts and darkness, you can take heart that Your Savior is faithful to keep you. You can rest in His promise that He personally carries you close to His heart (Isaiah 40:11). When you feel weak you can take heart that it is there that the Lord perfects His power in you (2 Corinthians 12:9). When you endure unspeakable pain, take heart that you can fellowship in Jesus’ sufferings (Philippians 3:10) and know that your hardship is storing up an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs your temporary condition (2 Corinthians 4:17). Rest assured that this supernatural work of perseverance will be accomplished in you both for your good and for God’s eternal glory (Romans 8:28).
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