Suffering for God's gain? - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) March 12, 2024
Christians have learned that struggles are a part of their journey. Many have experienced challenges that stretched them and caused them to grow in the Lord. As a result, it is well-accepted in the Christian community that challenges can be for their own good.
However, there are times when certain people will face challenges but for God's gain. Apostle Paul is one such example. While detained in Rome, he wrote in Philippians 1:12-13 - Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.
He was imprisoned because he believed in Jesus and that ruffled certain people's feathers. He knew that his time in Rome would lead to death because the Lord had told him and his fellow Christians had prophesied the same. Despite knowing this, he ensured that his period of captivity served God's purpose - that those unfamiliar with Christ would be introduced to Him.
Every believer can learn something from this attitude. Amid troubles, we can ask - how can the Lord gain from my season of suffering? That is not a natural question to ask ourselves but Paul's words challenge us to not squander any opportunity to serve God and achieve His objectives. This can be achieved through the words we speak and even the way we carry ourselves as we interact with others. Regardless of whether we are happy or being treated unfairly as was the case for Paul. During trials, we have to set our anger, disappointment, and pain aside so we don't buckle under the pressure of our suffering.
As our relationship with the Lord develops, we can no longer just focus on what we are meant to learn in our season of suffering even though such knowledge is crucial for our spiritual development. We must also seek out how the Lord's Kingdom can gain as well. And like Paul, we can become the type of Christians who leave the sweet fragrance of Christ wherever they go (2 Corinthians 2:14). This will be one way that we accomplish Christ's instruction to all believers in Mark 16:15 - "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
The Lord will help us to be so mindful of Him that we seek to achieve His objectives no matter what circumstances we are in. By His grace, we shall show and tell others why they should choose our God, IJMN, Amen.
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