Suffering and Power

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Every rose has its thorns.

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10 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

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Sometimes, I listen to preachers who talk about all we have to do is have faith, and we will have power of God in our lives, and we will have healing.

They are showing you the rose without showing you the thorns.

In cases like this, you don’t really see many healings occur because the basis of the power to heal lies in the faithfulness tested through suffering.

It is true that Jesus died for our sins and bore our iniquities. And that is by his stripes we are healed.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.   Isaiah 53:4-5

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But this does not mean that we do not carry our own cross as well.

Jesus is not a vending machine, where you just have faith in him and get out whatever you need.

There has to be a relationship there that’s bonded through the suffering.

The Bible says that we are join to him through the power of the Resurrection but also through the fellowship of his suffering.

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So yes, we are spared from many things because Jesus stepped in our place, but it does not mean that we are suddenly exempt from all suffering and all troubles.

Everyone has to be tested.

We cannot be spoiled brats and get whatever we want.

It does not work that way.

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The kingdom of God is yes based on power.

But it is also based on strong Fellowship through testing.

We are not on a broad path but a narrow one.

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There are different kinds of suffering.

Some suffering we deserve because we do something wrong.

But other suffering we do not deserve it is because of righteousness that we are persecuted.

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This persecution can take many forms.

Jesus said we would not be above him because no servant is above their master.

The apostles walked in power but they also suffered for their faith. Most of them ended up in prison, or martyred.

The enemy can create many forms of persecution.

You can be physically attacked, your property destroyed, your reputation is slandered, and you lose your job or finances, xcetera.

The devil can also attack you in your health and make you physically ill.

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All this requires fighting back and lots of prayer.

Your behavior may have to change from a peaceful dove to a mighty warrior.

You may win some battles and you may lose some but you keep on fighting.

The enemy can also send disasters against you.

You have to be prepared for many types of warfare.

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It is through this testing and this suffering that we come to understand the compassion and mercy the Jesus showed us on the cross.

We caused his suffering.

If we can come to the point where we can feel the pain we caused Him to suffer, and repent, the we have come to an honest moment in our lives.

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He took our sins upon himself and the punishment as well ,that we deserved in order to spare us the Eternal suffering for our souls.

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Also, through suffering, we develop compassion for others like he had compassion for us.

While our own suffering cannot compare to what Jesus suffered for us, it is still a glimpse into how much he loved us, and how much suffering we caused for him.

If we are truly in step with the will of God in our attitude, we will feel completely overwhelmed in what he did for us.

We will feel His pain.

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To have the attitude that since Jesus suffered for us, we are “off the hook” when it comes to suffering for him is a selfish, shallow attitude.

We should be willing to do anything for him that he asks or requires.

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But, we do not accept persecution as willing victims.

We fight back with God’s help.

And we must be patient.

He may not help us right away.

So we have to wait on his timing.

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Patience and long-suffering are virtues that most people have to develop on the path to holiness.

At the end of our ordeals, the victory over Satan is much more precious and sweet, because we endured to the end.

And we finally overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, and with the word of Our Testimony.

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To God’s glory and our joy!

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Embrace your thorns, and you will feel the power of His resurrection.

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