Suffering For Jesus…..

Every time we suffer for the sake of Jesus (persecuted for our faith), we become more like Him when we see it for what it truly is. Instead of exhausting the “why” of the situation, we need to humble ourselves and allow God to continue to transform us into the likeness of His being. Suffering for Jesus allows us to experience what He experienced and thus creates a like-bond with Him. We understand better what He went through when we understand how it felt. How we respond to suffering has a two-fold effect. First it allows others to see Jesus in us when we react with His Spirit in us. And second, it helps us experience what He went through. Both of these allow us to grow closer to God, benefitting both us and those around us. Experiencing suffering because of our faith helps us deepen our trust in God and draws us closer to Him because of the bond it forms between us. Like experiences help understanding. But even more so, they help us come together in a new way. Persecution for our faith will come (if our faith is real), and when it does it shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s necessary for our faith and trust to increase. It helps us separate from the false lures of this world. And most importantly, it helps us to know God on a much deeper level. Ask anyone who has shared a highly emotional and traumatic experience. They will tell you the bond it forms is beyond words; it forms a connection that wouldn’t happen any other way. That’s exactly the point I’m trying to make. God can use any experience for His glory, and especially ones that seem unpleasant. What the world sees as tragic, God sees as a turning point in people’s lives. Fix your eyes on Jesus and stay focused, for the unseen rewards are greater than we can ever imagine.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to Himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:8-18