Suffering

It is true, God is the only one who is authorized to judge. It is He who orders the steps of others. Sees their hearts. Knows the effort and difficulty taken to do what is right. But it is also he, who orders the steps of others to be the vehicles to assist, in that journey. God will use us to move them, with intercession, in the right direction. But I feel, He will only use us, if He knows in our hearts we will not judge. That we will do it with a kind heart… We should always question our motives. “Is this being judgmental?” Am I doing this because it is something I want to do, or did God assign this to me? In our hearts, we should always express love, kindness, patience, and empathy towards those who are not as fortunate. In this way, we are instrumental even before God prompts us to intercede. Even if we endure adversity through this intercedence, we should love them anyway because we know that is what God would want from us. In 2 Timothy 1:8, Paul explains how we must endure these afflictions, with the power given to us by God, for the sake of the gospel. And in enduring theses afflictions He will not leave us in this moment; He has called upon us to do his works. Yes, intercessions can sometimes cause pain. And pain creates fear due to the power it has over your mind. But praying unceasingly helps immensely. God carries the weight.

Prayer preoccupies your mind from the hurt your feeling. As it is said in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, and timidity but of power, love, and self – control”. Unselfishly, for others we must be strong, for we are called to make a difference. God places us in their life for a reason. Ever heard that saying, some people are in our life for a season, some for a reason, and others for a lifetime. I wonder if those seasons were mere misunderstandings, or excuses to give up. Were they times in our life when we did not understand selfless love. The process of truly loving someone, unconditionally, as we would want them to love us, despite the pain it caused. We must be mature in our quest, if we want to be effective. Yes, not everyone can be in our life for a lifetime. Not everyone can be saved, but surely, if we make the effort to be God like, we can accomplish more than we could if we had not made the effort at all.

Confusion can overcome us all. We blame God for our tribulations. We find ourselves not trusting God like we should because of the tribulations. Throughout our walk there is always someone in need of support. The restlessness of their supposed torment is like the thief in the night. Taken hold of their trust in God, without them even realizing it has been stolen. Diminishing their faith, while all along, leading them back to their original nature…, sin. No more sin. In 1 Peter 4:4–14, Peter ironically points out, if we are going through pain and suffering in our journey, then this is good. We are right where God chooses us to be, in the thick of it. The pain only matures us with the understanding, we can be free from sin if we stay strong and do not look back.  If we would place ourselves in the shoes of Jesus, imagining the pain and suffering He underwent, we would gain the courage to endure it. It would have been simple for Him to give in and be driven by the flesh. To have chosen life without suffering. But this was not his choice. He trusted his father, despite what his circumstances predicted. The core of our faith must be to trust and believe in His authority over our life. God, thank you for helping me to put my total trust in you, and not return to my old ways of doubt.

I do believe, now that I know the spirit which lies in me is real, and powerful; and my faith has increased considerably; I could have done a lot better in my latter years, had I known. Had I been aware of the authority God placed in me, I could have used it, to make better, situations which were entrusted to me. Approaching matters with a greater peace. Swaddling them with understanding. Many people may not understand the spirit, and how God wants Him to move in the lives of others. It’s deep. Just as deep as having the courage to believe in someone, or something which occurred so many years ago. Jesus healing the sick; raising people from the dead. But courage makes us strong, as a parent, as a spouse, as a friend, as a Christian. I now entrust God to lead me, so I can enable others to be encouraged as well. To be mighty in the kingdom, even if it means enduring a little suffering for the cause.

1 Peter 2:21 – 25

21 God called you to endure suffering because Christ suffered for you. He left you an example so that you could follow in his footsteps. 22 Christ never committed any sin. He never spoke deceitfully.23 Christ never verbally abused those who verbally abused him. When he suffered, he didn’t make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly. 24 Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so that freed from our sins, we could live a life that has God’s approval. His wounds have healed you. 25 You were like lost sheep. Now you have come back to the shepherd and bishop of your lives.

CWB