Suffering
a gift of God
Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:27-30
It seems strange that Paul would speak of suffering as an honor and a privilege given to the believer, but this should be read in its entirety. It is when suffering is on behalf of Christ that it can and should be seen in this way. His point is, as it was for him, the suffering of the believer can be one of the means by which the gospel of Christ is promoted and the name of Jesus is exalted.
Reading this in the context of what Paul had been saying about his suffering, it makes sense. Paul’s suffering resulted in the gospel penetrating the very palace of the Roman empire. It has also been the catalyst for an explosion of gospel proclamation. Though not all of it came from the best of motives, it was still a net good because the power of salvation lies in the gospel itself, and not in the motives of those who proclaim it.
While not all of our suffering can be directly linked back to our faith in Christ, I believe we can submit it to the Lord in a way that will make it a net good for the kingdom of God. Our suffering may not be a result of persecution, but it can be a means of proclamation.
The Christian’s suffering can bear good fruit, whether it is the suffering of persecution or simply the trials that come as a result of living in a fallen world. That outcome will depend in large part on our attitude towards it and our faith in the Lord during it.
George Whitefield prayed, “Lord, I desire not to be exempted from sufferings, but to be supported under them. If your glory can be promoted by my trials, lo, here I am, scourge me, try me as it seems good in your sight.”
We might begin to suffer well if we enter our sufferings with a prayer like that. And then, when Christ is glorified and the gospel advanced in our sufferings we will be able to see that those sufferings have become the very gift of God, and our honor and privilege to bear them.
