Beauty In The Beast: How To Suffer WellНамуна

 

Glory in your suffering.

Suffering can be likened to a foreign experience. Sometimes we just don't know what to do when we are in an unfamiliar place. Hospitals and sickness were completely foreign to me; and during my time in the hospital, YouVersion's verse of the day (Jeremiah 17:14) reminded me that for my healing; I had to find familiar ground in this strange situation. That ground was worship. 

Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed, save me and I will be saved, for You are the one I praise. - Jeremiah 17:14.

Worshipping God while suffering totally confuses the enemy. For what he intended to destroy your faith and silence you, God turns it around to strengthen your faith. But let us be honest...before worshipping, rejoicing, glorying in our suffering confuses the enemy, it often confuses us!

Paul writes in Romans 5: 3-5:

Not only so, but we also glory (rejoice) in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

How can we be expected to rejoice when we are suffering and going through physical and emotional pain?! 

Paul is not saying that we should, 'enjoy' the pain, pretend to be happy or try to 'firm it'. No, we rejoice IN our suffering, not 'because of' our suffering. Our sufferings are not the source of joy. The source of joy is identified in these three words... 'because we know...' 

We can rejoice in our suffering because we know something about it. We know that there is a purpose attached to our suffering. It produces something of value, and this is what makes us glory in our suffering.  Just like a woman in labour is able to glory in her suffering because she knows that something beautiful is coming. We can rejoice because of the beauty being birthed through our pain!

Patience and perspective are needed to truly rejoice in your suffering. 

Patience because suffering does not produce these wonderful qualities of perseverance, character and hope instantly. It may take some time before you see how your character benefitted from a painful experience.

Perspective because when you choose to see suffering as evidence of God's love and not of His wrath; instead of being filled with resentment or anger towards God,  you will experience the rich, overwhelming love of God to the point that you simply cannot help but rejoice in your suffering! You only have to read the rest of Romans 5 to catch the essence of this love!

Worship is a choice. 

• You have to choose to worship despite feeling hopeless. 
• You have to choose to see God as bigger than this suffering (sickness, loss, heartbreak etc.). Your worship magnifies God far above your present situation.
• You have to choose to worship the God of miracles, signs and wonders.  
• You have to choose to glory in your suffering.

Your response to suffering should be to offer a sacrifice of praise. Yes, a sacrifice, because you may not be in the usual ‘place of worship’. You may not have a band, altar, lights or the common ‘atmosphere’ for worship. You may not feel like worshipping. This worship will cost you something. This worship will cause you to surrender your idea of what healing should look like. This worship is the start of your healing.

God is calling you to trust Him in the wilderness of suffering. Will you choose to answer through your worship?