Truth or Lie #20: It's Impossible to be Godly without Suffering
Truth: It’s impossible
to be godly without suffering.
Lie: All suffering
is Satanic and is never God’s will for my life.
Suffering isn’t a popular word.
We run from it. Tiptoe around it. Dislike it. Worry about
it.
But still, none of us is exempt.
Though it comes in various shapes and sizes for all of
us, suffering is a part of living.
When writing a letter to a group of churches, Peter
assumed each of his readers had a hint of what suffering was all about.
But he assured them that after they had suffered “awhile,”
they would be made into a people perfect, established, strengthened, and
settled. (1 Peter 5:10)
The truth is . . . “all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)
The godliest
people you can think of didn’t get there on “flowery beds of ease.” They
suffered. They went through tough times. They learned that they didn’t have enough
strength to make it.
But it didn’t
matter.
They knew to lean
instead on the One who is strong enough, and He established, strengthened, and
settled them.
The truth is . .
. they had to suffer for “awhile” first.
My Greek word
study resources tell me the word “awhile” means “puny” – the same word used in 1
Peter 1:6, translated “for a season.”
Suffering comes and goes, and it’s puny in comparison
to what the Lord is accomplishing through it.
The truth is . .
. it’s impossible to be godly without suffering.
Our highest example
of this is the Lord Himself.
He learned
obedience through the things that He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)
And it’s enough
for the servant that he be as his Lord. (Matthew 10:25)
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Thank you for this reminder, Bethany. I was reading in Psalm 119 and this verse seemed to go along with your article. "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes." (Psalms 119:71)
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