Our great Father in heaven, thank you for the missionaries you have sent out to preach the gospel. Please give us all the ability to proclaim the gospel wherever we are and wherever you have called us to. We thank you for the strengthening given through Christ Jesus and pray that temptation would not arise this day but that we would be lead and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Oh Lord that dwells within us, light a fire in us that cannot be put out and cannot be dimmed, may we remain with you all the days of our lives. Blessed is your name. In Jesus name, Amen.
How many times, when you are suffering, have you come out of it? A weird question? I don't think so. We all go through seasons of more or less suffering but the reality is that this life is full of suffering and sure, we come out of some specific sufferings of life, but do we ever, before death, come out of suffering? God has clearly told us in his Word that we will be facing persecutions my friends and these persecutions and sufferings as a whole are part of the fallen world we live in. Whenever we come out of a specific suffering, we get hopeful and tell ourselves that it's all over and done with when the reality is that there are more sufferings to come tomorrow. Does this seem like a depressing thought? Maybe your saying to me "yeah mike, I know, but can we just not talk about it and pretend that eventually life is going to turn out how I hope." I wish that we could merely walk away from the problem always hoping for a better tomorrow, but we can't.
Why do you think the Bible says to "not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Jesus said this because we will be destroyed from inside out if we try to take on all the troubles of life at once, but he also doesn't say to ignore that there will be trouble to come. In fact, in other places he says to expect persecution. There is a balance between completely ignoring suffering and expecting every day to be horrible. We are called to take every suffering one at a time that we may be able to endure what is thrown at us. The question still must be answered "how are we to truly find meaning in life if we are constantly being bombarded with suffering and the only thing we have to look forward to without fail is suffering?" Well I must point out that there are surely other things we can look forward to, such as blessings bestowed by God upon his Children, and the forgiveness of our sins, but when it comes to suffering, we must always remember one thing (and it's a cliche), God is by our side.
The Bible tells us over and over again that God stands by our side through our suffering, but what does that actually mean? How can we apply that to our Christian walk, and what good is God being by our side? I must admit that when God is by your side, he may tell you to commit to a task that will only cause more suffering, but right after, he will say "take courage, I am by your side." You see, the fulfillment of being able to make it through sufferings doesn't come in the form of butterflies and daisies, it comes in the very fact that the God of the universe is for you; it comes in the very fact that God says "If I am for you, who can be against you?" So what does it mean practically for the Christian it times of suffering? It means that you can pray to God, he will hear you, and he will answer. Not necessarily how you want it answered, but he will listen and answer. Ultimately it means that we have the strength of God pushing us forward in the "running the good race of the faith". If we have the strength of God pushing us forward in our God-ordained tasks, than literally nothing can get in our way. Be encouraged brothers and sisters, you have God next to you, and he is embracing you in your times of suffering.
Yes, we are going to suffer in life, and no, suffering will not cease until the elect have reached paradise. This part of the story is very unfortunate for us. However, God is near and God is love. When suffering, come to God by prayer, fast if you must. Talk to brothers and sisters and ask for encouragement, seek fellowship, ask that God will grant you perseverance. God is near you, he created you, and he loves you, so let's get to work for him.
"Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me." - Psalms 118:5-7
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