Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Paul Chappell
Willing to Suffer?
No one can be like Christ without first suffering like Christ. Of course, it won’t be the same magnitude of suffering, but every godly person in this world will suffer for their faith. It’s not a matter of if, but when. The Apostle Peter wrote, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2nd Tim 3:2).
Purpose in Pain
God never wastes suffering. There is always a purpose in our pain. There was a purpose in Joseph’s pain in being unfairly imprisoned (Gen 50:20), and of course, God’s purposes were found in Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sake (John 3:16). Jesus couldn’t have avoided suffering. If He did, He would have had to avoid the cross, and we know God’s redemptive plan came through Calvary (Mark 10:45).
All Things Working
In God’s eyes, much good can come from much bad, and it has in the past, but today, we are going through life, not knowing what’s next. We can be blindsided by anything and when we’re knocked to the floor, we can get back up knowing that all things, good and bad, work together for our good (Rom 8:28), and sometimes the bad things work out more good for us that we know.
Conclusion
When a man who I write in prison was transferred a couple of hundred miles away from his mother, he was devastated, because she couldn’t visit him anymore, and he thought he was getting out, but they sent him to another facility. So I wrote him there too, but he was only there for a short time because he was only there to undergo a few evaluations. He later returned to the county jail and was released. At the time, he couldn’t see why God would do this, but after the chaplain saw some of our Bible studies, he wanted to know if I could send them to him, and I did. What this man thought was bad, opened an entire prison facility to the gospel through Bible studies and resources.
