Hope in the Night (A 30-Day Reflection on Anxiety and Fear)

Twenty-Seventh Night: What is the True About Suffering?

"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."
- 1 Peter 4: 12-13

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Reflection:

Jesus Christ didn't promise us that once we follow Him, everything is going to be okay. God didn't lead His people in the wilderness and tell them that they will have zero trouble of finding the Land of Promise. God never wanted our hearts to be pampered with the sweetest There are no monsters lines. He tells us the worst and He tells us the best.

When Jesus said "do not fear," He really meant it.

"Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." (Revelation 2:10‭-‬11)

Jesus wrote this letter to the church of Smyrna through Apostle John. This church was called the persecuted church because of what was contained in the letter. Absolutely not what we wanted to hear, right? Perhaps, it is news that the church of Smyrna didn't want to hear, we wouldn't know. Vulnerable as we are, we wanted a "Do not be afraid. You won't suffer" assurance.

In all honesty, when I was still a new follower of Christ I'd wanted this passage to be, "Indeed, the devil will never harm you, because I keep watch over you. Be faithful until you die and I will protect you from harm." Then as time goes by with many days of meditating in God's Words, I realized something. If this was what I wanted to be God's promise to me, then Jesus Christ will be irrelevant to me. If God promised that I will not suffer - that there will be no more horrors after following Jesus - then my horror and my suffering will not be counted as a suffering with Christ.

Remember that we, as Christians, are partakers of Christ's sufferings. In 1 Peter 4:13, the Apostle Peter said, "but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."

Your moment of ovewhelming fear, anxiety, despair, and other form of sufferings is an image of you walking hand-in-hand with Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane towards the hill of Golgotha - a trip in Satan's house-of-horrors made only for Christ. It is a trip where Christ endured only for you so that you can also endure it only because of Him.

Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 26:38, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." When you are in the bottom pit of your sufferings - whether it be because of this pandemic or because of an ongoing suffering that came from the past - you find yourselves in those words. You cried and bleed and agonized over everything you felt with Christ. Truth to tell, because He endured all the sufferings in that shameful cross, you now have every reason to endure it with Him. For in Christ Jesus "we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him." (Ephesians 3:12)

Suffering is not news for Christians at all. In fact, the amount of suffering for Christians in this world is much more than that of an unbeliever. It is not a strange thing any longer as it was designed for Satan to drag Christians out of their faith.

But keep holding fast. Don't let go of your faith in Jesus Christ. Bury that faith under the ground so it could grow into a big and healthy tree, just as your relationship with Him.

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Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, during these perilous times — persecution, illnesses, war and deaths — may You grace me with Your presence, O Lord. May You strengthen my faith as I suffer for Your sake and embrace Your truth in the midst of the lies of Satan. May I persevere for the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, and rejoice amidst the trials with the help of the Holy Spirit. Amen.