DEVOTIONAL

I MUST SUFFER FOR CHRIST!

“YEAH MAN! NO PROBLEM!”

By Romario Mitchell

Romans 8:18 (KJV): “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Have you ever gone through a really bad experience and just wished that it would

end? 

Well, I have, but I have learnt that even my cloudy days are filled with purpose. Some of the greatest lessons are learnt in tough times. As Sons of God, it is critically imperative that we

understand that we have power in God to go through hard times and please God. We can even smile at the storm and say from the heart: “No problem, man!” Why? Because we can give God the problem and rest in Him! 

Paul, in the Bible, testified that he could take pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, persecutions, hardships or distresses for Christ’s sake. This may seem alarming to you, but guess what? We can have the same confidence and testimony because we have the same Spirit in us! The truth is that in any subjectively unfavourable experience which we face for the Gospel’s sake, we are expected to be glad, because it is through these encounters that Christ is glorified! God assures us in His Word that the sufferings of our present times are absolutely incomparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. It is this joy that lets us say: “I can go through these trials; I can suffer joyfully in this now!”

BUILDING SPIRITUAL MUSCLES

Enduring our sufferings is like lifting weights to build muscles. Suffering produces perseverance and it builds in us a desire to represent Christ in the midst of adversities. The Christ in us is more than a buffer; He is the One in us who faces the trials, if we allow Him to. 

If I’m not content with the trials which God has given me and I crave to do as I please, and I desire to only experience a luxurious life, then, as a Son of God, I would have missed the whole essence of what life in Christ is really like. 

Look at it this way: if Jesus and the Apostles in the Bible faced tough times and suffered, so will we! Let us quit running and face our trials. It will build in us Godly character, true peace, joy and contentment.

#5

Let God’s perspective on your trials brighten your day today. If you are faced with any offences or hardship, know that it is the will of God for you to obey and please Him. Remove the focus from yourself, and refocus on God. He will allow you to come forth with the fruit of long suffering, patience, and a righteous response (Romans 5:3-5 KJV). 

The next time that you are faced with a trial, or if you are going through one now, see it as a basic necessity in order to know Christ, rather than an annoyance that you wish to get rid of.

REFLECT AND RESPOND: What trial am I faced with today? How can I glorify God in this?

SCRIPTURE IN FOCUS:

“But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled”- 1 Peter 3:14 (KJV)

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