Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Joyful Suffering

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
(1 Peter 4:12-13, NASB)

I’ve written about this before, and I’m sure I’ll write about it again. We should expect trials. We should expect suffering. Christ Himself told us we’d suffer as He suffered. We’d be persecuted as He was persecuted.

Why is it then so many of us complain or whine when we face adversity? I’m not saying we can’t cry out to God in our suffering. The psalmists certainly did. I’m not saying we can’t ask “why?” Job certainly did.

We don’t have to understand. We don’t even have to like it. But we shouldn’t be surprised.

Instead, we should rejoice. I know it’s an oxymoron: Joyful suffering. But in Christ, we can rejoice even through trials and tribulations. We can know, with certainty, God will use every situation—good and bad—for His ultimate good. And we can give glory to God … at all times and in all ways.

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