Matthew 16:24-25
Then Jesus went to work on his
disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.
You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace
it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all.
Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.
What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself?
What could you ever trade your soul for?
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
I find it no
coincidence that just yesterday, Pastor Joel Osteen preached a
televised sermon about embracing our suffering and struggles – and how
“it’s all good.” He pointed out that many will ask, “How can suffering
be good? How can job loss, illness, business and relationship failures
and more be a good thing?” More importantly, how can God allow these
things?
Osteen noted that God sees a far bigger picture than we
do…that we cannot see what He might be sparing us from…or preparing us
to handle through these challenges. He told the story of a man who did
volunteer work at a hospital. As the man parked his car one day and
started into the hospital, a car sped around a corner and hit him. He
was rushed inside for treatment…and x-rays and scans revealed he had a
very aggressive form of cancer that needed immediate treatment. Had the
car not hit the man, this cancer might never have been discovered…and
the man might not have received timely treatments that ultimately saved
his life.
In my own life, I know that I didn’t receive a job I
desperately wanted…and God gave me a whole new career instead. My
mother’s beloved dog, Spot, died last January, the day before Mother had
hand surgery that would have prevented her from caring for him properly
– and only months before she was diagnosed with cancer that sapped her
strength and ultimately took her life. I know that after my grandmother
suffered the loss of her husband, God gave her a companion who was not
yet a Christian…and she demonstrated her faith and led him to surrender
his heart to Jesus just a few short months before he died.
I know that when we trust Jesus, He will use our “suffering” for good. It may be hard to see…and we may never
fully understand why certain things happen – to us or to others. But I
fully believe that God has a perfect plan and sees a bigger picture.
And when we trust Him to “drive the car,” He meets our needs and fills
us with confidence, comfort and peace.
This scripture passage says to embrace suffering…it doesn’t say we have to like it! There is
a difference. When we embrace suffering, we are saying, “I trust you,
God…bring it on!” I doubt that any of us are fully “there” yet…but we
keep working toward this level of faith. I know that this is my
goal…what about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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