Philippians 1:29 - The Gift of Suffering

Today we are continuing to look at Philippians 1, and we aregoing on to verse 29, where we come to a very challenging truth. It says this: “Forto you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, butalso to suffer for His sake.” Today we are going to be talking aboutthe gift of suffering. NowPaul says two things are granted by grace. Number one, faith to believe in Him.And how we all love and appreciate for that. We know Ephesians 2:8–9: “Forby grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is thegift of God..." Thank God for thegift of grace! ButPaul goes on to say, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer forHis sake. Remember back in verse 28, Paul said “we should not be inany way terrified by our adversaries”. We should not be terrified by thosewho will cause persecution and suffering and inflict pain upon us. Why? BecauseGod has granted us this gift of suffering. Welove the gift of grace, but we might have a hard time understanding the gift ofsuffering, and it is even harder to accept. But what we need to understand isthat suffering connects us to Jesus Christ. Remember Philippians 3:10 wherePaul wrote later in this epistle: “That I might know Him and thefellowship of His sufferings.” In Romans 8:17 he wrote: “If indeedwe suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together with Him”. Andthen verse 18, Paul goes on to say: “For I consider that the sufferings ofthis present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall berevealed in us.” In1 Peter 4:13, Peter said, “Rejoice to the extent that you partake ofChrist’s sufferings.” Remember Jesus Himself said in Matthew 5:10–12, “Blessedare those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake… Rejoice and beexceedingly glad,” that you have the privilege of suffering and beingpersecuted for Christ’s sake.Wemust know that suffering is not meaningless. It deepens our faith, strengthensour character, and prepares us for glory. Thechurch in China, which has suffered so deeply under great persecution over theyears because of their faith, would tell us, “Don’t pray that we are notpersecuted and that we do not suffer. Pray that we remain faithful.” When Ivisited the unground church there years ago the church leaders told us, “Persecutionpurifies the church”. As a matter of fact, we have heard that some churches inChina made it a requirement to have served time in labor camp prisons sufferingfor their faith to prove that they were truly a Christian before they couldbecome part of their fellowship of believers. Myfriend, that is not what we have faced so far in America, but it might not befar off! In James 1:2–3, it reminds us “to count it all joy when you fallinto various trials and tribulations”. In 1 Peter 1:6–9 we read: “Inthis you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you havebeen grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith,being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested byfire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of JesusChrist..." Nowlet’s be honest—we do not naturally see suffering as a gift. But from God’sperspective: It is shaping us.Itis refining us. It is drawing us closer to Christ. So today: Do not waste yourtrials. See them through God’s eyes. Trust Him in the process.  Inclosing this chat, I want you to read 1 Peter 5:6-11 that reminds us to humbleourselves as we face the attacks of the devil, “resisting him, steadfast inthe faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhoodin the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal gloryby Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish,strengthen, and settle you. ..." Also a good book to read that would bless and give you abetter understanding of God’s purposes of suffering in our lives is: “The Insanityof God” by Nik Ripken.