Called to Suffer

CALL TO PRAYER

By: Stephen Osei Kuffour

Date: 20.02.2022

Title: Called to Suffer

For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake

(Philippians 1:29 NKJV)

As Christians, we are supposed to live our lives based on the word of God. We are therefore encouraged to spend regular time reading, studying, and meditating on the word. We are also encouraged to search for the word of God which applies to our situation and pray with it. However, one thing I have realized among many Christians is that we like to pick and choose scriptures.

We are very selective! We usually choose the convenient promises and ignore the hard ones or the ones that involve suffering. We love to pick and choose the Scriptures that talk about our Blessings and inheritance in Christ, but we ignore the ones that talk about suffering. We have to know that trials, tribulations and sufferings are also part of Christianity. We are called to suffer for Christ’s sake (Phil 1:29).

Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ who promised us eternal life, prosperity, and good health, also promised us many troubles. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33). The life of a Christian may be full of troubles. When you experience trials and tribulations, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have enough Faith, or you don’t pray enough. Some Christians can be very judgmental and self-righteous to the extent that they attribute your trials to your lack of Faith, ignorance, and your past mistakes.

However, the Lord sometimes uses these trials to draw us closer to Him, and to build a character in us (James 1:2-4, Rom 5:3-5). These times also prepare us for greatness. All the great men and women in the Bible were defined by the trials, tribulations, persecutions and sufferings they endured and overcame: Jesus Christ, Job, Joseph, Abraham, Sarah, Hannah, etc.

I have also realized that most Pastors and Spiritual Leaders don’t really like to talk about the suffering part. For example, when we go out to evangelize, we mostly tell people that they should come to Christ and all their Problems will go away, which is not true. Neglecting these parts of the Scriptures causes many Believers to become surprised and overwhelmed when they experience trials or suffering. We need to tell our members the truth that suffering is part of Christianity (Psalm 34:19, John 16:33). I believe that one way to better respond to these difficult times is to be aware of it and expect it.

Beloved in the Lord, trials, tribulations, persecutions, and sufferings are also part of Christianity. Our desire to be obedient to the Lord may require us to endure a lot of insults, evil, persecutions and sufferings. However, we don’t have to worry so much about them because we know why the Lord sometimes allows us to experience such times. We also know that the Lord will cause all things to work for our good and also reward us for suffering for His sake (Rom 8:28, Matt 5:11-12).

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His Word today. Let’s ask the Lord to make all Believers around the world conscious of the truth that we have been called to suffer. Let’s also ask Him to strengthen all Believers to endure trials and sufferings for His Sake.

God bless you all.

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