Sufferings as a Christian

 

“Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward and asked them, “Who is it you are looking for?”

• John 18:4

Let me give you a context to this. It was the night before He was to be put to death. Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

After the last supper with His disciples, there He was alone and afraid with a sadness that was so deep as He Himself said

“The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me”

• Matthew 26:38

Being God, He could see what lay before Him, the betrayal from a friend leading to His subsequent arrest, the spits, the taunts and the blows, the sharp crown with the thorns, the never-ending journey to Calvary and finally the cross and the nails, His humiliation at being strippped before 1000s and pierced at the side, the three hours of endless torture and His subsequent death.

It was all a price He had to pay for people who yet didn’t see the salvation that comes from Him.

And yet, He accepted it all, from the hands of His Father, as the cup of suffering He had to drink, for which He was sent to be with you and me, spending hours in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying for the strength to bear His suffering, when there came a guardian Angel beside Him, to give Him the power that He needs.

And this is how we need to be, in the face of our life’s sufferings, accepting them all from the Hands of the Father, without complaining.

His mind was calm, He was now free, as He accepted His suffering, now strengthened by His prayer in Gethsemane and willing to die for you and me.

Is there a cup of suffering you have to drink? A tough job, a harsh boss or any such thing? Let us accept these little things, from the hands of the Father, as our cup of suffering.

Let’s make a prayer of surrender, asking for His strength to bear all things, and then we’ll see the joy that comes from bearing our life's sufferings.

There was a man in the habit of drinking, which he often tried to quit. He approached retreat centers and various places that he thought could have helped him.

He was a pain to his wife, who endlessly put up with him, quietly staying by his side, in his suffering.

I would like to end with the words of Jesus said to the young man who prayed to Him in His suffering.

“My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.”

• 2 Corinthians 12: 9

And that is when the man was strengthened, and he was content with his hardships, knowing that in his weakness, was the presence of Christ with Him, to provide him with the grace he needs to imitate Jesus in His sufferings.

For why would we need a God if we were not helpless and weak? So, let’s remember that we are called according to His purpose and there is a reason behind our suffering.

Like Jesus, let’s spend time in prayer, and He’ll show us the reason for our suffering, like the woman did, becoming to her husband the image of God to strengthen Him in his suffering.

We too shall carry our cross and drink our bitter portion of suffering, till one day with Him we are raised, as a reward for being one with Him in His suffering.

We’ll join the party in Heaven, after a lifetime of suffering, to be with for Eternity, in a place where there will be no more pain and suffering.