I Think I'm Allergic to Suffering.
A Meditation on Philippians 1:29
I’ve been feeling some spiritual angst lately, a bit of a funk if you will. Some restlessness in my soul, and discord in my relationships.
After many years of walking with the Lord, I’ve learned that when things feel “off” there is only thing I can do to get my spiritual life back on track: Take the time to do the work in the Word of God.
Meditating on Paul’s letter to the Philippians this morning, I discovered the root of my angst. In the first chapter of his letter, Paul writes:
“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake...”
It dawned on me as I prayed about these words that I have been actively fighting against suffering. Fighting hard. And my avoidance of suffering has manifested in guilt and fear, in arguing with my husband, and in a whole lot of laziness.
Where’s the Easy Button?
Of course it is perfectly natural to prefer ease and comfort over suffering. Every morning my flesh wakes up ready to exert its natural preference for easy:
- I prefer the ease of good health to the discomfort of sickness.
- I prefer the ease of tolerating a loved one’s sin to the discomfort of a difficult conversation.
- I prefer the ease of another episode on Netflix to the discomfort of leaving my house to share the gospel with a neighbor or friend.
My preferences for ease and comfort are so strong that they trap me in destructive habits and keep me from the joy of participating in what God is doing around me in the world.
Granted to Believe AND to Suffer for His Sake
Paul says that Christians do not have the luxury of a life of ease and comfort. He says instead that believers have been granted, or given, a life of suffering.
“Granted,” like a gift, or as the New Living Translation translates it:
“For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.”
My flesh wants the first privilege without the second. I want the trusting in Jesus part, but the suffering? No thank you!
I realized in meditating on this verse that all my unhappiness of late, all my fear and rebellion and discontent is because I have not been willing to suffer at all, let alone suffer for Christ.
Paul was willing to go to prison, even to face death for the sake of Christ; the believers in Philippi were facing similar persecution for proclaiming the name of Jesus; and here I sit, barely willing to get off the couch, make the phone call, and go take the good news of Jesus to a friend. Why not?
For Whose Sake?
The truth? I have been avoiding suffering for MY sake. For MY sake I want to avoid conflict. For MY sake I don’t want to be inconvenienced. For MY sake I will not willingly suffer sickness, relational conflict, or rejection.
But thanks be to God, he has given me a compelling reason to snap out of this funk and risk these hard things:
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
It is Christ’s love which compels me, which propels me past the laziness, past the longing for what is easy, past the indifference to other people’s suffering.
When I meditate on his love for me, the love that caused him to humble himself and take on human flesh, to be mistreated and disrespected, abused and abandoned, persecuted and pierced to purchase me for himself, then I gain a desire for Him that I didn’t have before, a desire that eclipses the allure of a self-centered “easy” life.
When I bask in his love for me, I also open myself up to sharing his love for others. On my own, I simply cannot love other people the way God does. But His love has been poured into my heart through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). And that love, His love for others that is now IN me, takes me outside my comfort zone, compelling me to live (and suffer) not for myself but for His sake.
“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:15)
A life lived for self sees every discomfort, every inconvenience as suffering to be avoided at all costs. My flesh is allergic to all suffering.
But a life lived for Jesus sees the joy on the other side, the joy that will come from obeying the Spirit’s prompting to invest in that awkward friendship, to have that difficult conversation, or even to share the gospel with a stranger.
If I take my gift of salvation and try to use it to live a life without suffering I will never be content. That life is not the life that has been granted to me. Easy lives are not what Christians are made for.
"If I take my gift of salvation and try to use it to live a life without suffering, I will never be content."
Suffering is a Privilege
Jesus suffered for ME so that I could have the privilege of suffering for HIM.
And suffering for the sake of Christ IS a privilege, whether in imprisonment and martyrdom like Paul, or being rejected by your neighbors as the awkward person who is always talking about Jesus. Even the little decision to turn off the TV and walk next door is transformed when I think, “for YOUR sake, Jesus.”
The Bible makes it clear that my suffering is for my good. I should rejoice in suffering because suffering is objectively better for my soul than not suffering. (James 1:2-3, Matthew 5:12, Romans 5:3-5)
There is no way to Christian maturity EXCEPT through suffering. So when suffering is sanctifying me, and making me more like Jesus, I rejoice, and trusting Jesus, I can suffer for his sake to be more like him and to draw near to him.
"Suffering is objectively better for my soul than not suffering."
But my suffering is also for the good of others.
Paul said this about his suffering: “I want you to know that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…” (Philippians 1:12) Because of Paul’s suffering, people in Rome were coming to Christ, and his Christian brothers were being bolder with their faith. (Philippians 1:12-14)
And in that Paul rejoiced.
When my suffering is for the sake of the gospel, I suffer for his sake, trusting in him that the salvation of others and the glory of His name is worth it.
The Fix
I can only overcome my natural inclination for ease and comfort when I remember that I have not been saved to live my redeemed life for myself, but to live for HIS sake.
I need to fix my eyes on Jesus, and gaze upon the glorious Person of Jesus Christ, seeking his face in his Word, and letting Him captivate me with Who He is and what He has done.
When my eyes by faith behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, I can then:
- joyfully risk being misunderstood or even hated, for his sake.
- give up my easy life to reach and serve other, for his sake.
- make choices which please God but not man, for his sake.
- set aside my selfish desires and put others first, for his sake.
For HIS sake.
Abundant Life is Better than Easy Life
Jesus came so that we may have life and have it abundantly.
And this is what we must believe: Abundant life means better life!
Abundant life includes not only the privilege of knowing Christ, but also the privilege and joy of suffering for his sake.
Through suffering we draw nearer to God; through suffering we are weaned off our love for the things of the world; and through suffering we experience the joy of seeing God use our hard things for the salvation of others. Suffering is better.
Believer, Christ died so that you and I could live, truly live. What suffering have you been avoiding that is keeping you from really living for his sake? It’s time to remind your soul that what he has for you is better, even if it’s scary.
In every little choice we face today, I am confident that he will lead us in paths of righteousness, and rejoicing, if we will take a little time to consider what it means to do this or that “FOR HIS SAKE.”
Let’s breathe it as a little prayer as we go about our day:
“For YOUR sake, Jesus. For your sake.”
Who knows what he might help us to overcome today if we pray like that! What we do know for sure is that we’ve been invited into real life, a good life, a rich and abundant life.
With suffering.
But fear not, Christian. For His sake means for your good.
Thanks friend! Needed this today
Thank you for the reminder. I didn’t know it, but my soul needed it today.