Christ First Forum

by **Remnant** » 30 Nov 2010, 20:50

The Holy Suffering of the Saint

Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good . . . —1 Peter 4:19

Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will— even if it means you will suffer— is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he simply chooses God’s will, just as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. And no saint should ever dare to interfere with the lesson of suffering being taught in another saint’s life.
The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. But the people used to strengthen us are never those who sympathize with us; in fact, we are hindered by those who give us their sympathy, because sympathy only serves to weaken us. No one better understands a saint than the saint who is as close and as intimate with Jesus as possible. If we accept the sympathy of another saint, our spontaneous feeling is, “God is dealing too harshly with me and making my life too difficult.” That is why Jesus said that self-pity was of the devil (see Matthew 16:21-23). We must be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy for us to tarnish God’s character because He never argues back; He never tries to defend or vindicate Himself. Beware of thinking that Jesus needed sympathy during His life on earth. He refused the sympathy of people because in His great wisdom He knew that no one on earth understood His purpose (see Matthew 16:23). He accepted only the sympathy of His Father and the angels (see Luke 15:10).
Look at God’s incredible waste of His saints, according to the world’s judgment. God seems to plant His saints in the most useless places. And then we say, “God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him.” Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.

http://utmost.org/the-holy-suffering-of-the-saint/

by **AHeartofJoye** » 01 Dec 2010, 09:35

God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him,

Brother Frank, I have to be honest here - there have been times in my life when I have questioned "why do those that love God and try to follow him suffer?"
My grandfather was a devote christian, a deacon in the Brethren Church, he suffered a stroke, leaving him paralyzed on the right side of his body.
My grandmother and my beloved mother both suffered the ravages of colon cancer. This has brought about some mighty deep thought.
Throughout all of it, all of the pain and suffering, my mother never wavered. She stayed strong, resilient, and ready for what was ahead of her even when those closest to her couldn't.
I believe that was because she knew and loved the Lord, as she had said in the beginning of her journey home, she was "ready to go." My mother's faith in God was indeed genuine, as it
was with my grandfather and grandmother. My grandfather, grandmother, my mother and myself could have turned from God - but we drew nearer to Him throughout it all. James 4:8
I know that whatever I suffer, whatever I endure, whatever trails on this earth I face, and have faced brought me closer to God.
For me, I have learned to rely 100% on God - TRUST & FAITH. John 16:33
To God be the Glory!
There is a reward for those that endure, for those that hold tightly to Him and his Word
Rev 2:7
Rev 3:21
Rev 21:7.

Thank you for this post brother Frank!

Christ First Forum

The Holy Suffering of the Saint

The Holy Suffering of the Saint

Re: The Holy Suffering of the Saint

Who is online