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Let God in
'Suffering produces perseverance' Romans 5:3-4
At some point in life, you'll experience suffering. It's not nice, but you can choose how you're going to deal with it. You can either ignore God for letting it happen, or you can lean on Him to help you, ask Him what He wants you to learn, and how you can grow through it.
That doesn't mean you have to be chirpy all the time; it's fine to cry with God, tell Him when you're feeling stressed, sad, or just downright confused. Just make sure you don't ignore Him. He's there, waiting, with His arms wide open, to give you a big hug. Dealing with suffering in a godly way really refines your character, and that can have a huge impact on other people too, often more than words alone could.
Sinclair Ferguson tells of a young Christian who contracted AIDS doing medical research in Zimbabwe, and was the first physician to die of AIDS in the UK. In his last days, he suffered so much so he could hardly communicate.
His wife couldn't understand what he was trying to say. He wrote the letter 'J', so she went through all the words in his dictionary beginning with J, but they were all wrong. It was only when she tried 'Jesus' that she got it right. He wanted her to know that Jesus was with him in his suffering; and that was all either of them needed to know.
written by Bob Gass
'Suffering produces perseverance' Romans 5:3-4
At some point in life, you'll experience suffering. It's not nice, but you can choose how you're going to deal with it. You can either ignore God for letting it happen, or you can lean on Him to help you, ask Him what He wants you to learn, and how you can grow through it.
That doesn't mean you have to be chirpy all the time; it's fine to cry with God, tell Him when you're feeling stressed, sad, or just downright confused. Just make sure you don't ignore Him. He's there, waiting, with His arms wide open, to give you a big hug. Dealing with suffering in a godly way really refines your character, and that can have a huge impact on other people too, often more than words alone could.
Sinclair Ferguson tells of a young Christian who contracted AIDS doing medical research in Zimbabwe, and was the first physician to die of AIDS in the UK. In his last days, he suffered so much so he could hardly communicate.
His wife couldn't understand what he was trying to say. He wrote the letter 'J', so she went through all the words in his dictionary beginning with J, but they were all wrong. It was only when she tried 'Jesus' that she got it right. He wanted her to know that Jesus was with him in his suffering; and that was all either of them needed to know.
written by Bob Gass
