During the summer of 1990, doctors discovered a benign cyst in my brain. I was 18, had just graduated high school, had a cute boyfriend, and was getting ready to start college. This was supposed to be one of the greatest times of my life. Brain surgery was not on my checklist of fun things to do after graduating high school!
But on August 26, my family checked me in to Baylor hospital. Shortly after I was settled in my room, a wonderful group of church friends came to pray over me. I felt encouraged and hopeful about my surgery the next morning! “Everything’s going to be great!” I thought.
But then everyone left. The nurses came in to hook up IV's, and they left. I was completely alone. And panic took over. Every muscle in my body tensed up. I was overcome with fear and could not sit still.
I turned on the TV, but the noise just annoyed me. I couldn’t walk around because of the IV, so I thrashed around in bed sobbing The next morning, I knew the doctor would shave off my long blonde hair. I could not see the benefits of being bald at 18! I also knew this was a difficult surgery, and I might not even survive. I was terrified.
Since nothing else calmed me down, in desperation, I decided to read my Bible. I flipped and flipped, hardly landing anywhere long enough to read a passage. But somehow, because of God’s mercy, I landed on Proverbs 3:24, “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
I felt an immediate and physical rush of peace over my body. My muscles relaxed and my panic subsided. Tears of thankfulness replaced tears of fear.
It was the very real presence of the Holy Spirit blowing over me. He reminded me I had nothing to fear. I was a believer in Jesus. If I didn’t survive this surgery, I would be in heaven with Him. No matter the outcome, I knew the sleep of anesthesia would be a sweet sleep.
Obviously I survived. I spent 11 days in ICU enjoying lots of visits from friends and family. Eventually my hair grew back, and I was able to start college just one semester late.
Although I don’t want to go through the suffering of brain surgery again, I would never trade that experience. God used my suffering that night at Baylor hospital to introduce me to the unmistakable presence of the Holy Spirit.
We seek comfort, prosperity, and good health, but something supernatural often happens through suffering.
Peter calls us to rejoice in suffering. This is hard! But we are a holy people. We can do hard things!
According to a 2022 poll, 33% of adults take at least one over-the-counter pain medication every day. WebMD says 10% of adults take a prescription pain killer at least once a day. And the CDC says about 3% of adults illegally take opioids without a prescription for pain. So, if you add all these up—and this is Kristi’s purely unscientific hypothesis—about half of us take something for pain everyday.
We don’t like to suffer. That’s understandable. If I have a headache, I take an ibuprofen. But sometimes no amount of medication can ease our pain and suffering, and it might be in that crucible of suffering that we grow the most.
Look at 1 Peter 4:12-19.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Peter is writing to Christians scattered around the Roman empire because of persecution. Nero, the brutal dictator, has burned Rome and blamed the Christians. One of his favorite means of torture was coating Christians in tar and lighting them on fire to be used as lamps for the imperial gardens.
These Christians know what suffering is for the name of Christ. Here in the United States we do not know this kind of suffering, but it is becoming more unpopular to vocalize and stand up for our Christian beliefs. This is an unsteady world. We need to prepare ourselves for suffering, so that we can live steady lives in an unsteady world.
First, we see in this passage that suffering for Christ brings deep fellowship. Verse 13 says to rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ. The Greek word for sharing or participating is “koinonia.” This is a word we often translate as fellowship or partnership. I remember from my childhood an adult Sunday School class called Koinonia. Fellowship is fundamental to the Christian life. But what exactly does fellowship do for Christians?
Let’s consider two different fellowships—the fellowship of believers with each other, and the fellowship of believers with Christ.
The Apostle Paul talks about the fellowship of believers with each other in their suffering in 1 Corinthians 12:26-27, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Fellowship happens only in community. We love and care for each other. We share each other’s burdens and share our possessions with those in need. We rejoice with those who rejoice and cry with those who suffer. We practice hospitality with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Fellowship is intimate and beautiful. When we fellowship, we serve each other because we belong to each other, like members of a body. Our homegroups at Central Bible Church are a great example of this fellowship.
Dane Ortlund in his book, Deeper, says, “An independent Christian is a nonsensical category according to the Bible. Scripture calls believers the body of Christ…We live our lives in Christ in a way that is vitally, organically joined to all other believers. We who are in Christ are no more detached from other believers than muscle tissue can be detached from ligaments in a healthy body.”
That’s a pretty clear picture of our connection to each other!
I am privileged to be a part of a very special group of women called the Scripture Sisters. We meet on Thursday nights for prayer and Bible study, and these women are instrumental to my spiritual health.
We have been meeting for almost 2 years, and we’ve been through many highs and lows together. The last 4 months have been especially difficult as several of our sisters have experienced severe suffering—overwhelming stress at work, children who have turned from their faith in God, serious health issues, death of family members, and more.
It's human nature to withdraw from others when suffering. But not us! We share it! And as these women, one-by-one share their struggles, the rest of the group encourages them with listening ears, Scripture, and prayer.
Many times, we have physically circled a friend, put our hands on her and prayed over her. We have even fasted as a group on behalf of a suffering sister. This sharing has dramatically deepened our fellowship with each other. We truly practice what Romans 12:15 commands, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn.”
When we suffer as Christians, we experience fellowship with other believers.
But Peter is also saying it’s a fellowship with Christ when we suffer for the name of Christ. We belong to Him and identify with Him. Therefore, we share in His burdens. Suffering for the name of Christ is an act of intimate fellowship with Christ, and this is cause for rejoicing.
Do we rejoice because we’re hurting? Of course not! We’re Christians, not masochists! Jesus did not enjoy His suffering. As He was awaiting His crucifixion, He asked God the Father to take away the cup of suffering. Jesus was dreading the pain.
However, He knew the pain was absolutely necessary to God’s plan of redemption. Hebrews 5:8 says Christ learned obedience from what He suffered. If Jesus Christ, Who is fully God and was also fully human, had to learn obedience by suffering, surely we don’t think we’re exempt? Suffering is indispensable to belonging to Christ and learning obedience to God the Father.
Greg Pruett, in his excellent book Extreme Prayer, talks about the feeling of being forsaken by God during times of suffering. He gives the examples of Job, Jeremiah, and Paul, as godly men who complained to God about their suffering. He contrasts the complaints of these faithful men with the complaints of the faithless Israelites in the Old Testament.
Pruett explains the difference: “Complaining to God is allowed with one major condition: we must continue to faithfully obey and follow Him in spite of our suffering…Jesus and Paul didn’t put a sunny, Christian façade on their suffering. There was no hollow, false perkiness at the Cross. They proved that complaints and faith are not mutually exclusive.”
The cause for rejoicing is not in the actual pain of suffering, it is in the participating in some of what Christ experienced. We become more like Christ when we suffer like He did. We learn obedience to God the Father when we suffer as His children.
Ortlund again writes, “Your suffering does not define you. His does. You have endured pain involuntarily. He has endured pain voluntarily, for you. Your pain is meant to push you to flee to Him where He endured what you deserve. If Jesus Himself was willing to journey down into the suffering of hell, you can bank everything on His love as you journey through your own suffering on your way up to heaven.”
Satan will tempt us with an easy way out of our suffering. Maybe you struggle with lust. Because of your relationship with Christ, you have committed to a life of sexual purity, and so you take those lustful thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. But these lustful thoughts are a part of your sinful nature, and the battle is fierce. Satan will tempt you with opportunities to give in to your lust and satisfy that sinful craving. This is the easy way out. Obeying Christ by resisting the temptation is hard.
Scripture says Jesus was tempted just as we are, and He never gave in to sin. This must have added tremendously to His suffering.
CS Lewis writes, “Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. ... We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means.”
Jesus was fiercely tempted and never gave in.
We suffer as Jesus did in this continual fight against temptation. Satan does not stop. But Jesus is our example. He is the One we strive to live like. Resist the urge to give in to the temptation and end your suffering. Jesus is your Living Hope. Look to Him for strength.
When you suffer, and you will, don’t give in to the temptation to withdraw from community. Instead, share your struggles with trusted Christian friends. Ask them to pray for you. Be vulnerable and honest.
Do the same with God. Approach Him boldly when you’re hurting. Confess your pain but acknowledge your trust in Him.
Suffering for Christ brings deeper fellowship with both other believers and with Jesus Christ Himself.
Next, we see in verse 14 that Suffering for Christ means sharing in the glory of Christ. Isn’t that amazing? “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
Somehow our suffering because of our faith in Christ leads to glory. Romans 8:17-18 says,
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
A Christian is a child of God, and Romans says we are heirs. This means we are children who can expect an inheritance. Our heavenly Father owns everything in the universe. But, not so fast! Because if we are fellow heirs with Jesus, then we must endure sufferings like Jesus to receive this inheritance. Bearing the name of Christ is our responsibility as heirs, and this responsibility comes with suffering. Jesus suffered. We are not above our Master. We must suffer too.
In 1 Peter chapter 2, Peter explains we were called to suffer, because Christ suffered for us, and is an example for us to follow. But he says when we suffer for doing good, we find favor with God. God is not the author of sin, so when we resist sin God is pleased.
The beautiful book Hind’s Feet on High Places talks about the journey of a girl named Much-Afraid. The Chief Shepherd promises Much-Afraid she will reach the high places, and He will never be beyond her grasp or her calls for help.
But to develop the strong and steady hind’s feet Much-Afraid desires, she must go on a long and difficult journey. The Shepherd gives her two companions to guide her along the way, twins named Sorrow and Suffering.
Of course, Much-Afraid protests that she cannot go with Sorrow and Suffering, she would much prefer Joy and Peace. But the Shepherd gently replies, “I promise that you shall not be put to shame. Go with Sorrow and Suffering, and if you cannot welcome them now, when you come to the difficult places where you cannot manage alone, put your hands in theirs confidently and they will take you exactly where I want you to go.”
God uses our sorrow and suffering to take us exactly where He wants us to go.
Let me remind you of the glory that is coming. This is the first section of Revelation 22:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
This glory is worth enduring some short-term suffering now!
My friend Julie is a triathlete. She has completed the Ironman triathlon three times! This includes a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run. One right after the other. Even for a highly trained athlete like Julie, this is grueling. She says the one thing that keeps her going is the finish line. She thinks constantly about the finish line.
Julie says the sufferings of the Ironman are worth it for the accomplishment of knowing she crossed the finish line and can call herself an Ironman finisher.
Friends, we are aiming for the finish line! Jesus is waiting excitedly there. Cheering us on! We may cross that line with bruised and bloodied knees. But Jesus will be there and will proudly say, “Well done! You made it!”
We are called to suffer as believers, but our suffering is not in vain. Suffering for Christ means we share in the glory of Christ.
I want to highlight one last point: Suffering for Christ means continuing the work of Christ.
Look at what Peter says in verse 19, “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
Peter doesn’t give a pass on doing God’s work to those who are suffering. He tells us to keep doing what is good. Our natural instinct is to stop the suffering. It feels bad. But God says keep doing, keep going, keep working. “Commit yourself to the faithful Creator and continue to do what is good.”
In Afghan culture, neighbors are referred to as those who “share our shade,” an expression that may originate from people sharing the shade of the same tree. So when Afghans move, they talk of “changing their shade.”
Since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021, Abdullah, an Afghan believer, has had to “change his shade” three times. Abdullah was led to faith by a Christian relative, and not long after the Taliban takeover, his neighbors warned him that fighters had come to his house looking for his relative. Abdullah and his family left that same day to find “new shade.”
But even in that new place, people soon began to ask questions. “Why don’t we see you at the mosque on Fridays? You missed the weekly prayers again.” With the Taliban in power, anyone from a local mosque leader to a police officer may be an informer. So if an official calls a Christian to a “meeting,” the believer must decide whether to attend the meeting or flee the country.
When Abdullah’s new neighbors began asking questions, he and his family moved again, forcing him to close his business and abandon his livelihood. But he didn’t leave the country like so many others and hasn’t stopped serving Christ. He regularly meets with new Afghan believers, traveling to pray with them, encourage them, and study God’s Word.
Abdullah referenced Romans 8, agreeing with Paul that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” He knows that he and other Afghan Christians who decided to remain in the country are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” and that nothing — not even Taliban fighters with AK-47s and grenades — will be able to separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Abdullah chose to entrust himself to his faithful Creator while he was suffering and while he continued to do good.
We hear false gospels saying God does not intend for His followers to suffer. This is not true! Not only does God allow us to suffer, He expects us to continue the Christian work that brings on the suffering.
But we do need to consider something practical and important regarding suffering: We must prepare ourselves.
Peter reminds us twice in this letter to be mentally prepared for the suffering. He says in 1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” And then again in 1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.”
This is where the spiritual disciplines come into play. They prepare our hearts and minds for the work of the Holy Spirit.
I think about Jesus’s temptation in Matthew 4. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Verse 2 says, “After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” And that is when the tempter came to Him.
Satan’s first offer was bread. This is a legitimate temptation because Jesus was hungry and physically weak. However, I believe the 40 days of fasting, although making Him physically weak, gave Jesus tremendous spiritual strength, so that He was able to withstand Satan’s temptations.
Yes, Jesus is God, but He was also fully man and was tempted as we are. The spiritual disciplines gave God the Father the opportunity to build even greater spiritual strength in Jesus:
- Fasting is one of many spiritual disciplines that prepare us for the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Other ways we can prepare our minds for action are reading and studying Scripture daily. We need to know God’s Word to live it.
- Talk to God regularly. Through prayer, you will learn to recognize God’s voice.
- Be an active part of Christian community so you have believers to help you through hard times, like my Scripture Sisters.
- Practice silence and solitude. The world screams, but the Spirit often whispers. We need silence to hear the whisper.
The French poet, Jean de la Fontaine, wisely said, “No path of flowers leads to glory."
Yes, we are called to rejoice in our suffering for Christ, but God has promised us His eternal glory as a reward. Our suffering is for just a little while (1 Peter 5:10). I know it’s hard to see past our current circumstances. But we must keep our eyes focused on Jesus, our Living Hope. Our sufferings do not compare to the glory that’s waiting for us.