|
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10
Being perfect, established, strengthened and settled doesn’t come until after you have suffered a while. In the Greek, the word for perfect means, adjust. When suffering comes, God wants us to adjust in order for us to be perfect. There are things that he will show us that we can do better. It will be that way all through our life. It takes suffering to be perfect, established, strengthened, and settled.
When we first got saved we had a determination to serve God. We wanted to please him. As trials come, we have to keep that determination. We have to have a determination to go all the way. When the trials come and the suffering comes we still have to have the determination to go all the way. That is the only thing that will build character in us. Some of us were not very good characters when we got saved. Our characteristics were not very good. There were a lot of things that we needed to learn. It is through suffering that we learn how to do things better.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
This scripture is a promise. If you want an easy way, you will not get it if you want to make it to heaven. The flesh likes things that are easy. This is a promise - that all who live Godly shall suffer. There will be things that come against us. We have to get it settled, that we will go through persecutions and suffer.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 2 Timothy 2:12
What does the Bible mean when it says - to suffer? It is something that is painful; it is anything that causes harm, loss, injury, any unpleasantness, anything that we don’t like personally that comes against the flesh. We have to be willing to endure and bear the suffering. If we don’t have a determination, we will not endure to the end.
There were two thieves on their crosses when Jesus was crucified. One of the thieves repented but the other one didn’t. How many of them suffered? They all three suffered. How many people in this world suffer? Everybody does. It isn’t just the saints. But we have a God of all grace that will help us through the suffering. The people out in the world don’t have this comfort.
Trackback(0)
|
Mature Adult 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
