This is the
one spiritual discipline that you don’t have to actively seek and practice, for
it will find you. The question is, “Is your heart and spirit ready?”
June’s Awakening, Day 16
Although the world is full of
suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.
—Helen Keller
It is by those who have suffered that
the world has been advanced.
—Leo Tolstoy
Jesus has many who love his kingdom in
heaven, but few who bear his cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who
desire suffering. He finds many to share his feast, but few his fasting. All
desire to rejoice with him, but few are willing to suffer for his sake. Many
follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of
his passion. Many admire the miracles but few follow him to the humiliation of
his cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them.
—Thomas à Kempis
Christ himself came down and took
possession of me… I had never foreseen the possibility of that, of a real
contact, person to person, here below, between a human being and God… in this
sudden possession of me by Christ, neither my sense nor my imagination had any
part: I only felt in the midst of my suffering the presence of a love.
—Simone Weil
A clay pot sitting in the sun will
always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to
become porcelain.
—Mildred W. Struven
Consider
it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let
perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything. James 1:2–4 NIV
In
all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven
genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even
though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ
is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6–7 NIV
Not
only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does
not put us to shame, because Godʼs love has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans
5:3–5 NIV
Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and
the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can
comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our
comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort
and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in
you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is
firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you
share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3–7 NIV
Suffering.
Few of us would ever consider suffering to be a spiritual discipline. Yet
the tragic irony of suffering is that it is probably the most powerful and most
effective, although least desirable, means to propel us into spiritual maturity
and becoming spiritually disciplined. Tragedies in our lives can also bring
about important positive changes in our attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyle.
Suffering will come. It is a matter of dealing with it appropriately that will
either allow us to eventually move forward better, or be stuck forever in
bitterness, pessimism, and skepticism. All tragedies and suffering must
appropriately be grieved and dealt with and only time, friends and family,
professionals, and God Himself can bring about the required healing and mending.
With God on our side, and His Word in our heart, we can persevere and overcome
trials and tribulations and allow those events to change, mold, and shape us in
positive ways to become better, stronger, more mature, and more complete. It is
our choice in how we approach these events in our lives and we usually can’t do
this on our own. Nothing can ever fully prepare us, but a strong faith and
disciplined heart and mind empowered by His Spirit will sure make the arduous
journey easier.
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