by TIM JONES - GOD’S GREAT OUTDOORS
Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…….”
The U.S. Navy Seals are an elite fighting group of the United States Military. These highly trained warriors go through some of the most grueling testing and training of any fighting force in the world. You can have confidence that when needed, the SEALS will show up and see the mission to completion. Suffering and tribulation is part of life for these great men who volunteer for this special training and duty. These men choose to suffer during their six months of training that includes conditioning, diving, and land warfare. “Choose to suffer, and suffer well” is a mantra of the SEALS.
As good as these fighting men are at learning to deal with adversity and suffering, there is One that is truly a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. That man is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus chose to suffer and He suffered well. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us that “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” Christ had to suffer on that cross to save us from our sins. There had to be shedding of blood for the remission of sin. Jesus did not deserve that horrible death and it was through no fault of his own that he suffered and died on that tree. Jesus Christ left his place with his Father in heaven and came to earth as a human to make salvation sure for all who would repent and believe. There is comfort in suffering because the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:5 “For we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” It also tells us that we should rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. { Romans 5:3-4} Just as suffering in training is essential for producing an elite war fighter, suffering in the life of a Christian is essential to learning important lessons such as compassion, empathy, and resilience. Through suffering, we can learn to live more fully in the present moment, and to cherish each day as a gift from God.
Are you suffering well?
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