Divine Thoughts:
Joyful Suffering:
"A day without suffering is a day lost"
St. Alphonsa
St. Alphonsa
Elsy Mathew, Bangalore
 |
| Mrs. Elsy Mathew, Bangalore |
They entered into the church. The voice said, “Put your bundles around the Altar.” They put
their bundles down, and the voice said again, “Now you can choose any bundle
that you like.” And the miracle of miracles happened and everybody rushed
to his own bundle! This man also rushed so far towards his own bundle, afraid
that if somebody else chose it then he would be lost. Everybody had chosen
their own bundle, with great relief and they were all happy, carrying their
bundles back to their homes. Even this man was very happy, and said to himself,
“Who knows what is in the other’s bundle? At least I am aware of my own bundle
and what it contains. And I have become accustomed to my misery and adjusted to
it.”
We often think, God has given me the worst kind of life. It is very subjective.
I suffer more than anyone in the world. Why did God give me such a kind of
life? We learn to adjust to it soon yet grumble about it every now and then.
Brooding over the miseries destroys happiness and peace of mind. Happiness is
subjective and depends on each one’s perspective of life. Anxiety about the
prosperity of the neighbhour can bring misery to our life. The moment we
concentrate on our own lives misery will begin to disappear. The Bible speaks
about suffering “Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally
comes to people. But God keep his promise, and he will not allow you to be
tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test,
he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out
(1 Cor 10:13). God does not abandon those who trust Him, even
though they do not understand the meaning of suffering.
God’s children who are called into His
fellowship are partakers of all His blessings in the heavenly places even while
they live on earth. As they fellowship with the Triune God in the heavenly
experience here on earth, they also openly declare their allegiance to the Lord
Jesus. They make use of every opportunity to live for the Lord Jesus on His
pathway which is the way of the cross. Life with Jesus here on earth begins
with a wicket gate and is followed with treading the narrow way carrying the
cross. The cross that we carry is the embodiment of shame, despising, ridicule,
loss and rejection which the world sends our way. We carry the cross to follow
the Lord Jesus and declare that we are willing to be crucified with Christ in
every walk of our lives. We confess our willingness to suffer for the Lord
Jesus and thus allow these sufferings to be the test of our love to Him who
demonstrated His love for us on the cross. This is the fellowship of sufferings
that we are called upon to go through. We are not to lose our joy as we suffer
and are to praise God for each moment of suffering that we pass through. It is
suffering for righteous living. It is suffering because we openly testify to
the cause of Christ and stand for truth and justice. It is suffering because we
keep the principles of the Word of God each day of our lives. When we take such
a stand for Jesus, the enemy of our souls will put trouble on our way to
frustrate us away from following Jesus. The more zealous we are for Jesus, the
greater will be the persecution and sufferings we will experience. As these
sufferings increase, there will be abundance of comfort and joy flowing into
our souls from our Lord to strengthen us. The more the sufferings, the greater
will be the comfort from the Word and the Spirit of God. The comforts of the
Lord are renewed every day in abundant measure to compensate for every
suffering that comes our way. When sufferings flow into us, comforts come to
fill us to overflowing so that we can comfort others who go through sufferings.(source:todayingodsword blog).
I
compare the troubles which we have to undergo to a great bundle of faggots, far
too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole bundle
at once. He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which
we are to carry today, and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so
on. This we might easily manage, if we would only bear the burden
allotted for us each day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying
yesterday's stick again today, and adding tomorrow's burden to our load, before
we are required to bear it. The truth is, today or tomorrow, there will
come a day when one profits from those problems once seemed useless and futile.
At that moment of revelation one may remember that such painful experiences
were actually blessings in disguise and they have strengthened his personality
and character. When the world grumbles at sufferings, the child of God sings
comforting songs to praise God for it.
A famous French writer, Alphonse Daudet, was
stricken with paralysis in 1887. For eight years thereafter he lived in
unceasing agony. Several of Daudet's greatest books--studies on his
suffering--were written while he was in constant agony which no medical
treatment could relieve. Daudet wrote: "All of you who suffer, make your
suffering a motive of spiritual elevation; utilize your pain to become good, to
become better; think of me who, in the midst of my glory, saw myself
condemned to death but who henceforth thought only of studying that agony--that
I might bequeath it as an example to my fellow sufferers. From now on I should
like to do nothing but scatter happiness."
A pearl is formed by a grain of sand getting into a
mussel shell. It irritates and causes pain. The inner part of the mussel sends
tears which congeal around the grain of sand that make a beautiful pearl. So
our sufferings and tears and irritations make pearls.... "The kingdom of
heaven is like unto a pearl...."
The
experience of troubles and distresses that the Lord allows us to go through are
wide and varied. These events and circumstances prove the faithfulness of the
Lord towards His children. He speaks to them during these experiences to
reassure them that He will never forsake them nor allow them to be swallowed up
by these troubles. He gives them enough grace to go through these trials. There
are times when the world around us declares that our case has been written off
by God also. This was what the Jewish community thought about the crucified
Christ. Jesus told the disciples that in this world they will all have troubles
and tribulations. But He has commanded us not to be afraid of these experiences
because He has already sent enough and more grace for us to handle the depth of
anguishes that we encounter. As we go through these experiences, we learn that
our Lord is faithful and that He will deliver us from these trials at the right
time.
You don’t have to worry about your future. You don’t
have to try to make things happen in your own strength. You can go through the
day in peace because God knows exactly what you need. In your future, He has
already lined up the right people, the right breaks, the good words you’re
going to need down to the second, down to the exact moment. God will cause you
to come in on cue. And if for some reason it doesn’t work out, don’t get all
discouraged. Don’t get depressed. It just means that God has something better
in store Happy is the person who remains faithful under
trials, because when he succeeds in passing such a test, he will receive as his
reward the life which God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12).
The world understands suffering as a curse, an
expression of divine punishment. However, those who have a transcendent or
spiritual dimension to their life accept it as a special blessing. They see in
every form of suffering a message from God saying that He loves the person who
undergoes suffering. This spiritual
outlook towards suffering is possible only when one believes in God who rewards
those who joyfully accept difficulties and problems according to the example of
his beloved Son Jesus, who made suffering his way of life and demanded it as
fundamental to his discipleship. Those who are spiritually oriented are those
who love God” above and beyond all.” That is, even in their suffering, and to
such people all things work unto good (Rom 8:28). (from
St. Alphonsa: An Icon of Suffering).
But rejoice
that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed
when His glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:13).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ധൃവദീപ്തി ഓണ്ലൈൻ
www.Dhruwadeepti.blogspot.de
DHRUWADEEPTI ONLINE
Published from Heidelberg, Germany,
in accordance with the European charter on freedom of opinion and press.
DISCLAIMER: Articles published in this online magazine are exclusively the views of the authors. Neither the editor nor the publisher are responsible or liable for the contents, objectives or opinions of the articles in any for
