Why Choosing to Follow Jesus Means Accepting Suffering and Affliction
By Dean Collins
If you knew that every city you moved to or every job you took you would have difficulty and affliction, would you accept the assignment? Probably not. We tend to want to avoid difficult situations. No one wants to experience any type of suffering.
I am just a handful of years away from seven decades of living, and all of you who are nearing or past that point can surely agree with this statement: there are challenges, difficulties, sickness, and even suffering in every season. Some seasons are harder than others, and some have minimal suffering, but no season is without challenge.
Way back in the garden of Eden, there was a season where sickness and suffering was not a part of life. But the moment Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s instructions, thinking they knew more than God, sin entered the world and has infected all that God had called good. The good news, of course, is that God put in motion his plan to redeem and restore all of creation through the gift of his son Jesus. Those of us who choose to follow Jesus are now not only forgiven, but are also a part of God’s renewal and restoration plan. Our role is to share the good news and to love like Jesus loves.
But until Jesus returns to bring the final restoration of all creation, we live in a broken space and experience the consequences of brokenness every day and everywhere. But we do have a choice. We can go through our brokenness by ourselves, or we can go through brokenness with Jesus. In either case, there is still difficulty, but when we choose to follow Jesus, he not only goes with us, he also uses our suffering for his glory and to extend his kingdom.
After being away from the Ephesian church, whom he deeply loved, Paul made a stop about 20 miles from Ephesus and called for the elders of the church to come to him. Paul was on his way back to Jerusalem, and eventually, on to Rome. Paul knew that he would likely never see this beloved group again this side of heaven. When they gathered on Miletus, Paul gave the elders a message that was filled with emotion.
Paul shared with the elders that the Holy Spirit had urged him so strongly to go to Jerusalem that he felt bound or constrained to obey. And he admitted that he knew that his going to Jerusalem would include great affliction, not only there, but in every place he journeyed all the way to Rome. Yet Paul chose to go anyway. He was obedient to God’s call on his life.
Why would Paul choose to go where he knew there would be suffering? I would argue that he knew two things: he lived in a broken world, and he believed that the only things of real or eternal value were the things of God. Paul said it this way:
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24 ESV)
Long before Paul met with the elders in Miletus or continued his journey to Jerusalem, he had fed on God’s word. I am confident he was familiar with Psalm 63:3: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” Paul knew that God’s love was better than anything this world has to offer.
Paul was simply following the example of Jesus, who also knew what was ahead when he made his final journey to Jerusalem. Matthew records:
“From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:21 ESV)
Many scholars believe that Paul wrote Philippians from Rome, after he had his tumultuous journey to Jerusalem and then on to Rome. He experienced hostility, rejection, difficult travel, a shipwreck, a shortage of food, and a viper bite. Yet after all of this, Paul wrote:
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11 ESV)
What can we learn from Paul regarding the hardships and difficulties we will face as we journey through life with Jesus?
Our life with Christ is more valuable than anything this world has to offer.
Even as we suffer in this life and eventually die, we will experience the resurrection, just as Jesus did.
We can be content, even now, because we know that Jesus will bring us through our suffering and into his glorious presence.
Father, we often struggle as we face the difficulties of life. Increase our faith that we might see how you will not only be with us in our suffering, but will use our suffering for your glory. Today we surrender to you and choose to walk through the current challenges fully trusting that you will be glorified and use our suffering to encourage another in their moment of suffering. In Jesus's name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Acts 20: 22-25; Psalm 63:3; Matthew 16:21 ESV
Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash
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