Suffering : A Profound Grace

Peter manages to call suffering a grace and asks us to stand firm: " My purpose in writings is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing  is only part of God's grace for you. Stand firm in that grace" (I Peter 5:12).Some may think that suffering for good  is impossible, yet, nothing is expendable in God's economy. But, God wants to make suffering transformative. Can I trust God? Yes, I can  trust God not to waste one tear, one agonizing cry, one sleepless hour, one mind-numbing and soul-searing cry, to make of those wretched things a profound grace.

Because He experienced suffering, He left me an example of how to suffer and end victoriously, not broken, defeated, or bitter. The three Hebrew servants obeyed God and were thrown into the fire. In the fire even Shadrach, Meshcah , and Abednego, came out without even the smell of fire.  Wow! There's a reward of integrity and obedience. But don't be dismayed; their crucible of pain will buy them a front-row seat to personal deliverance by Jesus himself in His Pre-incarnate form. Daniel too obeyed and blessed the King who sent him to the lion's den. Then, God shut the lion's mouth (Daniel 6:28).


"Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
"They replied, "Certainly, O king."
"He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
"Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" "So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them."
The king had to announce that "No other god can save in this way" (Daniel 3:22-29).

Our goal should be that somehow, we leave the fire whole with Peace. Peace is wholeness spirit, soul, and body. Peace is a person: Sar Shalom. Y'Shua will be in the furnace with you. Truthfully, "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you" (I Peter 5:10). Those around you will declare with awe like Nebuchadnezzar that Your God is the one true God.

A Fellow Sufferer,
MJ