"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake." – Philippians 1:29
Last night during our "Man Time", we were talking about this verse during a Bible study. We were asked the question, "What does it mean to suffer for the Lord?" Some of us said that dying would be the ultimate form. Others included being thrown into prison, being tormented, or being persecuted. Those are all very valid answers.
We also talked about some of the ways that Paul suffered for Christ listed in 2 Corinthians 11:24 and 25. He had been lashed by the Jews five times, shipwrecked three times, beaten three times, stoned once, among other things.
I found myself thinking… "I am living the life the Lord has called me to. Why am I not suffering for God in the ways that Paul suffered for him? I've never been shipwrecked, beaten, or stoned. Am I not living for Him enough? Should I be looking for ways to suffer for Him? To be honest, "What does it mean to suffer for Christ?" is an impossible question to answer.
I think that we forget that Paul was just one person. Paul is just an example. The ministry that the Lord called him to ended up bringing these types of physical sufferings. I'm not saying that these things will never happen to me. They might, or…they might not. In the meantime, I am not going to look at myself as less of a Christian because I'm not suffering the way that Paul did.
I think suffering for the Lord is relative. What one person considers suffering may not be considered suffering to another. God calls us to different ministries to different places at different times. Because of that, suffering looks different for all of us.
If you work with kids on the street, you might experience suffering when a kid decides to give up on his future and return to sleeping in a box.
If you are a medical missionary, you might experience suffering when one of your patients dies from a disease that could so easily be cured in the U.S.
If you are a worship leader at a church, you might experience suffering when your voice goes out at 7:00 AM on a Sunday morning.
If you are a World Racer, you might experience suffering when you fall down a mountain carrying a bag of gravel on your shoulders and sprain your ankle…like what happened to me last week.
(Insert forced laugh.)
We shouldn't compare suffering. In any suffering, the Lord can be proven to be strong in your weakness.
"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamaties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Corinthians 12:10
