Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Psalm 119:50 — This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your promise gives me life.
God promises comfort in our suffering. In Acts 5, Peter, John and the other apostles are arrested for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but an angel releases them from jail in the middle of the night. The apostles go back to their public preaching ministry and are arrested again. This time, they are all flogged before their release.
How did they respond to this? “They left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name” (Acts 5:41).
I wonder if we would be rejoicing if we had just be whipped for evangelizing. Perhaps we need to learn that suffering dishonor for the name of Jesus Christ is an honor, not something to try to avoid.
Paul and the other apostles did not get angry when they suffered for the gospel’s sake. They were not ashamed of the gospel or the reproach they received when they preached the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection that made possible eternal salvation in the name of Jesus.
God comforts those who are afflicted with suffering because they have been faithful to testify to the truth. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter. He ministers the comforting words of God to us that enable us to patiently endure suffering.
Christians are not masochists who love pain and suffering and actively seek it. We rejoice in suffering because we know that our Savior suffered and died for us to save us from the penalty of sin. We rejoice that we are carrying on His work of salvation by speaking in His name. We all suffer because we live in a broken world, but we can suffer for a good reason by offering the comforting message of the gospel to others.
05/04/2024 Devotional
"We rejoice in suffering because we know that our Savior suffered and died for us to save us from the penalty of sin."
There are times when I'm suffering for no reason. It's extremely painful, not knowing where to put my heart and who to seek comfort from. I try to overcome the one-sided pain by remembering the love of the God who even died for me. The place I will go is the embrace of the Lord. I look forward to Sunday.
“우리 주님께서 우리를 죄의 형벌에서 구원하시기 위해 고난을 당하시고 죽으셨다는 것을 알기 때문에 우리는 고난을 기뻐합니다.”
이유 없는 고통을 받을 때가 있다. 내 마음을 어디에 두어야 할지, 누구에게 위로를 구해야 할지 알 수 없는 것은…