Arm Yourselves
Since therefore Christ suffered in the
flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in
the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly
life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. You have already spent
enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness,
passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry.
Affliction,
when we accept it with humility, can be instructive, a discipline that leads us
to a deeper, fuller life. Many of us will have been astray,
before we became afflicted, but the affliction brings us back to our Lord.
Far from being an obstacle to our
spiritual growth, pain can be the instrument of it, if we are trained by it. It
can push us closer to God and deeper into His Word. It is a means by which He
graciously shapes us to be like His Son, gradually giving us the compassion,
contentment, tranquility, and courage we long and pray for. Without pain, we
would not be all that God wants us to be. His strength shines brightest through
human weakness.
Has God set you apart today to receive
instruction through suffering and pain? Endure this training patiently. He can
turn the trial into a blessing. He can use it to draw you close to His heart
and into His Word, teach you the lessons He intends for you to learn, and use
it to bestow His grace on you.
God is making more of you – something much better – than you ever thought possible.
Whatever God
teaches us
through pain
is gain.