Few of us have escaped these pains in our cursed world. And certainly all of us have asked Father this same nagging question … Why?
Are the things we suffer just punishments for our poor choices? Is the old adage true, that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger? Or is there something more, a higher purpose to our suffering?
For difficult questions like this, we need to look first to Jesus. Hebrews 5:8 tells us that He learned obedience through the things He suffered. At first glance, this verse might seem confusing. Was Jesus somehow rebellious? And why was suffering needed to learn obedience?
Luke 2:52 describes Jesus’ early life this way, “and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” For many of us, the word increased sparks an image of a young plant growing slowly and steadily.
But that’s not an accurate image.
The word in Greek is prokopto, and it suggests lengthening out by hammering, as a craftsman shapes metal. During Jesus’ earthly life, His Father worked to craft and shape Him so that, when the time was right, Jesus would be perfectly suited to fulfill His role as Messiah.
What did prokopto look like in Jesus' life?
An expanded translation of Hebrews 5:8 might read like this, “by the things He suffered, He acquired the habit of hearing attentively and then complying fully.”
Certainly, Jesus struggled, learned, and matured, just as any child would. He became responsible, sensitive, and obedient to Mary and Joseph. Through His life experiences, He became a Jewish son, a Roman subject, and a carpenter.
And during His earthly ministry, He endured misunderstanding, rejection, loss, grief, suffering, and rejection at every turn.
Scripture tells us that, through all this suffering, having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9).
Now, wait! Wasn’t Jesus already perfect? Of course, He was.
But the word perfected in this verse doesn’t mean without flaw or failure. It means to be completed, fulfilled. In other words, Jesus’ suffering during His life made Him perfectly suited to the task at hand. Father God accomplished His work in Jesus’ life, hammered, stretched, and shaped His Son so that, through suffering, He would be fully prepared to be our Savior.
OUR FATHER USED SUFFERING TO PREPARE HIS SON FOR HIS UNIQUE MINISTRY.
And beloved, we must understand that He works the very same way in us … and with the very same purpose.
So, what does prokopto look like in our lives? Many things qualify, including sorrow, pain, misery, loss, disappointment, rejection, abuse, and the list goes on.
But regardless of our circumstances, Father wants us to know that our sufferings aren’t accidents, punishments, or slip-ups on His part. He’s fully in control and He allows them specifically, presents them to us as gifts, with two specific purposes … not just to advance His kingdom in this world, but to advance His kingdom in us, too. To conform us to the image of Christ, so that we too will be perfectly suited for our unique ministry.
HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND WHEN SUFFERING ENTERS OUR LIVES?
It’s okay to question, to cry out for relief, to ask for something different. As fully man, that’s what Jesus did.
But here’s where His hammering, stretching, and shaping bore the ultimate fruit. In Gethsemane, wanting any path but the one He walked, He gritted His teeth, trusted His Father, and said, “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
Dear ones, our Father wants Jesus’ words and His attitude to be ours, too.
Yes, we understand that Jesus’ words are easy for us to read, but they sure can be hard for us to live out. Because it’s hard to trust a God we can’t see, especially when the world and our enemy are screaming just the opposite.
When we’re in the midst of suffering, loss, and grief, when we feel like we don’t know where to turn, His life in us is our only hope. Our resolute hope.
It alone empowers us to say, “I trust you, Lord. I’m not sure I understand, and I don’t know what’s next. But I trust you to lead my every step, to never leave me, and to meet every need I have in ways I’d never expect”.
They told me that my cancer has a VERY HIGH CURE RATE because it was detected so early.
That’s great news, too, but I want to be perfectly ‘Frank’ with you. Some aggressive cells have been found in my tumor.
There’s potential for this battle to turn into a war.
We are especially consulting with ‘The Great Physician’, not only about His willingness to heal this affliction but also His guidance to formulate my battle plan.
But we must remember that God, in His sovereign goodness, sometimes chooses to not remove our afflictions because they keep us dependent on Him. When this happens, we have the unique opportunity to receive from Him all that He is to meet all that we need in an intimate way, one uniquely tailored for us (2 Corinthians 12:1-10) Beloved, I will appreciate your prayers as we engage this battle.
Because we live in a fallen world, it’s a given that we will experience tribulation.
In Christ however, we have overcome this world, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. We can stand victorious through any hardship or suffering that has invaded our lives through faith in Him, Who is our Life.
The Holy Spirit has reminded me of the prayer that our Lord Jesus offered for us – that our Father wouldn’t take us out of the world (John 17:15). That sounds like a strange prayer until we realize that we have a mission to fulfill as the ambassadors of Christ.
People are hurting as they endure this fallen world and its tribulations. Separated from God through their birth in Adam, these poor people are forced to endure those troublesome circumstances of life with their own resources. And it’s our job as ambassadors to lift up the name of Jesus and invite them to join us as citizens of heaven and share all His abundant blessings.
In the Member’s Portal on our website, we’ve included another video series by Pastor Frank. This one is on Forgiveness.
WHY FORGIVENESS?
Because much of our suffering, loss, and grief comes at the hands of others. And our forgiveness of people, including ourselves, is a big first step if we are to bear much fruit for the kingdom.
Get an exclusive first look here:
Walk close. And when things get tough, lean in closer.
