Get Real November 18 Devotional

1 PETER 4:13 | ¹³ But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

ROMANS 8:17 | ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

PHILIPPIANS 3:10 | ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death.

The Christian is on a humbling journey, if life conforms to that of Jesus. It is the cross that leads to the crown, the path to glory runs through suffering. This may take the form of political persecution or social exclusion, as was the case for Peter’s friends in Asia minor in the 60’s of the first century. It may include tragedy in the form of ill health or physical pain, brought on quickly by accident or disease, or slowly by the process of aging and decline.

To share Christ’s sufferings in any of these situations is to accept them as transitory, a prelude to lasting and fuller life. It is to entrust oneself into God’s hands and to allow Him to use our discomfort or loss for His redemptive purposes. Sometimes our resolve and faith in situations of sorrow becomes a compelling sign of God’s kingdom, and sometimes God uses those difficulties to make our souls deeper and holier. We share His sufferings when we know He suffers with us and will bring about our final comfort.

How is the pattern of Christ’s life (that is love and service, death and suffering, and Resurrection and exaltation) reflected in your life?

Gracious God,

Give me the humility to accept suffering when it comes, trusting that the cross leads to the crown.

Amen.