Suffering-Embracing Minds Strengthens Souls
Heaven Bound Suffering
We will suffer many sorrows and oppressions in this life, but only God knows what tomorrow will bring or if there will be a tomorrow. The Bible warns us about persecution while urging us to be bold witnesses to Jesus’ message because there is only one path to heaven.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (2 Timothy 3:12)
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. (Matthew 10:25)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
God calls us to strengthen and encourage others. When we care for others, God cares for us. We don’t need to know what will happen to us. We need to trust.
strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)
And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, (Acts 20:22)
Christians aim to love God and others and reflect God’s grace to a watching world while abiding in our Father and persevering toward the goal. It is a breathtaking reality and a privilege to show and share God’s love in a fallen world.
We don’t all have the same ministry. Our journeys climbing the mountain to glory will differ, but we sojourn together to the mountaintop. The detours and setbacks encountered will vary for us, but we hold one another up to strengthen and encourage each other along the way.
We count the cost of discipleship before professing our faith to the world. And when we endure trials with a suffering-embracing mindset, we see how our pain is incomparable to the glory we will experience in eternity.
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:28)
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, (2 Corinthians 4:17)
No Christian lives a life apart from suffering, so pick your battles and don’t stand up against a losing cause. Keep pushing with a mindset that embraces suffering, endures hardships, and strengthens others to spread God’s name and light.
