“SO, SINCE Christ suffered in the flesh for us, for you, arm yourselves with the same thought and purpose [patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God]. For whoever has suffered in the flesh [having the mind of Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [has stopped pleasing himself and the world, and pleases God],”
1 Peter 4:1 AMP
Jesus was on a mission here on earth. He was here to fulfill
the call of God on His life. Was it easy??
Far from it. He encountered some really hard times. The
Pharisees constantly opposed Him. People left Him because
they didn’t understand Him. His disciples didn’t believe He
was who He said He was. There was constant doubt, fear, and
who knows what else. Why am I sharing this?
I am am sharing this because in life we walk through the fire.
But as we walk through it we need to remember what Christ
went through. There will be times the fire becomes too much
and in those times we NEED to remember Christ. We need to
patiently suffer the things we are facing. Why? That is what Christ
did. He could of given up or commanded an army of angels to
come and take out the people who were trying to kill Him but
He patiently endured the suffering.
As Austraila is around the corner I have been in a fire. It’s totally
unrelated to my trip but involves something very close to my heart.
It doesn’t even make sense. I am literally in a fire and it feels like it’s
too much. I wanted to give up. I wanted to throw in the towel.
Then there were days when I thought I could shrink back.
Crazy right. But then I read the scripture I shared in the
beginning of this post and a few things were revealed to me.
In the fire I need to hold on. In the fire I got to keep the main
thing the main thing. There is a purpose in the fire. God is testing
me.
“Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly].”
1 Peter 4:12-13 AMP
I read this and was like what????
Firstly, I must not be amazed in the fire. There is a purpose in the
fire. The next thing the word tells me is to rejoice!! If I am sharing
Christ’s sufferings then I should rejoice! If I endure there will
be a glory that will be revealed and that is why I am to rejoice.
I will triumph, I will win says the word. The fire won’t consume
me. Even when the fire seems too much, even when it seems
too strong for me I must rejoice. There is a glory that will be
revealed if I hold on.
Are you in a fire right now? Are you on the verge of giving up?
My word to you is hold on. Jesus has a plan in the fire.
He will bring you out of it. The fire is meant to make us stronger,
not so we can go through it alone but stronger in our faith in
God. Christ knows exactly what we are facing. We are not in it
alone. Be encouraged…….
photo credit: google images
Rolain
kingspeech 