The Lesson In Suffering

Hebrews 5:7-9 “Jesus prayed while He lived on earth. He made His appeal with sincere cries and tears. He prayed to the God who could save Him from death. God answered Jesus because He truly honored God. Jesus was God’s Son. But by suffering He learned what it means to obey. In this way He was made perfect. Eternal salvation comes from Him. He saves all those who obey Him.” ~NIRV

We can learn all we need to know through Jesus. His life shows us the way to live. His life was given so that we can live eternally. His life is the example we follow to understand living in our purpose. His life is the example of ‘why’ we suffer in this world. You see God’s purpose for the sacrifice of His son was to amend and make right what happened in the Garden in the book of Genesis. God loves us so much and He knew we would need help in receiving our salvation from Him. Jesus would be His answer. Jesus knew that He could not stray from the path of His mission. No matter what came His way. If He did, there would be no salvation for the children of God.

Jesus knew he had to stay on mission. So even though He is the Son of God, as the Son of man, in His fleshly status (like us), “...by suffering He learned what it means to obey…” It wasn’t easy, just like it is not easy for us in our day to day living. But just like Jesus, we must pray daily as we meditate in God’s word. The text says He, “...appealed with sincere cries and tears…” to God. And God heard the reverence in His voice and heart.

When we pray and ask God for the strength to stay on the path He created for us, He will hear us and just as He did with His Son, He will provide us with His strength to endure and His peace to make the right decisions. Jesus was perfected in His suffering. And for that “...He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him…”  

What did God create you to be the ‘source’ for? Some of those answers will come from what we learn in our sufferings. Like Jesus, who, in spite of what the world did to Him, He spiritually pushed through because His mission was to suffer for our iniquities and die for the debt of our sins. A bill we could never pay. To follow Christ’s path in our sufferings allows us to empty ourselves and gain the wisdom and the strength to receive, maintain and distribute the blessing God has for us to give others. Because of Jesus, we will stay on our paths. With prayers and supplication, God will perfect His purpose in us and He will save lives through us as He has saved our lives through His Son Jesus Christ!

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