There are many Biblical
examples of heroes and they all suffered. Take Joseph for instance. He was kidnapped by his jealous brothers,
thrown in a cistern, sold into slavery, promoted to the man in charge. Life was
going smooth when he was falsely accused, thrown into prison and forgotten for
years. YEARS! Never doubting God through it all he was released from prison and
rose to fame, fortune and ultimately able to save his family that was facing
drought doom. (Genesis 37, 39 to 45).
Who can forget the romantic
tale of two sisters and the one man they love. Leah becomes Jacob's first wife
and from her son, Judah, comes the line of David and Jesus. The love affair of
Jacob and Rachel, as well as the love of the sisters for each other, lasted
despite desperate circumstances. These sisters shared a home, a husband, and a
history. They must have developed great inner peace to live together for
decades. That, in itself, is a tribute to the women who raised the twelve sons
who became the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel
You might be very familiar
with those examples and think yes but in reality: Joseph was a bit of a brat,
Leah was sneaky, Rachel pms'd a lot and
Jacob had been deceptive in business. Ok those were normal people what about
Job? God knew that Job was a righteous man, but satan opted to test his
character. After Job was put through the fire, his character was undeniable.
Job was able to maintain his faith in God and emerge even stronger and he lost
everything. (Book of Job)
No man in all of time, ever
suffered as much as Jesus. He was bruised, beaten, rejected, scorned, and He
carried the weight of the sins of the world. God even turned His back on Him,
and yet still… Christ persevered. He finished His work. He is our ultimate
example of heroism, with all that He endured.
A pearl to string: Not
going to get through this earth life without suffering. Expect it because the thrill of victory is so
quickly replaced with the agony of defeat.
The distance between a great victory and a great defeat is only one
step. One sad truth of reality in a fallen world is that we can be riding high
on the cloud of some great spiritual success and the very next moment find
ourselves in a valley of spiritual failure and despair. The good news is our
suffering is temporal and the harvest that suffering produces is eternal.
“And the God of all
grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a
little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and
steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:10)
Be encouraged
you are loved,
Lyndi
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