Read 2 Corinthians 4:7–10

There’s no getting around it, pain and suffering are inevitable. Our grandparents did not escape it, our parents did not escape it, you and I will not escape it, nor will our children escape it. Some will say, “If you suffer, you are in sin. And since you are in sin, if you will deal correctly and sufficiently with your sin, your suffering will go away.” None of that is the truth. Scripture does not support such reasoning! Let’s look at God’s perspective on suffering, delivered in the words of the apostle Paul:

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:7–10)

Welcome to one of God’s deep mysteries! By sharing in Christ’s suffering, we who hurt enter the lifestyle of Christ. We also need to understand, contrary to many people’s thinking, this is real living!

Are you, right at this moment, being reviled? Are you currently under attack as a follower of Jesus? Here’s a new way to look at such suffering: you are uniquely blessed! It’s part of the walking-with-Christ package—it’s inevitable.

There’s your job for the day, Christian! In this season of adversity or pain, quietly thank Him for walking with you through this painful time...for making it clear that you’re to drink this cup of sorrow. Isn’t that what Jesus did that dark night in Gethsemane?

Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.