The "Gift" of Suffering?

Lately my mind and heart have been reflecting on a statement Paul made in his letter to the Church in Philippi.  I had some reflections a few days ago, but this morning as I sat down to pray, I was reminded of the theme.  Here are the two verses that are the source - Philippians 1:29-30 NIV:

[29] "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, [30] since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have."

I have been letting this verse rattle around and it just messes me up.  When you look at the original Greek, its actually more offensive to my American mindset.  The word Paul uses is charizomai and it defined by Thayers Greek dictionary as: 

1) to do something pleasant or agreeable (to one), to do a favour to, gratify

    a) to show one's self gracious, kind, benevolent

    b) to grant forgiveness, to pardon

    c) to give graciously, give freely, bestow

          1) to forgive

          2) graciously to restore one to another

          3) to preserve for one a person in peril

In other words, Paul considers it a favour, a gift if you will, to be able to suffer for Christ Jesus.  I often question anything that makes me uncomfortable,  as possibly not being from the Lord, and Paul is talking about the gift that is suffering, for Jesus.  To be clear the Greek word translated suffer is paskho and it defined by Mounce as follows: to experience, suffer, endure (almost always in NT with reference to unpleasant experiences).  

Imagine the church that preaches this regularly, as a healthy, non-religious fervor, expectation for becoming a Christian!  Sort of like this - 'Welcome, we are so glad that you have been given the gift of belief in Christ Jesus, and now even better yet, we wanted you to know that the next gift will be suffering of some sort for the name of Jesus.'

It is hard to imagine this being a popular sermon topic here in the US, but in much of the rest of the World, this is likely their exact experience!  Somehow we have come to believe that the blessings of God are always positive and happy and make us comfortable.  Imagine if our armed forces trained all of the soldiers using comfort and happiness of the individual as their measure of successful preparation!  The reality is that we are part of an expanding Kingdom, and we are all soldiers in this effort.  Jesus speaks many times of the cost of following Him, and I like to accidentally forget those verses so I can focus on the ones that say He will comfort me and bless me.  I am just being real with myself here.  

In Jesus' call to Saul, soon to be called Paul, he said something that I read the other day, which made me stop and think.  It is found in Acts 9:10-16 NIV:

[10] In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 

[11] The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. [12] In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 

[13] “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. [14] And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 

[15] But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. [16] I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Interesting note there at the end.  In Luke's recounting of Ananias' conversation with Saul, he doesn't mention the suffering part, but I am sure he communicated that to Saul, as he did everything else.  In this set of circumstances it makes some sense, as Saul was persecuting the church and there is a sort of fairness to this statement, at least in my mind.  The Greek word used by Luke is the same that Paul used, and the sentence is almost identical to that which Paul wrote to the Philippians.  So, the question in my mind is what did the Philippians do to deserve this opportunity to suffer?  

Here's the rub, it wasn't a punishment, it was a gift!

Man, that just makes my mind tilt!

When I think about this, I go back to something I can relate to bring context, my marriage. My honey and I have had the opportunity to go through a fair amount of physical suffering, and while I never view that as a gift, the relational benefits are clear, for we chose to press into each other, to rely on each other in the midst of those struggles, rather than to try to fight through it on our own.  Some folk flee during difficult times, we chose to grow closer.  It is in this that I find the "gift" of suffering, for having walked through difficulty and seeing someone stand beside you and love you in your weakness and most vulnerable and unlovely state, there is a great confidence in their love!

I think it might be the same thing in our walk with Jesus!  As we encounter difficulty, we can either walk away from Jesus or press into Him.  It is in this pressing into Him that we encounter His love, faithfulness and presence like we have never experienced before.  When we must rely on His strength, we learn how strong He really is!  When we press into Him, and listen, we hear and experience how much He really loves us, in spite of our issues we become confident of His love.  When we press into Him, and experience His encouragement in the midst of our struggles, we become witnesses to the greater reality, that He is our reason for life! 

Oh Lord, I thank You for opening my eyes and ears to my own heart condition, and my own expectations.  I realize that they don't exactly line up with Your word, and so I need to embrace the need to change them, and the opportunity when it presents itself!   Help me to see things from Your perspective, rather than from my own selfish point of view.

Amen!