Suffering Little Children Part Four

Three Step Solution

When Paul is advising Timothy about suffering, notice that he calls him a child. He begins by saying "be strengthened by grace." Draw your power, your strength, not from yourself or your accomplishments or abilities, but by the weakness in need of God's grace! Be strong in weakness that you will not place yourself in a class of suffering or spirituality.

Timothy was the pastor of the church of Ephesus. Paul doesn’t call him a general, a spiritual father, a leader of the oppressed and suffering. He calls him a good soldier and advices him to share in the suffering of all the others soldiers of Christ. (You spirituality is not measured by how little or how much you suffer, it is measured in spite of it.)

The Paul gives three examples that I offer you today who are suffering...

A.WAKE- UP! (change your mind)
A soldier leads a life of suffering for the common good of his nation. As Christians we should stop trying to avoid suffering and embrace it as the life that we were called to. Paul says soldiers do not get wrapped up in the comparisons of civilian life. (Keeping up with the Jones') The goal is to please Jesus! Be unified in the army not divided in the civilian life.

B.WORK OUT! (prepare your body)
An athletic is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Paul is telling Timothy to work out and train his body to suffer and not to avoid it. This means going the extra mile. Embrace suffering for its ultimate goal… a crown. If we cheat one second on our work out it may mean the finish line and our final reward. You won't win unless you suffer. Then all the tears, struggles, and pain were in vain, for nothing. If our only goal is the elimination of suffering and NOT the training of one another to endure… we will not make it past the first mile!

C.WEAR OUT! (fight in spite)
The hardworking farmer gets the first share of the crops. When we wake up to our real responsibility, when we prepare ourselves, training ourselves to go thrpugh anything, we are instructed to labor in spite of whatever suffering may come our way. Every aspect of our energy should not be focused on suffering both physically and emotionally, but on our responsibilities to God. This is not dwelling on suffering when it comes, not letting your circumstance keep you from working… and you will receive your reward of the labor and suffering you endured.