The
Fellowship of His Sufferings
'That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, . . . .' Phil. 3:10
There
IS a fellowship in going
through sufferings and difficulties together. It brings you even
closer together. Minnie—by the strength of God's grace—went
through the physical sufferings of pancreatic cancer but I shared in
the enormous inward spiritual pain—and so did our four children and
those dear grandchildren and our larger family, as well.
'Suffering
has no meaning in itself. Left to its own, it is a frustrating and
bewildering burden. But given the context of relationship,
suffering
suddenly has meaning.” [Joni,
When
God Weeps,
p. 127]
When
your children suffer, you suffer. And we are God's children! 'How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be
called children of God! And that is what we are!' 1
Jn.3.1 “It
is the love that you have for your child that quickens your step and
buoys up your heart. Your relationship gives your burden meaning.'
p.126
“Intimacy
happens as two souls share together. It's what we long for more than
anything else. To know and be known. . . . God answers that ancient
longing. A yearning that echoes with the message that we were made
for Him.' 128
The
word for
fellowship is
koinonia
meaning sharing something in common. And the esprit
de corps
of fellow sufferers is deep, but suffering shared with God is deeper
still. To know God through the difficulties of life is to know why
we trust Him. 'To
know God is to be free of the incessant need to understand exactly
what He is doing before you place
your
confidence in Him.'
131
God
will always have enough grace for you, strength for the journey and
the difficulties. We know His mercy is limitless and His protection
and peace through it all. He is the 'God of all comfort' and his
compassion never fails. He can be counted on through all the
difficulties and sufferings of life and then? Then 'I
will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever' for He will 'bring me
safely into his heavenly kingdom.' Ps.23.6,
2 Tim.4.18
