Suffering isn’t talked about much in our happy clappy, syrupy sappy, rose-colored evangelical milieu.
But that’s not what the Word of God says. When Jesus–God incarnate–was schlepping this pebble, He said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” It’s true. Check it out in John 16:33. Now, Jesus doesn’t leave it there; He continues, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
We are overcomers in Christ, but how can you be an overcomer if there is nothing to overcome?
Pain, punishment, and privation are part and parcel of life, and especially in the life of the Christian.
Going through hard things is how we grow in our faith. A muscle needs to be used so it doesn’t atrophy, and it’s the same with your faith.
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:3, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
And hey, we can learn good stuff from non-Christians, too. Marcus Aurelius’s attitude toward hardship is one that more Christians should adopt.
In this episode, Rich asks, “Is it uncomfortable or is it unbearable? If it’s bearable, bear it without complaining.”
Remember: God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.
Watch Doug and Rich dig into it here:
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If you liked that podcast, you’ll love this ‘Biblical Badasses: The Old Men‘
When God gets geared up to bring about a reformation, he green-lights the dream machine in us old farts. Yep, the prophet Joel says that when God‘s afoot flipping a nation from filth to faith, he doesn’t just use the young ‘uns, but he gives fresh dreams to the old dudes. Indeed, it is not just young peeps. It’s young and old. It’s a holy mashup of the green behind the ears and grey within the ears. That’s right, old man … God’s not finished with you yet. The ten men spotlighted in this spicy tome were probably way older than you when God lit their world of fire with fresh vision and purpose. If you’re hungry for more of God, then you should expect the Lord to do the same with you.
This is a great book for the rowdy 60+ Christian. It’ll shoot adrenaline into your soul. It hit #1 on Amazon in less than twenty-four hours. Get your seniors reading this in their group bible study. The devil will not be happy…
