We suffer for many reasons. I suppose you are suffering because of physical or mental ailments. But there are worthy ways we can suffer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How much do you love your neighbor as yourself? Learning this will require we suffer by forgetting about ourselves and thinking of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How thankful are you? We will suffer as we learn to see the way the Lord does, and learn a new way of speaking that includes words of thanksgiving more often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
How much to you rejoice in the Lord? We will suffer as we search for reasons to be positive when our feelings are dragging us down, when they are not keeping up with what we know is true and praiseworthy of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How much do you pray and intercede for other people? We will suffer, again, as we forget about ourselves and hold up the needs of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How strong is your faith? We’ll struggle as we fight against pity parties and gloom and doom, determined to keep reminding ourselves of the blessings we gained in Christ through His death, burial, and resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will suffer to \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:20)
continue in faith to the end (Heb. 11:6)
stand against the wiles and lies of the enemy to drag us down (Eph. 6:10-11)
be the light of the world when we just want to hide (Matt. 5:14-16)
build on a strong foundation of hearing and obeying the Word (Matt. 7:24-28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no end to the trials of this life, and yet there is no end to the blessings of overcoming each one to the glory of God. Each of the struggles above will overturn the negative and deepen our relationship with the Lord. You will be forced to see you can’t do anything of the above in your own strength. You will recognize that the grace God and life in the Spirit are absolutely indispensable. Until you know these, you are merely existing. But pursuing the things of the Lord above can fill you with life. Turn your eyes off of self to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am deaf and have suffered many sorrows. But I know a Lord who came down from heaven to suffer with those whom He made. God suffered in the body. He experienced the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual anguish we’ve known, yet without sin. I follow in His path of suffering and self-denial as I study His word and follow through on it, and step by step I find Him within, helping me through His steps. The suffering is not a pain, but a necessity. It is glory to suffer for Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, I am reminded of John 9:1-3: This man was physically blind. This story, at the end, was how this man exposed the blindness of the so-called spiritual leaders. This blind man was healed to see that Jesus came “from God” (John 9:33), a conclusion the religious leaders refused to consider. Have your own eyes been opened? Do you see with new eyes who Jesus is and how He challenges us to look beyond our disabilities, and rise up in faith and worship?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your question is actually for a pastor to answer face to face. It is very personal. Call to see one from your church, if you are attending one. Then the pastor will ask questions to get the background and address your need more accurately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We suffer for many reasons. I suppose you are suffering because of physical or mental ailments. But there are worthy ways we can suffer: How much do you love your neighbor as yourself? Learning this will require we suffer by … Continue reading
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, \u201cRabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cNeither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n