“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”
“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer…After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life…because He poured out His life unto death.” –Prophesy of the Messiah (Isaiah 53:10-12)
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ.” (1 Peter 4:12, 13)
Yesterday we realized that God’s will involves occassional “testing”. Our faith is meant to be used…lived out in our actions and it can be God’s will to put our faith to the test.
But, what about suffering? What about pain? Certainly that cannot be the will of God…can it? Once again the answer must be yes. During this time of Lent we are focusing specifically on the suffering of Jesus on our behalf. So when it comes to the life of Jesus we know that He suffered greatly for us and, according to the Scriptures above, it was God’s will.
Why?
In Jesus’ case it was necessary for our salvation and for the Father to be glorified. Sometimes suffering comes as a result of persecution but it always comes with a purpose. The Scripture tells us that whenever we share the Gospel of Jesus with others we are put in danger and may suffer for it. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you…” for the sake of the Gospel. The suffering of Jesus also models for us how we should deal with our enemies and those who persecute us…“Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing”.
Sometimes God uses suffering to help us to focus and depend on Him. The Apostle Paul struggled with a “thorn in the flesh” that God used to “…keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Corinthians 12:7) and to focus on God’s grace being “sufficient”.
God can also use these challenging times in our lives as a witness to others of how God’s people go through sickness as well as health. For us, it is not for us to question why, but to ask for strength and for God to be glorified. In other words, it is God’s will that whenever we suffer we have a different attitude than those who do not know Him. It should be our desire to bring glory to God in all circumstances.
So, let us pray with Jesus today, “…not my will but Thy will be done.”