“I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering” (Philippians 3:10)
How are you doing today? Is everything going great or are you struggling with a broken relationship? Or perhaps you have an incurable disease – maybe something worse.
Some parts of our life’s journey are painful. Recently the Lord gave me an insight into suffering that I would like to share with you. It was very helpful to me.
God is faithful – and will walk with us each step of the journey.
I had an experience that was very painful. I found that even though I had long forgiven the people involved, painful memories kept coming back. I asked the Lord about this,
“How can I stop those memories from coming back?”
He reminded me of the verse in Philippians,
“I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.”
He told me to thank Him for the horrid experience because through this experience, I had the privilege of “the fellowship of Christ’s suffering.”
I was getting to know Him in a deeper way – in a way I wouldn’t have if I had not gone through this.
We often pray for the power of His resurrection, but do we ever pray for the fellowship of His suffering? Jesus our Master said we could expect trouble if we follow Him. We shouldn’t be surprised!
Father, we want to know You. Thank You for reminding me about the “fellowship of His suffering.” Thank You for the painful times in life. Thank You for walking with us each step of the way. Amen
Further Reading:
Remembering the Sad Path to Easter and not just the Glorious part
Thirsty on the Cross – What we can learn from Jesus last appeal on the cross.