REJOICING ATTITUDE


Jesus encourages us to cast all of our cares upon him and let him take care of them for us, and therefore we don't have to worry about them. But there is a common misconception many people have about the Christian life: When you live for Jesus he will reward you by making your life trouble-free. This simply is not the case. In fact, the Bible promises just the opposite. Paul said, For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.  (Philippians 1:29) Peter said, Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4: 12) Jesus said, For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. (Matthew 5:45)

Everyone's life is filled with sunshine and rain. Sunshine isn't always evidence that God favors you—even evil people get some sunshine. Rain isn't evidence that God is punishing you—even the righteous have to face the rain. Suffering is a part of life that everyone must endure. However, when it comes to suffering, Christ-followers have some advantages. The obvious one is that God will help you through hard times. A second advantage is that no matter what kind of problems you face, God has promised to use them for your benefit, and for his glory.

So when you suffer, whether it is illness, mistreatment, job problems, relationship problems, money problems, or whatever it may be, it is crucial that you approach your suffering with the right attitude, so that you will ultimately benefit from the problems you face. What is the right attitude? Paul tells us, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.” (Romans 5:3)

This is the attitude that we must have whenever we face hard times—an attitude of rejoicing. Now, don't misunderstand me. Your attitude doesn't have to be some kind of phony, Pollyanna way of thinking that says, “Hooray for me. I am suffering! I'm in pain and my life is coming apart at the seams. Aren't I lucky?” This is not what Paul means. You don't rejoice because of your sufferings, or for your sufferings—you rejoice in spite of your sufferings. This would sound like crazy advice, except there are two factors that make rejoicing in suffering a reasonable idea. First, God will help you through the problems. Second, your problems themselves will help you too, and work to your advantage.

Think of it this way. Pretend that you are prisoner of war and you have an evil taskmaster who tries to make you weak and powerless by forcing you to carry a heavy boulder on your shoulders all day. Some of your fellow prisoners give in under the strain, and stop trying, and let the boulder crush them completely. But you keep carrying the weight. Soon you discover that carrying that boulder isn't making you weaker, it's making you stronger. Eventually you have the strength to cast the boulder aside and overpower your captor and earn your freedom.

This is exactly what your problems can do for you. You can give up and let your problems destroy you, or you can use them to become a stronger and better person. No one in their right mind would choose to suffer, but when it happens, you can rejoice in the fact that the suffering isn't going to beat you.  You will eventually win the battle. This is why we rejoice in suffering.

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