He Has You

There are very few people who would begin their ministry if they knew all the suffering they would endure along the way. Very few of us would press ahead knowing how hard it was going to be. And it’s because of that that God doesn’t share with us all that’s ahead.

Before a man can change people, the Lord must change the man. The Lord said regarding His servant Paul, “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:16 NKJV). How few we would have in ministry if they knew in advance all they would have gone through.

We need to get to a point in our faith journey where no matter what lies ahead, we would consider it worth it for all that God is trying to accomplish through us. For what is a few years of suffering compared to what God might do through us to reach even one soul, that they would live for all of eternity?

Paul wrote, “I am happy in my sufferings for you. There is much that Christ must still suffer. And I gladly accept my part of those sufferings in my body for the good of his body, the church” (Colossians 1:24 ERV).

I would wager that when we get to heaven, and we see the value of our suffering and how God used it to bring about in us the change to make us more effective for His kingdom, there’s not one of us who would argue with God that it wasn’t worth it.

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:10 NKJV).

If we were to try to evangelize and lead people to Christ, we might think that we need to tell them how easy things are going to be and how He’s just going to bless them with health, wealth, and prosperity. But if we do that, we’re lying.

Stop peddling an easy faith to win converts, or else we will lose them when things get really hard. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you [that is, to test the quality of your faith], as though something strange or unusual were happening to you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that when His glory [filled with His radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may rejoice with great joy.” (1 Peter 4:12-13 AMP).

Nowhere in the Bible does it promise health, wealth, and prosperity. Instead, Jesus tells us, “…While you are in the world, you will have to suffer…” (John 16:33 CEV). That’s what He said. Jesus always means what He says, but are we listening?

“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29 NKJV).

Does Scripture say He’s going to make it easy and that the trials go away? He never said that. He told us right up front that it’s going to be hard. He told us, “And everyone will hate you because you are my followers” (Luke 21:17 NLT).

Where oppression sets in, Christianity breaks out. “Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him” (2 Timothy 3:12 TLB).

See, this is the message we need to have for other people, and this is the message we need to understand for ourselves: that things are going to be difficult for us in our faith, especially if you have a higher calling.

The greatest thing you can do for God is to do whatever He calls you to do. “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21 NLT).

The higher your calling, the harder He’s going to be on you. The higher you go in your faith, the narrower the path is going to become. The closer you get to God, the harder He’s going to be on you, because He’s expecting more of you.

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter” (1 Peter 4:16 NKJV).

Stop measuring how hard God is on you, thinking that’s a measure of how much He loves you. The truth is this: the harder He is on you, the greater the show of His love, as He’s trying to form you into something new, something useful for His kingdom.

The Lord is more interested in changing the man than his circumstances. “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]” (1 Peter 5:10 AMP).

Thank Him for your suffering. Be glad when things are difficult. He said the narrow path is hard. The easy path, the broad path, takes you straight to hell, yet we’re always looking for the easy way out. We should be looking for the hard way in, for that is the way to heaven.

“We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22 NKJV).

We think that God is going to give us open doors where He wants us to go, meaning He’s going to make it easy, and it’s the opposite. God makes it hard to see how serious we are about going where He wants to take us.

God’s way is the best way, even if it hurts. “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]” (1 Peter 5:10 AMP).

Our suffering in Christ, for Christ, and with Christ, is for our own good. None of us wants to suffer. None of us would ask God to help us suffer. We don’t have to ask. He’ll give it to us without our asking.

“And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:17 NKJV).

The question is not whether or not we should suffer, but how we should respond when we do. Do we blame God? Are we bitter with God? Are we angry at God? Or do we look to God and say, as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” We need to learn how to suffer like saints.

Until you learn to trust God in your suffering, the lesson is not yet over. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15 NKJV).

When Paul got beaten and thrown into prison and chained up to the walls, what did he do? He was singing hymns. And then afterward, he led the jailer and his whole family to the Lord. Would you do that to somebody who threw you into prison?

“After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened.” (Acts 16:23-25 CEV).

When you are a friend to your enemy, you’re in good company, because that is exactly how God was with you. Because when you were a sinner, you were His enemy, and it was then that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for you, to suffer for you.

There are some lessons that can only be learned through suffering. “Although Yeshua was the Son of God, he learned to be obedient through his sufferings” (Hebrews 5:8 NOG). How much more do we need to learn how to be obedient?

And if God allowed His Son Jesus to suffer, don’t be surprised when He allows you to suffer. Just as He used the suffering in Jesus to accomplish good, He can do the same thing in your life. If you would learn to suffer for Christ instead of crying about the supposed unfairness of how life has turned out for you, then God can do something with your life.

“Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13 NKJV).

As long as you’re bitter or angry, not only are you rejecting God, but you’re rejecting what He’s trying to do through you. You’re allowing the devil to win in your suffering. Let God win in your suffering, and the way that He wins is by you trusting Him and allowing Him to work through you in your suffering.

Pain can either make you bitter or make you better, and the choice is up to you. “For if God has in fact willed that you should suffer, it is better that you suffer for doing what is good than for doing what is evil” (1 Peter 3:17 CJB).

Suffer with grace. Suffer with a love for God. Suffer with a trust in God. Suffer knowing that He can help you and trusting Him even when He doesn’t. That is the kind of saint He wants to make you into, the type of saint that trusts Him no matter what.

“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:5 NKJV).

Suffer with faith. Suffer with love in your heart. Suffer knowing He can heal you. Suffer even when He won’t heal you. Love Him. Adore Him. Thank Him for all He’s done for you. He’s going to heal you. It just might not be here on earth.

It’s more important that you trust the Lord in your circumstances than that you understand why He allowed them. “Those who suffer because that is God’s will for them must entrust themselves to a faithful creator and continue to do what is good” (1 Peter 4:19 NOG).

Don’t worry about when He’s going to heal you. Worry about how you’re going to allow Him to use you in the condition that you find yourself in right now. Who knows how many people you can reach because of your suffering that you could not have reached in any other way?

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake” (Matthew 5:11 NKJV).

Even if it’s one person you reach, and they come to know the Lord, and they come to be saved for all of eternity, it will be worth it no matter what suffering you went through. Trust the Lord. Trust that He knows what He’s doing. Trust that He has you.

In whatever you are going through, He has you. “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV).

Blessings to you always,

Paul Balius