Read Hebrews 5:8 and 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
It amazes me that Jesus chooses to learn obedience through suffering. And in doing so, He reveals that obedience is faith in action. By faith we hear the Father calling us, but it is through obeying that we let the Father lead us. Sometimes obedience leads us to places of suffering, and through that suffering we learn to trust God more.
In many of the countries we serve, believers suffer because of their faith in Christ. Their families abandon them, their government threatens them, and their friends mock them ... and yet they choose to be obedient in their suffering by boldly sharing the hope they’ve found in Christ. They’ve truly learned to trust God more through their suffering.
With our own Lord’s example and the example of brothers and sisters around the world before me, I am learning to obey in suffering because His grace is sufficient and will lead me closer to Him.
Lord, teach us to obey like Christ, who laid aside His privileges to take on suffering so that we can know You. When we suffer, strengthen us to trust and obey You more. Let those of us who have suffered be voices of compassion, comfort, and courage to others walking in suffering. Amen.
-written by a missionary on our Equipping Team