Thought Passage: Aug. 26, 2010 A.D.

[Goldswiper]

Thought passage: Phil. 1:29, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.”

It is a given that Christians will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ but with God it is also a given that we will suffer for his sake. There seems to be a movement in churches today that if all is well with your relationship with Christ then no hardships will come. If this be true then the apostles must have had the worst of relationships with him. Beatings, imprisonments and peril followed them everywhere.

[RosePearl]

Yes, suffering doesn't mean that we have a bad relationship with God e.g. Job because there are many reasons why God allows it and there are others we won't know on this side.

What I think we should do is to ask Him like Paul to remove the thorn from our lives and then ask for grace to continue doing what He has called us to do even when we are still hurting.

[Toni Star]

Tim and Rose Pearl--you both made some excellent observations about believing in Christ and suffering for our beliefs in Him. Our belief in Christ leads to glory but also suffering. When we pray and ask for His guidance and help when the suffering occurs--as noted here in this post--He will show us the way and give us His grace in handling the "hard times."

Thank you both for your postings...So helpful in understanding the hard times...

Toni