A friend and I discussed the subject of suffering and we both agreed that it strengthens a person in their spiritual walk with God. However, this strength is hard to feel when you are in the midst of the suffering. It is hard to apply words to a suffering situation within the situation. The words are true that say that one is strengthened, becoming stronger, has the victory already and is more than a conqueror. Things will get better. And for anyone to remind us that Christians will suffer could be the worst thing to tell a person in the time of suffering.
What I’ve learned in my own times of suffering is that there’s always that waiting period until your breakthrough comes. So, it’s learning how to endure until the breakthrough, whatever a person’s breakthrough (time of burden lifting) may be; “Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning”.
In my enduring time, I’ve embraced prayer, allowing for the Joy of the Lord to keep me steady. I like those versus that say in essence, “I shall not be moved” or “a house built upon a rock that when the winds blow, it will not move”. I love these types of verses because they keep a person standing, enduring, and to not give up hope. It tells me to hold on, one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time. Just hold on to holding on. Hold on to Jesus. The prayer strengthens me in my “holding pattern”, just like a plane in flight, until it’s time to land. It’s a continuous powering up from the power cord of my Heavenly Father, fueling up to go again.
Prayer is a priority. I am drawn to 1 Peter 4:13 that tells us to rejoice because as we are the partakers of suffering with Christ, His glory is revealed. I love this verse because it is not only true but it tells me that God gets the glory out of my life, out of my sufferings. But even more so, it’s not just me but it’s others who I testify to of my sufferings as a witness to the Glory of God. That glory is well worth it all because somebody somewhere is delivered, set free, and unbound in one way or another and Jesus is lifted up in His glory. Remember, One Day at a Time, In Christ.
Keep Your Holding Pattern until your breakthrough breaks through!