Tag Archives: suffering

Are You Ready to Suffer?

26 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Death, Legacy, Persecution, Suffering

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Are you willing to die for Christ?

All over the world, people are being imprisoned, tortured, and some even killed because of their faith in Christ. But their lives are not being wasted – they are leaving an incredible legacy for the next generation. This month, we’ve explored many different aspects of how to leave a Godly legacy. One of the most important (but often overlooked) things we can do is prepare to face persecution.

“all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

Are you ready to suffer? Brother Yun, a wonderful Chinese Christian who experienced horrible persecution for His Lord’s sake, later wrote a book about his experiences behind the Bamboo Curtain, titled “The Heavenly Man.” Near the end of the book, he reflects on the deadness of Western churches, contrasted with the vibrance and vitality of the Chinese underground churches. He states,

“It’s almost impossible for the church in China to go to sleep in its present situation. There’s always something to keep us on the run, and it’s very difficult to sleep while you’re running. If persecution stops, I fear we’ll become complacent and fall asleep.”

He concludes by saying,

“Every house church pastor in China is ready to lay down his life for the gospel. When we live this way, we’ll see God do great things by his grace.”

Brother Yun didn’t lament his difficult life and the hard experiences he had been called to undergo… he rejoiced in them!! He recognized that persecution brings people closer to God!

Let me go back to my original question. Are you ready to suffer and die for Christ? Am I ready? Someday, each of us may be called on to make a decision – renounce Christ or die. Do you want future generations to look back at you and say, “He (or she) claimed the name of Christ, but denied Him under pressure”? Wouldn’t you rather have them say, “Wow, that person was so devoted to Jesus they were willing to die for Him! I want their secret – I want what they had!”? Are we ready to leave a legacy of courage and hope?

~Christen

People: what God sees

18 Friday May 2012

Posted by in Great Commission, Love, Missionaries, Missions, Respecter of Persons, Uncategorized

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For a long time, I struggled to love *all* peoples – and when I say “love”, I mean passionately desire them to walk in Christ’s freedom and be willing to sacrificially give for them. I grew up with the mindset that some people are called to be missionaries, and some are called to be CEO’s, salespeople, cashiers, be drivers…well, the list goes on. The Great Commission was something I’d read a 101 times…more than that actually, and never got it:

The Great Commission is for me! It’s for all of us who name the name of Jesus Christ as Lord.

I thought missionaries somehow got a calling to one nationality and that’s who they would love. But really, that’s the wrong perspective. We love Christ, and so we love people – the same people He sacrificed for – and that’s ALL people: American, Spanish, African-American, Chinese, Russian, Australian….oh, and Family…they count too!

I was sitting outside a Wal-Mart last week in uptown Charlotte – it was a rough part of town and my sister and I were out on errands and had just run through a torrential downpour to our car after finishing our shopping. I was in the driver’s seat, talking to my sister (while still parked) when I heard a tap on my window. I turned my head and saw a woman standing there…her face was the most hopeless face I had ever seen in my entire life. Her eyes were full of the most intense suffering I had noticed in a human-being in a very long time.

She motioned with her hands to demonstrate a coin-purse and asked me through the glass if I had any spare change she could have to buy some food. I could tell that she was a drug addict by looking in her face. Who knew how long it had been since her last high? Whenever it had been, it was over now. Whatever she was on was wearing off – quickly. I cautiously rolled down my window. “I can’t give you any change…” I told her, “But if you walk to Taco Bell, I’ll buy you a meal.”

She said she’d get someone to drive her over, and then just like that, she was gone – disappeared into thin air. One moment she was by my car, and the next moment, she had disappeared among the cars in the parking lot. My heart ached for her. I will never forget her face and the emptiness it held. I knew she didn’t really need the money for food. I wished she hadn’t gone so quickly – that I might have shared the love of Christ with her.

I sat down to my own lunch that day and I could barely eat as I thought about her – somewhere out there in the rain, in ragged clothes, looking for someone to support her drug addiction. Would she ever smile again? Somehow I understood what Jesus must have felt when he looked at the multitudes around him that were as sheep without a shepherd. Compassion.

I’m ashamed to admit that years ago, I would have been disgusted at the life of this woman – she was dirty and sick and living in sin…but not anymore. Today I recall my own life and the mercy Christ extended – that I should not even be here today, but I am, because He placed people in my life who reached out to me, despite my own mistakes. Can I do any less? And whether that be in my own home, or in my city parking lots, or over seas in a foreign country, my prayer is that the aching of God’s heart over the lost lambs that He loves will be the very same aching that is in my own heart.

Has God given you a love for all peoples? If you struggle to grasp this love, pray to the Lord of the Harvest – the one who prepares the hearts of each Laborer – that He will give to you, and then send you, wherever that may be.

Be willing to GO for the Gospel!

~Hannah

Called Followers: to what (pt.1)

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Lordship, Picture of Christ, Prayer, Submission, Suffering, Surrender

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“Wherefore, be ye followers of me.” I Cor. 4:16

We are called to follow – but what is this calling? An example of pain and suffering? This is no glamorous triumphal march behind a beloved king; this is a following of death that requires much sacrifice, but ends in life everlasting!

“None of us know the absolute go of abandon to Jesus until we are in unconditional identification with Him.” O.Chambers

Paul wrote: “…I think that God hath set forth us apostles last, as it were, appointed unto death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake…we are weak…we are despised. Even unto this present hour, we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling place! And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of this world, and are the offscouring of things unto this day.” I Cor. 4:9-13

This is certainly not the calling to a prestigious position! Why all this suffering? We are not even worthy to call Jesus our own Lord if we are not willing to deny ourselves to this degree and carry our cross? Being a follower has one demand that cannot be denied:

Humility

“Let this mind be in you which also was in Christ Jesus: who…made himself of no reputation and took on Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men;…He humbled himself and became obedient unto death – even the death of the cross” (a despised death). Phil. 2:5-8

We learn obedience through suffering. We learn, as Paul learned, to respond with a Christlike attitude to our enemies and our trials. Selfishness is our human nature. Selfishness demands the leadership position: it is me, me, me – follow ME. Humility dies to self and follows Christ – it takes no thought for its own life, but suffers for the souls of others.

“And he that taketh not up his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me…If any man will come after me, let him deny  himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  Mt. 10:38; 16:24.

~Hannah Stelzl

Grateful: a heart that endures, Pt. II

13 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in Gratitude, Thankfulness, Uncategorized

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Every day we get up and start counting:

We count hours left in our day, annoyances, frictions, frustrations, unaccomplished things on our list of to-do’s, items on the shelves of our favorite store that we can’t afford to buy, but wish we had…; we count the number of times we have to tell someone to stop doing something, the baskets of laundry that we haul out of the dryer and into the family room, the number of plates we have to wash after every meal…; and by the time the day is over, we have compiled a long list of counted things – things that make us feel “on-edge”, things that make us want to sleep-in the next morning and stay in bed as long as possible.

Yesterday, on the blog, we stopped to look at the life of Paul – a man who had more than his fair share of things to count and complain about – yet, he didn’t. Paul counted eternal treasures and measured every day as a step closer to gaining Christ. At first glance, we could say Paul had no treasure at all! However, an eternal perspective sheds light on the source of Paul’s marvelous ability to rejoice:

Paul’s treasures were souls – lost souls – and his relationship with and representation of Christ’s Gospel:

“I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach; woe to me if I preach not the Gospel!” I Corinthians 9:16

Compelled: constrained – held together by God’s love for a purpose and strengthened to carry it out! To meet a need under pressure because necessity demands it.

How did Paul get from his selfish focus and leisurely living to this passionate man in the hand of God, preaching Christ, crucified? Paul grasped the gravity of the meaning of life. All is vanity – hope that disappoints – except Christ. Paul embraced the truth that being physically destitute, and tortured, he still held the greatest thing ever to be grateful for: salvation – the guaranteed promise of eternal life!

Why was Paul able to see this gift in such a way that he could rejoice amidst pain and suffering? Most people have heard that Jesus died on the cross for them, but it does nothing to their life – at least, not in the way it moved Paul! Paul realized what God had saved him from:

“O Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me…?” Romans 7:24

The cross of Christ was his only hope.
So Paul was able to say he had more than he needed – he was full to overflowing within! The blood of Christ was precious to Him! He could say “Give thanks in all things” because they brought him back to the greatest reason to live – Jesus Christ!

“For ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” I Peter 1:18-19

Paul’s physically destitute state, he called grace (undeserved favor and blessing) – because? It kept him always in remembrance of what He deserved (eternal damnation in hell) and what God had sacrificed for and freely given (eternal life). And so he says:

“I do not frustrate the grace of God…!” Galatians 2:21

Frustrate: reject, remove, despise (because one is oblivious of their need).

Righteousness is only through Christ – and that means at times carrying our own cross up Golgotha Hill and crucifying our fleshly natures, counting all loss if only we can gain Christ. Then we also shall see the suffering of our souls and be satisfied, because a physically destitute life, hidden in Christ, is happiness.

If we have nothing to be grateful for, we have not Christ. And if we have not Christ, we have not eternal life.

May gratefulness yield that beautiful fruit of a heart that endures, saying, “I have all, and abound, and am full.” May we remember his death, the debt we owed, and the redemption He wrought! We are free…paid in full. Praise the Lord!

~Hannah Stelzl

Prayer is Patient ~Day 1

31 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by in 31 Days of Prayer Challenge, Abiding, Patience, Prayer, Presence, Still

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Sometimes prayer lacks words all together. Instead, it is simply BEING in the presence of God.

“Rest IN the Lord and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7

You probably have first-hand experience in at least one aspect of prayer: God does not always answer our requests or our questions right away. His timing is not only different, but it is sovereign. Prayer is not always talking, interacting, speaking, expressing; sometimes prayer has no verbal form – it is heart-to-heart with God, being still in His presence.

Prayer ENJOYS the presence of God

Prayer is not in a hurry. If you enjoy something, you want to make it last. Unless you’re a 5 year old, you savor your ice cream: once it’s gone, it’s gone. Beautiful, breezy, sunny days are good for walks – but not the kind that make you sweat bullets and obliterate the scenery. Stars are amazing creations of God – we gaze up at them, amazed at their glory, and time disappears. A first-time Mom is in no hurry to put her newborn child in the hospital crib. She enjoys her son or daughter. These are special moments – time when the rush of humanity is still, and we stop to simply enjoy. They are moments when it’s easy to be patient.

…but can we enjoy the presence of God when the answer has not come yet…when patience gets more difficult to maintain?

Prayer lacks patience often. Why? Because prayer is rarely answered right away, in the exact way we wish. We lose sight of God’s presence and press for the response. Sometimes we feel we really  need the response! God’s silence is inflicting suffering on us! Yet even this can be enjoyed…

“Patience is enjoying the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings in order to give life to others.”

Quiet waiting…it goes against our fidgety soul’s nature. We feel so urged to move on that we wonder if we’ll last til the answer comes. Days and nights can turn into tormenting cycles of waiting and wondering. The very essence of prayer – the presence of God – is lost, out of sight, and this grieves God.

As we close this 31 Day Challenge on prayer today, be not weary in prayer. Patience will be a called-for ingredient in the prayer life and the daily life of every believer for the rest of their days. Be anxious for nothing…but in everything, give thanks…thanks for what? For the gift of the presence of God – that we can simply be quieted and rest in faith (the essential of prayer) that though we do not know what tomorrow holds, we believe in the One who holds tomorrow.

“…for this is the will of God concerning you.”

~Hannah

Effortless Faith???

18 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Believe, Faith, Trust

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“Waiting for God is incarnate unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me that I may trust in that thing. God will not do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man has to go outside of himself in his covenant with God, just as God goes out of Himself in His covenant with man. It is a question of faith in God – the rarest thing; we have faith only in our feelings. I do not believe God unless He will give me something in my hand whereby I may know that I have it, then I say – “Now I believe.” There is no faith there. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved!” ~Oswald Chambers

Plainly put, Mr. Chambers is saying, “Waiting to see proof is not faith in action – it is faith that does not exist…belief that never was. We demand for God to do something for us. We say, “If you do this, I will trust you, I will believe you.” Yet our innermost being is waiting to trust in that act, and our Master wants us to trust in Him!”

Effortless faith. It is what we all wish life could consist of. “If only things were easier.” “If only this, if only that.” Life from our perspective could always be improved, and does it ever include suffering? Weariness? Loneliness? No way! Yet I am finding even now in my own life, that the best is found in the difficulty – the path that takes effort, that requires dedication, that requires a determination that is not beaten down by pain.

Jesus says, “You want evidence that I am trustworthy? You want something to look at before you have faith in me? Look up at that old, rugged, cross. Run to it. See the blood stains, hear my voice crying out “Why have you forsaken me?” That, my child, is all you need to know that you can trust.”

Why do we persist? A dear friend shared with me just days ago, that God often takes us out into the darkest nights of our souls to test the faith that is so materialized. And he says to you, and to me, “Will you trust me, when life gets so difficult that believing my trustworthiness is harder than ever before? The choice is yours.” Yet, I am persuaded that any sacrifice required must be made. For Jesus Christ is the only One who will remain the same yesterday, today, and forever. Forsake everything else, only not the tie that binds your heart to His. For faith that requires affliction is faith that will stand. It is faith that is real, and strong, and tested in the Refiner’s fire…faith that is worthy to hear “Well done, thou good, and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of thy Lord.” And that joy will come! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

~h

…to the wealthy place.

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Purification, Refine, Suffering

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“O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of His praise to be heard: which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. For thou, O God, has proved us: thou hast tried us as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction on our loins. Thou has caused men to ride over our heads: we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.” ~Psalm 66:8-12

He alone holds my soul in life: my mind, will, and emotions. They are given grace, hope, joy, but only as I yield beneath the purification of the Refiner himself. The refining of the Christian life brings pain, suffering, loneliness…the list may go on. Yet, the increase is a wealthy place. What wealth? A desperation for God is born in that furnace of affliction and the hunger is satisfied by the very near presence of God…a wealth that is immeasurable, priceless. In loneliness, a dependance on God is brought forth – a need to rely more heavily on the Master. This too yields a rich increase. For we find as the fires burn low, and the chains are broken that we walk free, with a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. And time and space forbid me to list the many others… a dynamic life testimony; a suffering which has produced a gentle humility – one that enables the mighty hand of God to rest upon that sacrificed life and use it to bring glory.

Oh, let us not despise the Refiner, nor his cleansing work. For whom He loves, He seeks to purify. And the hardened heart will still suffer…only in vain. Be yielded, sacrificed, a life given wholly to the Refiner Himself. He will bring you out into a wealthy place!

~h

Be Confident!

25 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by in Believe, Daily Living, Endurance, Patience, Promise, steadfast, Strength, Trials, Trust

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“Cast not away therefore your confidence (boldness, fearlessness, openness), which hath great recompense of reward (full payment of wages).” (Hebrews 10:35)

Are you temped to shrink back? Have you started to wonder if its worth the pain caused to have relationships? Is isolation the ultimate when you’re down? Maybe you are beginning to lose faith in the hearing ear of the Most High, who has not spoken, though you have prayed a thousand times over. You are too tired to keep going, and don’t know where the next step comes from. Something that is small to everyone else is increasingly big for you. You just can’t handle it anymore. Circumstances have added up, and you’re ready to run as far and fast from it as you can…yet we are exhorted: Cast not away your confidence. In time, you will receive full payment for your endurance in suffering, and trial.

Let your heart instead remember the words of the psalmist when he wrote so trustingly, “Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe…” (Psalm 119:117). It is your choice to believe those words, but they are indeed true, and when you look back and see only one set of footprints struggling through the mire, know they are not yours, but those of the One carrying you through.

Be Confident!

T&H

“I am not quite ready.”

01 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by in Battle, Readiness, Streams in the Desert, Victory

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“I am not quite ready to make that sacrifice.”

“I am not quite ready to obey that demand.”

“I am not quite ready to take down that stronghold.”

“I am not quite ready to claim that soul.”

“I am not quite ready to pour out my soul in prayer.”

“I am not quite ready to accept this physical trouble.”

“I am not quite ready…”

But will you ever be? Will you ever choose pain, or voluntarily jump into the appointed suffering? Or is the need for it to be shoved upon you ever growing? “I am not quite ready to be purified, to grow, to be sanctified…no, I am just not ready.”

“God says, ‘Lift up the hands that hang down.’ March straight through the flood, and lo, the waters will divide, the Red Sea will open, and the Jordan will part, and the Lord will lead you through to victory.” ~Streams in the Desert, June 18th.

There is no victory without the battle dear believer. Know the truth when you see it. Can you win without an opponent? Can you claim the prize without the test? Just the same, you cannot win a victory until you overcome an oppressor.

“Go right ahead and leave no Jericho behind you unconquered and no place where Satan can say that he was too much for you.” ~Streams in the Desert, June 18th.

“I am not quite ready.” It signals a white-flagged soul to the enemy. And He is very real, and ever ready to discourage. Is Satan able to say of you that He is too much? Or does He cower at your prayers, and flee from your strength of heart? Discouragement will cripple you, and if you are “not quite ready,” the battle will never happen. You will by default fall into the vice grip of the enemy.

Be Ready!

T&H

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