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Humility From
Suffering (CLICK YOUR BROWSERS "BACK" BUTTON WHEN FINISHED) |
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In previous lessons we have learned that suffering can be the result of:
We have also learned that God has a big picture of what He wants to accomplish in this world. As a believer, we are part of the big picture to accomplish God’s purpose even when we don’t know what our part is or what the picture will look like. There may be times of suffering or affliction brought on by others as we wait on God’s timing to accomplish His purpose. During this time of waiting, we may even be attacked. We do not have to attack back or seek revenge. We are not to turn our back on God but to run to God. In this lesson, we are going to take a look at Peter and the sufferings he experienced and how they affected his life. We know from reading the gospels that Peter was one of the disciples. He was the kind of guy that would usually stand out in a crowd. I have always pictured him as a pretty big guy. He was impulsive in what he said and did. He was never short on words. He often was the first to speak up in a group and seemed to say the first thing that came to his mind. He had great faith at times. He was the first to confess that Jesus was the Christ. He was the only one who walked on the water to Jesus. He was definitely a leader among the 12 disciples. He had a special relationship with Jesus. Jesus spoke more to Peter than any of the group, sometimes in encouragement and praise. Jesus even changed Peter’s name, “the rock.” He invited him to witness the events on the Mount of Transfiguration. But Jesus also rebuked Peter on more than one occasion. Peter’s time of greatest suffering before the crucifixion must have been when he denied Christ during the time of His trials. Jesus had warned Peter that “Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22: 31-32) Then Jesus predicted his denial. Peter was so adamant that he would not deny Jesus, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.... Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Matthew 26: 33, 35) But we know the end of the story. We know that Peter did deny Jesus. After he denied Jesus and the rooster crowed three times, Peter remembered Jesus’ prediction. “And he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Matthew 26: 75) This moment was a low point in Peter’s life. But Peter went on to preach the first great sermon after Jesus had ascended to heaven. What made the difference in Peter’s life, from the failure and shame he must have felt to a bold preacher? I believe the difference was the brokenness he went through, the restoration Jesus did with him, and the coming of the Holy Spirit into Peter’s life. He went on to do miracles in Jesus name, to defy the Sanhedrin, to be imprisoned because he wouldn’t stop preaching, and to be the first to extend the Gospel to the Gentiles. Peter understood pain, he understood trials and suffering. He went on to write I and II Peter which dealt extensively with the subjects of pain and suffering. He wrote
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” What accounted for the change in Peter’s demeanor from brash and arrogant to humble? I believe it was his times of suffering. He allowed God to work in him as he went through those times of suffering. He went to God and cast all his anxiety on Him. He allowed God to refine his faith. He wrote to the early church and to us about this process. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than god, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (I Peter 1:6-7) One of the great results of suffering can be that refining of our faith (see also Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4). The refining of our faith must come through a humble attitude, not a self-righteous one. We must be totally dependent on God. We will come out of the experience with character, with maturity, and with a humble attitude towards others as well as toward God. Humility is a rare attribute today. It is not esteemed by our culture or sought after by our leaders. The opposite of humility is pride and arrogance. These qualities seem to abound in the role models of this generation. John Piper has a wonderful book entitled, Future Grace. It is one of the best I have read in a long time. He has a whole chapter about faith versus pride. When talking about the fact that humility is not a popular trait today, he says:
We all go through times of pain, times of trials, times of suffering. I believe that most Christians would truly love to “cast all your anxiety on Him.” But we flounder around on how to do that. It seems that we rarely go through the step in that preceding verse - “...humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand.” Rather than coming to God in humility, we come in an attitude of “This is my problem, here’s the solution. Now fix it, God.” That attitude is not humility, it is pride, it is self-righteousness. As John Piper says, we are to be stunned by the concept that we may know God and that He knows us. Then after being overcome with that idea, we must come to a point in our life of being completely satisfied with all that God is! Can you say right now that you are completely satisfied with God? God’s grace, my surrender. © 1998, Scope Ministries International, Inc.
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