December 14, 2021 - Philippians 1:29
“For God has graciously given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him.” Philippians 1:29 TPT
Lord, this verse is an interesting one at first read. It says that we have been graciously given the privilege of suffering. “Graciously given the privilege” is not normally a term I would put with suffering, but Lord, I am beginning to really understand just how suffering works in your Kingdom. It is through suffering and hardship that our character is developed. It is just like in the physical when we push our muscles while lifting weights. If we want to get stronger, our muscles must push themselves and suffer. It is that process that allows our muscles to grow and handle more weight. Lord, help us realize that it is the same with the rest of us. When you permit us to suffer, if we allow you, you will use it to help us grow stronger.
Lord, we do thank you for allowing suffering into our lives. Thank you that you want us to grow. You want us to be able to handle more “weight”. You have plans for us to accomplish. We thank you that you will never give us more than we can handle. So, you will never allow suffering to be more than what we can get through. But, Lord, that also means that you won’t allow us to walk into a calling that we are not strong enough to handle. You will not put so much weight on us that it crushes, damages, or kills us. Lord, so if we are not strong enough to handle the plans you have, you will not give them to us. I don’t want to be standing with you one day and hear of all the things that I could have accomplished if I was strong enough.
With that in mind, we ask that you do what needs to be done to help us grow. Allow the wildernesses and suffering that we need to see our spiritual muscles grow. Turn up the heat and allow the imperfections to be “boiled” out of us. Grow our character. Help us to step into all that you have for us. Don’t let us give up and back down when things get hard. When you “boil” the “dross” to the surface, help us to allow you to deal with and remove it. Help us not to hang on to it, so that we just have to go around this lesson again in the future and slow the growing process down. Help us turn to you when things are uncomfortable and painful. Help us when we don’t understand and can’t see where we are going. Remind us of these things when all we want to ask is, “why?”. Lord, help us always remember that you are trustworthy, faithful, loving, and you always have our best in mind. We praise you for these things. Thank you for always having us in the palm of your hand.
In Jesus name, amen.
