Suffer

“Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”  1 Peter 4:19

Suffer – Do we suffer according to the will of God?  Most of us have clear memories of the times of suffering in our lives, but we hardly think of them as part of God’s plan.  We want the God of goodness; the One Who insures our lives are peaceful, satisfying and pain-free.  Suffering is evil, we think, and therefore, it cannot be God’s will. 

If we only knew a little more about this word, we might have an entirely different perspective. 

The word translated “suffer” is the Greek pascho.  It does indeed mean affliction and pain.  But that is not the heart of its meaning.  Pascho is a word that covers the category of those events and circumstances that happen to you.  They are the passive actions, the ones where you are the recipient not the perpetrator.  The basic idea is experiencing something that originates outside you.  The Greeks called these things passions, and they included such feelings as pity, mercy, sorrow, joy and triumph.  Passions were emotions. 

There is no doubt.  Peter wants us to realize fully that following the Lord will likely involve abuse, threats, rejection and even physical harm.  The servant is not exempt from the treatment of the Master.  But there is more here than evil events.  There is endurance in all the emotional ups and downs of life.  God’s will takes each of us through these refining moments, seeking to melt away the extraneous and leave behind the core values that align us with Him.  The peace of Christ.  The joy in the Lord.  The harmony of fellowship.  The love of the brethren.  Yes, and also the persecution and agony.  Emotional life is not separated from the will of God.  It is still His plan.

What is your perspective on the events that come upon you?  What do you think about the highs and the lows?  Are you seeing God’s hand in all of it?  Are you experiencing life as His will?