Christians are not immune from suffering

[notice]A monthly column by farmer, preacher and writer  for Jesus, Angus Buchan[/notice] 

The Bible tells us clearly in Psalm 34:19 (NKJV) “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” 

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Early this morning, while having my quiet time, the Lord reminded me again, that because we are believers, we are not exempt from experiencing hardship, sorrow or suffering. 

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The Bible tells us in Matthew 26:1-5 that Jesus spoke to His disciples prior to the Passover concerning His betrayal, His arrest and His death on the cross. They did not understand that He would suffer and die for the redemption of mankind. There have been some erroneous teachings that seem to have emerged in the church which have caused some concern, particularly in the area of undergoing hardship as a result of sin in a person’s life. I feel that there are always many reasons as to why we go through hard times and times of suffering. Jesus was without sin yet He had to endure suffering that we will never know because He was to take upon Himself our sin. He was God but He was man. He paid the price for our redemption so that if we would become born again of His Spirit and by faith believe and follow Him we would receive eternal life. 

History tells us that not one of His disciples died a natural death. Every one of them died a martyr’s death, even John, the beloved, as an old man had a rope put about his neck and was boiled in oil. Just remember we are also fighting the fight of our lives. Yes, we have victory in Jesus Christ our Lord, but we need to still run our race and by God’s grace finish strong. 

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In these times we live in, we must be prepared to face hardships, sorrow and suffering and to a measure, as Christians, persecution for our faith in Jesus. Yet the Lord has said in the Word that He will not allow us to be tempted above that we are able to bear. He will always make a way for us and His promise is for His own, that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). 

We are not of this world and the return of the Lord Jesus comes closer with every day that passes. So until He comes, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). 

God bless

Angus Buchan