Last Sunday, we got to hear from Pastor Suwit from Thailand. His message to LifeSpring was titled “Hope In Times Of Suffering.” As Jerry mentioned on Sunday, Pastor Suwit was not aware of our theme for this year being “Patient Endurance,” yet the Lord put on his heart to share a message that aligns so well with what God is doing in this church.
One of the things that stood out to me in Suwit’s message was a simple phrase. He said “In the midst of the blessing, I was experiencing much suffering.” He shared about how there was a surge in numbers of Christians, Churches and Pastors in Thailand. Conferences were being held and churches were coming together and working for the kingdom of God.
There was much to be grateful for and the blessings of the Lord were tangible, yet Suwit experienced much suffering in his personal life. He shared about the many losses of loved ones and close friends in his life. There was a tension between the blessings and the suffering he was experiencing. As he shared about the lessons he found in finding hope in the midst of suffering, I was reminded of the cross.
The cross is simultaneously a symbol of both death and life, blessing and suffering, sin and grace. The very thing that brought death to Jesus simultaneously gave us eternal life. The suffering of Jesus on the cross leads to receiving the blessing of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The consequences of sin is death, but by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we receive Salvation.
The cross was once something to be feared by man, a symbol of torture and long suffering. But Jesus, through the sacrifice and obedience to the father, took what was meant to be bad and turned it into good. The cross today reminds us of Jesus, the sacrifice He made for all of us and the love of the Father. The cross gives us hope. Hope for the present, Hope from our past and Hope for the future.
Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross showed us that there is both blessing and suffering in the Christian life. We wrestle with the tensions of opposing thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors in our lives, experiencing both good and bad, happiness and sorrow, and joy and suffering simultaneously at times. We might not always understand, but we can always find hope in Jesus.
Father, I thank you for the love you have shown all of us through your son Jesus. I thank you Jesus for the sacrifice you made for us so that we can experience your presence on a daily basis with the Holy Spirit. Thank you for the hope you have shown us through the life you lived here on earth. Father, I ask that you show us how to live in the tensions of life and how to patiently endure like Jesus. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!