We all know suffering is part of our lives and we hope that what we experience in this
present life is nothing compared to what awaits us when we are in God’s glory. When we are
traveling through dark times particularly as caretakers, we do our best to have faith and hope in
the Lord, the Light of the world. Every difficult path offers lessons and blessings that help us
grow, knowing we will never be forsaken.
The Bible says that if we want to share Christ’s glory, we need to be willing to share His
suffering. 1 Peter 4:13, “But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so
that when His glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” Jesus suffered for doing the
will of God rather than from any fault of His own. When we suffer despite doing good, we
share deeply in His kind of suffering. It is encouraging to sense a closeness to Him and to
realize that our suffering too has a purpose.
St. Paul shares the same thought in 2 Corinthians 1:5-7, “For as Christ’s sufferings
overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. If we are afflicted, it is
for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement,
which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is firm, for
we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement.” His point is
that our own sufferings empower us to identify with those who suffer, enabling them to
identify with us. Then they will sense the reality of the comfort we have received from God and
find their own comfort in Him.
In the following verses St. Paul shares his weaknesses! He writes about being under
pressure, ‘beyond our ability to endure.’ Our human frailties, make us susceptible to suffering
and at the same time enable us to display God’s comforting love. We are witnesses for one
another. As we show our weaknesses, can we also reveal the strength of the Lord? Obviously,
an ongoing challenge and a worthy one.
Reflect on the reassuring truth that although life might seem to wear you down with
troubles, you are being built up by God. He is restoring and strengthening you, no matter what
you are going through. Keeping our focus on the Lord helps us trust God to guide us through
the difficult moments and to continue having the faith to persevere. Faith is a divinely infused
virtue that God gave you simply because He loves you. It empowers us to trust that God is
faithful to all His promises. May we nurture it so that our faith will grow stronger each day.
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