Suffering According to God’s Will

“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”

I Peter 4:19

All suffering is within God’s sovereign will. There is not a sparrow that falls without his knowledge or a soul lost for eternity without his tearful purpose being accomplished. In the midst of the expanse of the sovereign will of God is one kind of suffering initiated by us that God not only allows but rewards.

There are many ways to suffer in this world, where things happen to us. But the kind of suffering referred to by Peter is suffering we experience by choice, through obedience. Such obedience may result in mockery, beatings, discrimination, trials, and temptations. It’s the price one pays for having our bodies in the world and our spirits in the kingdom. Like being on a rack, we can’t escape the torture.

My wheelchair is a suffering that came from the sovereign purpose of the glory of God. And since that time twenty-five years ago, I’ve also suffered things that have come upon my spirit as a result of being in the kingdom. I have chosen to flee temptation, to drag my body from church to hospital, to endure the scorn of those who don’t know God. And I have suffered as a result. Such is the will of God for my life.

The common suffering he comforts. The godly suffering he rewards. Exchange neither for anything. We can “entrust our souls to a faithful Creator.”

Lord, grant me strength to endure the common sufferings of life and the willful sufferings of your kingdom. In all these, may your presence sustain me and your glory be made known.