1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
None of us enjoy suffering. That is something that we all have in common. We often go to enormous lengths to avoid suffering. It is our natural state. Yet here we see that in the process of being sanctified, there is indeed suffering to be dealt with. How we deal with that suffering is a vital part of the sanctification process. We cannot hate it, we cannot fear it, we cannot run from it and we cannot battle it. Yet that is what most of us find ourselves doing in many situations that come our way. We have to remember that we are not natural men brothers and sisters, we are supernatural. One pastor said that your salvation is either supernatural or superficial. The word superficial is defined as “existing or occurring at or on the surface.” Suffering goes deep beneath the surface. There are many things that we can replicate in a superficial manner, being at peace in the midst of suffering, having great joy despite our circumstances is not one them.
And so if we are truly interested in moving in the deeper things of the Lord, becoming more like Jesus, then our attitude to suffering must bend towards rejoicing in it. It is a difficult arc but then the road is narrow we are told and few their are that find it. Rejoicing in victories is one thing, but to rejoice in seeming defeats, at least as the world would view as defeats, is quite remarkable and supernatural. Who rejoices in the depths of a dungeon? Who glories in their infirmities? Who is overjoyed when they are counted worthy to enter in the sufferings of Jesus? The man and the woman of God. And with this there is a power that rests upon them. A power that few people know much about. Who desires this kind of power that 2 Cor 12:9 speaks of? Not many do brothers and sisters, not many. Let us be counted with the not many, with the few, that God Himself may be glorified.
A Call To The Remnant 