We Do Not Want You to Be Unaware

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

“For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-14 ESV)

So many people these days have this idea that we should keep all of our sufferings to ourselves, well, unless it is physical suffering. That kind is acceptable to share, like if you are having surgery or you have cancer or you are in the hospital. But if you are suffering persecution and mistreatment, like Paul and the other apostles did, and like Jesus did, it is not generally acceptable to share that with others. They usually want you to just keep that to yourself. But that isn’t biblical.

Now we should not be gossipers and whiners and complainers who just go around complaining about anything and everything. But we are to bear one another’s burdens, and we are to pray for one another, and we are to encourage one another, and that can’t be done if we are prohibited from sharing our sufferings and our persecutions with others. And another aspect of that is if no one else shares their sufferings and their persecutions with us, we will not know how to pray for them and how to support them, either.

So, what happens in these cases is that many hurting people are suffering in silence because they are being told not to share their sufferings, if they are in the realm of persecutions and mistreatments. And so they feel all alone. And I can still remember the first time I watched a video series of married couples talking about the same situation I have been going through and how much that encouraged me and validated me, too, to know that others out there understood what I was going through and gave me some hope, too.

So, I really like how Paul starts this off with, “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia.” Why did he not want them to be unaware? He needed their prayers. He needed their spiritual support. And some of them would suffer in much of the same ways, and so this was to prepare them for that eventuality so that they were not surprised when it happened, and so that they were encouraged in advance in how to handle that suffering. For it is terrible to have to go it alone.

And then there are people who will just advise you to get out of those situations, but easier said than done, and that isn’t necessarily God’s plan. For God allows us to be in these situations to grow us in him, and to teach us perseverance, so that we can encourage others who are going through similar trials, and so that we learn to rely on the Lord and not on ourselves. And it is to humble us, to mature us in Christ, and to make us stronger and more determined to follow the Lord. But we still need prayer.

I know that for myself, if I had not gone through all that I have gone through, I would not be spiritually prepared for what the Lord has been having me do these past 20 years. And that is biblically supported. For we are promised that if we follow Jesus with our lives that we will be hated, rejected, abandoned, cast aside as unwanted, forsaken, forgotten, fought against, falsely accused, mistreated, and the like. So we don’t run away from it all and look for our own comfort, unless God leads us to leave.

We remain faithful to the Lord, we learn what he wants to teach us through it all, and we keep pressing forward in doing the will of God. And we ask for other believers in Christ to pray for us, and this is biblical. This is what Paul did and the other apostles did. They went into situations where they knew they were going to be persecuted, but in order to lead other people to genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ and to holy living. They didn’t run away unless the Lord directed them to go someplace else.

And through it all, through all the sufferings and persecutions, we are to be people of integrity who behave in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God, and in the power of God and in his wisdom and understanding. We are to remain strong in the Lord without wavering even in the face of much suffering and persecution and rejections. And we are to keep on doing the will of God in sharing with others the truth of the gospel and in refuting the lies of Satan.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

All Through the Night  

An Original Work / December 7, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

Blessed are you when you’re persecuted

Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Blessed are you when people insult you,

And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is

Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.

When you are persecuted in one place,

Flee to another. God will be there.

You will be hated by all the nations

Because you testify of God’s grace.

Many will seize you and persecute you,

And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.

Yet do not fear what humans may do to you,

For I’m with you all through the night.

I tell you, love your enemies with my love,

And forgive as I forgave you.

Pray for those who do evil against you.

Rest in my love and grace from above. 

https://vimeo.com/379481617