That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10,11

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6,7

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. Psalm 119:71

It is the promise we reluctantly receive with clenched fists and eyes tightly shut. It is the guest we wish to avoid knocking on the door of our lives and the lives of loved ones, hoping that it will move along its way as we shut off the lights and sit in silence. Whether we would admit it or not, we may skip over the Scriptures talking about this absolution while highlighting and underlining the verses mentioning blessing and victory and ultimately misunderstanding the Biblical context of such things.

Suffering is not desired by anyone, but as Christians we understand that suffering is not only a promise but a gift and a facet of our intimate walk with Jesus Christ. We are not promised a primrose path in this fallen world, and we are not promised that we will not suffer for the sake of the gospel or that we will not endure hardships and afflictions, but we hold fast to the narrow way leading to Christ, taking up our crosses to come after Him. We do not treat the cross as an accessory to adorn, but as a way of fellowship with our precious Savior.

I recently read a quote from Elisabeth Elliott, who has been an encouragement to me for a while. She once said, “Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering. The love of God is of a different nature altogether. It does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands in the very teeth of suffering. The love of God did not protect His own Son…He will not necessarily protect us- not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process.” There is such truth in this statement. We expect protection from any ounce of suffering, and yet we take no issue with Jesus drinking the full cup of God’s wrath once reserved for us. The truth is that we are no greater than our Master. No one is immune from suffering.

Suffering came to fellowship with Christ. The Father did not withhold it from Him, the suffering servant. It was essential in atoning for our sin. Isaiah 53:3 tells us that he was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. It was the will of the Lord to crush him (Isaiah 53:10). Why would we believe for a moment that suffering would not be foundational in our lives as believers? Why do we have such disdain for that which Christ bent like wheat to the will of the Father? Jesus promised His disciples that trouble and tribulation would come to them, but they were to be comforted by His peace (John 16:33).

No matter how much we would like to avoid the fellowship of suffering, Scripture assures us that it comes. We see Peter telling fellow believers that their suffering and grief in various trials were meant to display their genuineness of faith. James told the twelve tribes to count it all joy when meeting trials of various kinds (James 1:2). Paul did not stop at knowing Christ Jesus in His resurrection through faith in Him as his Savior, but he embraced the fellowship and the sharing of His sufferings because he knew that in doing so, he was being conformed to the image of Christ. The church at Corinth was told of the God of comfort, who comforts in all afflictions and as believers share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ they also share abundantly in comfort (2 Corinthians 1:4,5).

The gift of the fellowship of His sufferings draws us closer to God, conforming us ever more into His image. To speak of suffering is neither popular nor desired. But when a Christian suffers in some capacity, that blessed disciple’s faith is given the privilege to be refined, shining forth sacrificial praise and honor to the One who is worthy. It is a great comfort to know that our faith is not in our words, positive thoughts, or in our faith. Our faith rests upon the Rock, regardless of what may come, and though the landscape changes, He changes not.

When suffering comes to fellowship, we unclench our fists and we open our eyes. We look to the One from where our help comes. We do not shrink back or hide in times of affliction and pain. We consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18), and we praise Jesus Christ for suffering beyond comprehension on our behalf.