Suffering For the Truth

After yesterday’s post on heartbreak and the goodness of God, I believe the Lord reminded me through my daily Bible reading as well as the devotional by Charles Spurgeon.  We will suffer persecution for doing what is right and the Bible comments on the fact that we should rejoice in the midst of such sufferings.  We don’t rejoice that we are going through it but we rejoice in the fact that we are counted worthy to suffer for the sake of the Lord.  (Acts 6)

Morning and Evening

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said…’Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods.’”  Daniel 3:16,18

The narrative of the manly courage and marvellous deliverance of the three holy children, or rather champions, is well calculated to excite in the minds of believers firmness and steadfastness in upholding the truth in the teeth of tyranny and in the very jaws of death.  Let young Christians especially learn from their example, both in matters of faith in religion, and matters of uprightness in business, never to sacrifice their consciences.  Lose all rather than lose your integrity, and when all else is gone, still hold fast a clear conscience as the rarest jewel which can adorn the bosom of a mortal.

Be not guided by the will-o’-the-wisp policy, but by the pole-star of divine authority.  Follow the right at all hazards.  When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight.  Do God the honour to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.  See whether He will be your debtor!  See if He doth not even in this life prove His word that ‘Godliness, with contentment, is great gain’, and that they who ’seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, shall have all these things added unto them’.  Should it happen that, in the providence of God, you are a loser by conscience, you shall find that if the Lord pays you not back in the silver of prosperity, He will discharge His promise in the gold of spiritual joy.

Remember that a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of that which he possesseth.  To wear a guileless spirit, to have a heart void of offence, to have the favour and smile of God, is greater riches than the mines of Ophir could yield, or the traffic of Tyre could win.  ‘Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and inward contention therewith.’  An ounce of heart’s-ease is worth a ton of gold.

by Charles Spurgeon

I couldn’t agree with him more!

The Agony of Heartbreak and the Goodness of God?

So many times we get caught up in everyday life then suddenly something happens in such a way that our hearts begin to break.  The past couple of weeks have been such for me due to losing someone very special to our family.  Let me hasten to assure you that it was not through death but due to selfishness and the lack of desire for the truth.   This was never intended so but truth cannot be changed even for friendship.

I guess the question needs asking how does the agony of heartbreak and the goodness of God go together? So many times we feel that God hates us if we go through any kind of trouble and yet that is so far from the truth.  God loves His children dearly and it is only a loving parent that will discipline their child when he/she goes astray.

Take a little one for example.  If you keep a close eye on him or her they will try to push the boundaries and see if you are willing to stick with the rules and boundaries.  They know you will say no and yet still look at you and touch whatever it is you don’t want them to touch.  It is important to keep saying firmly, “NO!” regardless of the cries, anger or tantrums.  In the same way, many times the Lord tells us no and we don’t listen to Him.  We still want our way so the Lord has to discipline us to remind us that we must obey HIM.

When the agony of heartbreak comes and we feel overwhelmed many times and here are some of the things we do:

1. Blame God for what happened to us.
2. Grow angry because we are not allowed to continue on with whatever it is we feel makes us happy.
3. Grow bitter and show hatred toward God.
4. Feel that God has it out for us and so we begin to get really hard and hateful towards others that love and serve God.

Hebrews 12 tells us that chastisement is there for our good and to bring forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness; however, if we are angry and bitter then there will be no fruit of righteousness this time.  Once we get over the bitterness and anger the Lord must once again break our hearts (sometimes this must be done many times over) until the peaceable fruit of righteousness begins to show.

This is the goodness of God toward us because He is working in our hearts and conforming us to the image of Christ.  How good and gracious God is in the midst of heartbreak!  What love He shows us by not tiring of our tantrums and telling us to get lost.

Thank you, Lord, for Your goodness towards me through the chastisement and discipline within my life.  Help me to ever look to You in ALL situations.

I will finish off my thoughts another day but let us be willing to be broken and be ready to suffer for Christ since He paid the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross!  Amen!