“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. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:7-9
I recently received a beautiful email from a dear friend who suffers from many complications of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She always amazes me with her deep faith and love for Jesus, and she trusts Him with all that she is, every day, in the midst of her suffering. She gave me permission to share what she wrote as it relates to 1 Peter 1:7-9. This is what she said:
I really meditated on verse 7. To understand it a little better, I focused on:
"These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith…
may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
It brought me great joy to realize my suffering is a gift that I can not only give to Jesus now but also when I see Him face to face. It is a gift of praise, glory and honor to my Savior Whom I love. So, I will try to look at my trials as a gift I get to give Him:
Headaches every night? A gift.
Daily episodes of extreme fatigue where my arms and legs feel as though they weigh about 75 more pounds, making it so hard to function? A gift.
Constant leg tightness, spasms and pain? A gift.
Eye pain? A gift.
Left-side face and neck tingling? A gift.
Brain cysts that may or may not be a problem in the future? A gift.
Double vision? A gift.
Frequent coughing/choking based on head position? A gift.
Difficulty eating from impaired esophagus? A gift.
Discomfort after eating? A gift.
Constant vigilance in monitoring my intake and output to prevent intestinal twisting? A gift.
Constant dental issues? A gift.
Discouragement in my circumstances? A gift.
All of my trials and struggles? A gift.
My initial question as I read her words was, God, how can all these things be regarded as a gift? These are sufferings, not gifts! But what my friend understands, and I’m still learning, is that even our suffering is welcomed by Jesus as a gift to Him. He does not place parameters on our surrendering all to Him. He doesn’t say, “Don’t give me that part. That’s awful.” No. Jesus, in essence, says to us:
Come as you are.
You–
in all of your joys and pain,
in all of your strengths and weaknesses,
in all of your triumphs and sufferings–
all that you give to me of yourself
is a gift.
And I will hold it,
redeem it,
and use it
to further my Kingdom
coming on earth as it is in heaven.
Could it be that the suffering we entrust to Jesus as a gift will, in turn, be redeemed in such a way that it becomes a gift to be received by others for the sake of the Kingdom? I’m reminded once again of Jesus on the Cross as He entrusted His suffering to God the Father. God received Christ’s suffering, and in turn, blessed the whole world through it. The Good News of the Kingdom is that suffering will be redeemed.
My friend is right to entrust her suffering to Christ as a gift, not only because He will receive it as such, but He will also redeem it to be for her and for all of us…
A gift.
~em
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