Romans 8:18

Devotional Thoughts

By David Wilkerson

Jesus suffered mental and physical anguish – He was rejected, distrusted, abused, mocked, laughed at. He knew what it was to be lonely, hungry, poor, unloved, shamed, made the butt of jokes, slandered. He was called a liar, a fraud, a false prophet. He was humiliated; His own family misunderstood Him; His most trusted friends lost faith in Him; His own disciples forsook Him and fled, one even denied he knew Him. Finally, they spat upon Him, mocked Him, and murdered Him! "

Jesus sympathizes with all our hurts and sufferings because He went through it all Himself. "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15, NAS).

Do not be disturbed by the trouble and suffering in your own life, or by that which you see in the lives of many godly people around you. You may love Jesus now more than ever before and can't understand why you should be going through such trials and hurts. You can be very sure that God has a divine purpose behind every trial, behind every single suffering you are enduring right now!

Paul did not want converts to be confused by all the troubles that swarmed about him. Few men suffered more than Paul. He went about warning believers they would experience personal sufferings. Paul said, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). The godly will enter the kingdom, not without suffering, without sickness, without pain. But rather, they will enter through much anguish, much persecution, many burdens, and many troubles!

No one doubts that God can stop all our suffering, all our pain, all our distress, simply by speaking a word. He could send a legion of angels, a host from the heavens. We know there is already an angel encamped about each of us who believe. But an all-wise God would not put us in the furnace, go part of the way with us, and then feel sorry and let us off. He would not quit on us before He accomplishes His will. It would then have all been in vain.

We are not always delivered by the letting up of suffering, but rather by the intensification of it, so that God can hasten our escape through our dying to this world. We are delivered when we die to the flesh! Have you cried out to God for deliverance? Has the trouble increased instead? Are things getting worse, not better? Rejoice! You are about to be delivered up to death! You are about to lose all your fight, about to die to your will. That is the escape – through death to self-will.

Deliverance is not through resignation, but through resurrection.