Why Do Godly Christians Suffer?

Many Christians today believe that Christ has done everything to save them but are still working desperately to be good witnesses of Christ.  Several years ago, a speaker talked about how much better it is to burn out for Christ than to rust out.  In reality there is no difference between the two. They produce the same amount of heat, the same amount of light, and the same amount of oxides.   Rusting out just takes longer.  As Christians, we are not to be the fuel, but just the reservoir that holds the fuel and enables it to burn, just as a lamp holds the lamp oil and wick so light is produced. 

We need to understand that like our salvation, our witnessing is based on what Christ does in us, rather than our efforts to witness.  II Corinthians 4:6 reminds us, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”   When they see Christ instead of us, they will be drawn to him.   In John 12:32 Jesus declared, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” 

We are not perfect, and are incapable of portraying Christ adequately in our own power.  II Corinthians 4:7-12 tells us, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.  So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”

We continue to struggle with the things of the world so that the emphasis may be on Christ rather than on our own goodness.  While it seems counterintuitive, It is through our struggles that people see God’s power in our lives, whether the struggle is with some temptation, financial difficulties, health problems, or religious persecution.  When we give the impression of living a near perfect life, some people are discouraged, knowing they are not perfect, while others focus on us and try to obtain a similar lifestyle without understanding their need for Christ.  Seeing us struggle may be the very thing that convinces them there is hope in Christ.

Many times those who follow Christ most closely have the most problems in this life, as Paul mentions in I Corinthians 4:9.  “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”  Their experience of God’s power is what gives them the assurance of God’s faithfulness and enables them to speak with confidence that God will honor faith, knowing their own weakness, as II Corinthians 4:13 tells us.  “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”

It is the awareness that God is not punishing them but is using their suffering to reach others that enables them to go on, even risking their own lives, according to II Corinthians 4:16-18.  “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  The suffering here is just a temporary inconvenience that will lead to eternal blessings.