| Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
We never know where this journey of following Jesus will take us! There will be places and seasons on the journey where there will be great struggles, tests, and trials. There will be seasons where we must walk by faith and follow Jesus.
And without Jesus, we will not make it through these difficult seasons.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians and told them: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”
How many feel that this is what you are going through in life? Are you feeling pressure from every side of life? (Physically, marriage and family, emotionally, and you feel like you are being pressed?)
Are you perplexed? (Confused, not having any answers?) Do you feel hunted down? Have you been knocked down? This is all part of the journey of following Jesus!
Why? Because suffering is an avenue through which we die to self, sin, flesh, and comfort. There must always be a death before the resurrection! How many people want the resurrection power of Christ in their lives, but to experience His resurrection power, there must first be a death!
God allows these times and seasons of suffering, trials, and testing to get us to surrender more of ourselves so that God can bring His power, His Presence, and His peace into our lives!
“I must decrease so that He may increase!” Lord, help me surrender today to Your will, and know that when I decrease, You will increase in me!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Church (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
