TEAMS for Medical Missions

PO Box 215 ~ Macungie, PA 18062

Character trumps comfort

John 16:33 …In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. Hardship, injustice, violence, sickness, pain, evil is all part and parcel for the world in which we live. Things are getting worse, not better, and Jesus’ prayer to the Father on our behalf in John 17 was not to remove us from here, but to use us here. 2Corinthians 1:3-5 tells us we will suffer and that suffering is to prepare us to help others. So why are we surprised when tragedy strikes? Why do we feel God has somehow abandoned us? Why do we seek to control life, to make it safe and comfortable, avoiding all that causes pain and danger instead of jumping in with both feet and ministering out of obedience, wherever God calls us? Jesus Christ Himself, suffered and died a tragic, violent death. Why are we surprised when we are called to do the same? Suffering is to be expected, sacrifice is required, and perhaps even martyrdom. But we must say with Paul in Philippians 1:21, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Our God is a God of comfort, but His comfort is shown to us in the midst of suffering.