THE BLESSING OF SUFFERING. 1st Peter 4:14 Suffering for righteousness makes us part of a great company of people of faith. The prophets suffered for telling the truth, warning them of the consequences of their sin, and challenging those who would listen to repent and turn to the Lord. Other believers have suffered for doing what was right while the majority around them chose to do what was wrong.
We are not told to seek suffering or to impose it on ourselves in an effort to please God or impress others with our godliness. But when it happens, if we take suffering as allowed by God for His sovereign reasons, we are enriched in our souls, inclined to grow more in faith, given opportunities to testify of the grace of God to us, and a reward awaits us in heaven.
Jesus said, when He was here, that those who suffer insult, persecution, and evil speaking because they believe in Him will be blessed. He takes personally what happens to His people and has sent the Holy Spirit to give the strength needed to endure hard times and overcome the difficulties they bring. Hardship is part of God’s plan for a godly person’s life on earth. We don’t belong to the world’s system, so a godly life exposes the evil of those who love sin. Believers shouldn’t be surprised or disillusioned when hardships come. There is no shame in suffering for the name’s sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit’s fullness and presence are felt in a special way by believers who suffer for His name. There is no blessing given to believers who suffer for the sins they are guilty of. To suffer as a Christian glorifies God.
The fullness and presence of the Holy Spirit are experienced in a special way by those who suffer for Jesus’ name. It is actually more of a blessing than a hardship in light of eternity. Early believers rejoiced that they were “counted worthy” to suffer for His name. The reason that heaping insults on a Christian is a cause for happiness is that they have been entrusted with something important. The effects of their efforts are signs of the Holy Spirit of God's approval, blessing, and protection.
The “spirit of glory” is the result of God being glorified when a believer's work or suffering is accomplished by one who has been guided and empowered by God. There is a glory, a display of God’s divine excellence, when His people are faithful and display godliness in the difficult situations God allows.
Two results are possible: one we bear alone, the other we share. If I avoid reproach, I am on my own; if I accept it gladly, His grace is shown to others so they are able to hear and respond to the work of the Holy Spirit. I am not left to be reproached without help. The Spirit of God and new life within me give me joy where there would normally be sadness. I can share the reproach of Christ with a measure of gladness.
The end result is that what is truly at stake for God is glorified by the reproaches I take. And the way I take that is very important. It reflects on God and all that He wants. Those who don’t know God find a reason to blame God and His people for their troubles. We who know and love Him do not react the same way because we understand that, amid life's problems, God is revealed as we walk in His light. The Spirit of glory goes beyond works of men. The Spirit of God reveals what is within. He takes what seems bad and from it brings good, and through the reproaches, He’s honored by me as I should honor Him.