Following God in this world involves suffering. Let’s accept the fact that suffering comes with the territory of being a believer in a world that is not our home. To be true to God will cost you. It cost Jeremiah a lot.

Image © Kevin Carden from GoodSalt.com

Everyone wants to be loved and well thought of. None in their right mind would choose a path that would bring them into conflict with others, especially with those who share a common bond. If we had our wish, choosing to suffer for Crist would not appear on that list. However, some suffering cannot be avoided.

I’m not speaking of the suffering that comes as a result of sickness or accident. Bad things happen to good people and many events in life are out of our control. In a world that is groaning under the effects of sin, the rain of life falls on both the just and the unjust.

The suffering I’m specifically referring to comes as a result of being faithful to the commands and direction of God. It’s that suffering that pierces the heart when the fruit of your faithfulness results in the bitter poison of rejection. That’s what it was like for Jeremiah.

As we previously learned, Jeremiah was called to this crucial role as a prophet before he was even born. Not only did God call him but He also informed him that to carry out his mission in life he would meet with fierce opposition – from his own countrymen.

“For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land— against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.  They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.” Jeremiah 1:18-19

God has a habit of asking us to do things we normally would never want to do. And the path He leads us on frequently includes suffering. Bearing our cross cuts against the grain of our natural hearts. To deny ourselves and to live lives of self-sacrifice all for the benefit of others often seems more than we can do.

For Jeremiah, the path God chose for him (not the path he chose for himself) brought him into conflict with people in high places. His people, God’s people, were living in a state of apostasy and yet lived their lives as if nothing was wrong. To break the bands of deception that covered the people would take strong words from a strong individual. Yet, even as we read the straight testimony of Jeremiah, we see a side of him that feels the bitter sting of rejection.

“But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.” Jeremiah 11:19

Yes, suffering comes with the territory. But why? Why does God lead us down paths that are often unpleasant and laced with sorrow? Why must the servants of the Most High God often be bowed down with disappointment and suffering? I like how my favorite author speaks to this question.

“We must be partakers with Christ of His sufferings if we would sit down in triumph with Him on His throne. So long as we choose the easy path of self-indulgence and are frightened at self-denial, our faith will never become firm, and we cannot know the peace of Jesus nor the joy that comes through conscious victory. The most exalted of the redeemed host that stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, clad in white, know the conflict of overcoming, for they have come up through great tribulation. Those who have yielded to circumstances rather than engage in this conflict will not know how to stand in that day when anguish will be upon every soul, when, though Noah, Job, and Daniel were in the land, they could save neither son nor daughter, for everyone must deliver his soul by his own righteousness.” Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol 5, pg 215

Here are a few Hit the Mark questions for this week’s lesson discussion:

• What does suffering for Christ mean to you?
• Is it true that God does not expect all of His followers to suffer for His sake? Why yes or no?
• Explain the role of self-denial in the life of a believer.
• Is it true that the truer my love for God, the less I will need to suffer for Him? Explain your answer.
• Are trials, suffering and persecution evidence of being faithful to God? Explain your answer.
• How can one tell, if at all, if their conflicts with others is a result of being faithful to God or a character flaw?
• Is the following statement True, Mostly True, Somewhat True or Not True: Those who deny themselves the most are the ones who are closest to God. Explain your answer.

We close this week’s lesson on Rebuke and Retribution with some timely words from Paul. His ministry started with a promise of suffering for Christ and here he speaks to the rewards:

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:16-18

Until next week, let’s all continue to Hit the Mark in Sabbath School!

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