Enduring our Cross
Peter and Rohnel, servants of the Most High, to the scattered pilgrims who share our precious faith in the Living Christ, peace and grace to you in the name of the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May these words, in their appointed time, bring comfort to those who are afflicted and suffering many sorrows in life.
The life of Jesus Christ in a clay vessel is a life of enduring many sorrows. Our Lord Jesus Christ and we as His chosen ones, Christ’s Christ, willingly endure the sorrows the Father appoints us to for our love of the Father that is put into our hearts. We go and do as our heavenly Father directs us, knowing full well the journey comes with many tribulations and sorrows. Christ’s death was no surprise to Him, and our death to the old life and our sufferings is no surprise either. Christ teaches this to His disciples continually to enable us to endure the sufferings and sorrows.
Mar 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
We ask for relief when desired, but put all things in subjection to the will of God.
Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
We, as Christ in the world, follow the Lord and also endure much sorrow in the process of being remade in the hands of the Potter. These sorrows and afflictions are humbling us and making us poor in spirit [of our flesh].
Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
The Scriptures, speaking of Christ, speak not only of our Lord’s coming in the body of flesh, but also His coming into our bodies of flesh. We are His Holy Temple in which He comes to dwell. We are raised as Christ in the world for His purposes to be His witnesses and perform the greater works. Through the Living Word of the Father that dwells in our hearts and minds, we are no longer of this world, yet are sent into the world in the same manner as the Lord was sent. We continue to grow in understanding the scope and magnitude of this heavenly appointment as the chosen of God.
Joh 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world
The carnal world judges us in the flesh like they did Christ back then, seeing Him only as Joseph’s son, a mere carpenter. Thus, our report of the Gospel and the revealing of the mysteries of God are not believed. Our preaching is rejected, and understanding is given only to a precious few who make up the little flock, the remnant being saved in this generation. The Gospel remains hidden from the eyes that do not see us as Christ.
Isa 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Those who believe and those to whom Christ is revealed are those given to suffer many sorrows from the arm of the Lord. When our troubles and sorrows begin in our day of the Lord, those outside the faith see it and want nothing to do with us. The great gulf continues to widen as we walk in the Spirit, preach, and obey the Gospel. To the carnal world, what we believe and do is foolishness. Our life is defined by increasing sorrows and much grief that only adds to the rejection of our life focus, actions, and the words of truth we speak. Christ is not esteemed and rather despised.
Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The Lord’s Christ in every generation bears the griefs and carries the sorrows for the whole of the Lord’s church. The carnally minded see those smitten and afflicted of God, but do not understand the purposes of the afflictions and sorrows, until the Lord opens our eyes to the Gospel.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Our sufferings are both physical and spiritual, and come in many shapes and forms, as the Scriptures describe. The Lord uses everything at His disposal [all things] to bring trials, including those of health, money, spiritual and physical family, property, worldly relationships, and many more, to bring the necessary sorrows to crush our fleshly spirit. The Lord even uses the tribulations of others whom we love dearly to bring us sorrow. Jesus wept over Lazarus and the sorrow of the disciples, and we also weep over the sorrows of those we love. The Body of Christ is one spirit and body with Christ, and we all partake of the same bread that is the Commandments. We have all things in common including our sorrows.
Rom 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Our tribulations separate us for the Lord’s purposes and humble us by continually trying and proving our faith. This time is known as a day of trouble, and it is our day of the Lord when we are being perfected from our sin. The yoke, our bondage to the whims of our flesh, is being destroyed so we serve only Christ. It is known as the great tribulation in the New Testament and by many other names and phrases, including Jacob’s trouble.
Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Jer 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
Jer 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Those suffering afflictions are often reproached and scornfully treated by the carnally minded world, who look down upon those who suffer and are weak in the flesh. Some are born with physical afflictions that bring great hardship and sorrow, and some carry these burdens for many years. The stories and examples of God-given physical afflictions in the Scriptures apply both spiritually and outwardly. The Lord is working all things and is the father of all spirits, even those that cause sorrowful and painful infirmities. Here is a sampling of those biblical stories.
- Jacob wrestles with God and injures his hip, taking away the strength of his flesh [no thigh] – Gen 32:25
- Job loses everything but his life and is afflicted with boils over his body to humble him – Job chapters 1-2
- Issac and Jacob lose their eyesight later in life, so they walk only by faith – Gen 27 and Gen 48
- Man crippled 38 years before Christ healed him at the pool – Joh 5:5
- Woman bowed over for 18 years healed by Christ – Luke 13:11-16
- Paul’s thorn in the flesh to keep him humble – 2Co 12:7-9
- Man born blind from birth healed – Joh 9:1-3
- Woman with menstrual blood for 12 years – Mat 9:20-22
Let us also remember our Lord and the suffering and anguish Jesus Christ endured, a Roman crucifixion, in losing his physical life. The Lord knows how to comfort us in our suffering as He has endured more than we ever are asked to endure. Our chastening with both physical and spiritual afflictions is all for the purpose of being perfected as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The Lord wastes nothing, and all of our sorrow is used for good and transforms us into the likeness and image of Christ, being made a son of God. We are not suffering for suffering’s sake but for righteousness’ sake. We come to see and understand this principle and thus lay down our lives for the sake of the Body that is the church. Having received the Gospel, the Living Word, we see and know all of our suffering as a righteous servant is bearing the inequities of all.
Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him [us, the elect, His righteous servants]; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
It pleases the Lord to bruise His Christ in this world. Not that the Lord enjoys our suffering, but because He knows the way of learning righteousness, the very reason He comes, is found through suffering and loss.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Our chastening by these afflictions is not always meant to correct us for a sin or wrongdoing. To those given much, much is expected, and the Lord afflicts those He raises as shepherds of His sheep to keep them/us from being exalted. Paul shared his testimony with us.
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
Solomon, the king, preacher, and wisest man on earth, learned as we do of the direct relationship between wisdom and knowledge of God and the resulting sorrow.
Ecc 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Solomon’s words bear powerful witness to the Lord’s use of sorrow and mourning to remake us in His image and likeness. The sadder our fleshly hearts are made, the despairing of life in this world, the closer we are coming to the kingdom of God.
Ecc 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Ecc 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Sicknesses, diseases, and pain, known as spirits of infirmity, are under the control of the Father of all Spirits [Heb 12:9], who is the Lord. They are part of all things being worked for the counsel of His will. Many suffer for long periods, and it is all used for the glory of God in due time.
Besides the Lord’s death on the cross, the most comprehensive suffering and loss may be foretold in the Book of Job. All things must be fulfilled, including our Job experience. The Lord sent satan to try Job and take everything from him: his house, his livelihood, his family, his servants, as written in Job 1:14-19. Even still, the Lord added physical pain and affliction to Job’s sorrow and suffering.
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
All of these afflictions, called evil by the Scriptures, are used for good to humble us as they did for Job and thereby drain our fleshly spirit.
Ecc 1:18 CLV I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens:it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.
The Lord blessed the latter end of Job much more than in the beginning, and so it shall be with all of us suffering sorrow today.
Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
Job 42:12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
The disciples taught us to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing they serve a purpose for the sake of the entire body of Christ. Suffering is the calling for all who Christ brings through the door in this age, who become living sacrifices and ministers of the Gospel.
Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Following our Lord’s example, we lay down our lives for the brethren, embracing the suffering and reproach that come with our heavenly calling.
1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Our treasure is Christ in us, the Promise, the Living Commandments, that is the Holy Spirit now dwelling in us. We learn to stand on our hope and faith in the promises of God, trusting that the work He began is being finished.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10 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.
Only a faithful few continue to walk, bear their cross, and pay the costs all the way to the end. The Lord makes a way for us to endure to the end, even through periods of despair of life.
2Co 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
2Co 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
Our fleshly spirit, the carnal mind and its lusts that is our old man, is decreased for Christ in us to be revealed. When our fleshly spirit is crushed and made poor, we are the most blessed people on the earth. Those who mourn through their sorrow are likewise blessed and comforted by God. The crushing of our old spirit is making us meek, causing us to stop striving with our Maker and thus to inherit the earth. The result is overcoming our sin and having dominion over our earth, ruling and reigning with Christ.
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Being crucified with Christ, we reach the point of giving up our spirit, which is submitting ourselves fully unto the Lord. The same is losing our life to save it. New life comes by way of the death of the old.
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The sacrifices that are acceptable to God are those of a crushed or broken spirit who looks to God alone for their sufficiency.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Sorrows break our fleshly spirit and are thus integral to preparing us for use in the Master’s kingdom.
Pro 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Psa 107:39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
We are being humbled [made meek], before the Lord raises us back up in the power of His resurrection. The NT version says it in these words from James.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Godly sorrow brings salvation, and the sorrow of the world brings forth death, meaning sin. The former has us forsaking all to obey God; worldly sorrow is feigned humility designed to keep the spirit of flesh alive.
2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death [sin].
The Lord knows what we can take and what is needed to perfect us and prepare us for His use in bringing forth judgment to the Gentiles. While the Lord bruises us, He does not break us or completely destroy us. It is through these many tribulations that is our day of judgment, that we are brought forth into the Truth.
Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
Knowing these truths, we often remind ourselves of the suffering, the trials, the sorrow that is necessary to enter into the kingdom of God and be perfected in our day of the Lord. It was prophesied long ago, and the Lord changes not in His ways.
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Christ often spoke to His disciples about his impending death and suffering on the cross. Yet they brushed it off and did not understand what was being said until they lived it. Later, they did remember, and it helped them, as it helps all of us to endure our suffering and sorrows as we follow the Lord’s example. We understand it when we fulfill times of great sorrows in our appointed seasons and fulfill the Scriptures.
Luk 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
Luk 18:32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
Luk 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
Luk 18:34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
Carnal minds tell us this cannot possibly be true, yet the Lord rebuked Peter for his unbelief.
Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
All who come through the door of the Living Christ, the Commandments [Joh 10:20], are Christ in the world and have become a shepherd of the sheep. Shepherds of the sheep give their lives for the sheep. As Christ in the world, we are giving our lives as the Lord did His.
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Our many sorrows are not pleasant in the moment, but they yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in the end. Our suffering is for a short season as the Lord makes a quick work on the earth. For the elect’s sake, He promises to shorten the days. Our hope in the promises of God not yet revealed sustains us through.
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Our sorrow is turned into joy right on time, as was written in our book from the very beginning. Joy comes in the morning when Christ arises in us.
Joh 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
Joh 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Our time of sorrows has a beginning and an end. It is in the last days, once we have heard the Gospel, that our day of the Lord begins, which is also the beginning of our sorrows. The chastening grace of God tries us with the Commandments, and the Lord brings various afflictions and the resulting loss and suffering. Once the Gospel has been preached, the time of the end is at hand, the conflicts in our life begin, as such is the beginning of our sorrows.
Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
The redeemed of the Lord are learning to walk on the highway to holiness. On this narrow highway, nothing can harm us, and we obtain joy and gladness, and all our sorrows flee away.
Isa 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
Isa 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
When the work of God is done, there is no more sorrow and no more tears. All things have been made new. We are free from death, sorrow, and all pain and suffering. This promise is our hope and what helps us to endure just a little longer. Our hope is in the Lord, not in our current state of suffering.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
We are entering into the true holy city, of Zion, that is heavenly Jerusalem, where there is no longer any sorrow or mourning.
Isa 51:11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
When we feel helpless and overcome with sorrow and suffering that we cannot bear any longer, we need to remind ourselves of the Lord’s promises. The Scriptures bring comfort and hope of better times ahead. In times of need, we go to the throne of mercy and grace, the Living Commandments, the Holy Spirit, and seek wisdom from above.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
The examples of Jesus Christ and the OT types of Christ, such as King David, give us instruction. Seek the Lord and fervently pray and bring praises to His name, that is His Commandments. Only the Lord can lead us out of the pit of sorrow and suffering.
Psa 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
Psa 18:3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
Psa 18:4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
Psa 18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Psa 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Christ commands us not to fall asleep in our sorrow as did the unconverted disciples before Christ was taken and crucified. Stay alert, sober, and focused on the Commandments. Our times of weakness become the devil’s opportune times to tempt us. Prayer is seeking God, and we are to do this without ceasing.
Luk 22:45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
Luk 22:46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
The more we suffer, the more we grow from babes in Christ onward to maturity. With greater knowledge and understanding of His grace, we become willing and able to lay down our lives as a living sacrifice as commanded. We endure our cross as the joy of the Lord is our strength.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We are unworthy servants of the Most High God who have been redeemed from the earth. In this, we can rejoice even in the midst of great sorrows and suffering. We have been prepared for the marriage of the Lamb through many sufferings. Let us be glad and rejoice in the day.