What do you do when you are suffering, when you are under attack? How do you deal with the pressure against you?
Suffering is caused by one of two things.
- Something you did. It can be through something you did right or wrong.
- Something you didn’t do.
In other words, you may be suffering for the choices you have made, the consequences for those choices, or you are suffering innocently for no reason at all. Perhaps you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, we suffer for righteousness sake, for accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and following Him, or we suffer for the unrighteous things we have done, the wrong things we have done, or we are suffering for no cause of our own but by living in a broken world filled with pain.
The truth is, we cannot escape suffering in this world, in this life. Jesus said,
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
So what is the answer? Jesus is the answer for the world today. Above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the way. He is the answer for you right now.
The apostle John wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
1 John 5:4
You may not escape suffering in this world, but you can overcome suffering in this world. When Jesus began His ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit, He began to say:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:15
Jesus met with a Jewish ruler one night who knew that Jesus was of God because no one could do the miracles He did unless God were with Him. Jesus replied to this man Nicodemus by telling him that he must be born again, born from above, born of God by the Holy Spirit, or he would not see the kingdom of God or enter it.
The way to overcome is by being born again by faith in Jesus Christ who came to die for OUR sins. He was buried, and on the thrid day, He rose again by the power of God according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
Jesus is alive, and He alone is our victory over every form of suffering you can imagine.
Jesus can save you and heal you and help you personally because He is alive right now seated at the right hand of God in Heaven.
We have another choice to make. We can choose to make our heart hard through resentment or bitterness, or we can choose to make it soft by humbling ourselves before the Lord, that He may lift us up in due time.
Consider these Scriptures:
1 Peter 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
1 Peter 2:22 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH”;
1 Peter 2:23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himselfto Him who judges righteously;
1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
- Other Scriptures to reflect on are Daniel 10:12, 1 Peter 3:16, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5, 6.
Do you want freedom today? Go to Jesus.
Jesus is our victory.
- Psalm 98:1, Matthew 12:20, 1 Corinthians 15:57, 1 John 5:4, Revelation 15:2
There is even victory over death because of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55.
If you are not suffering for Jesus Christ (not to mean that you have to always suffer on a continuous basis moment by moment), then you may want to consider that something may be wrong. The devil may not consider you a threat to him or his kingdom.
But when he sees that you are serious about your walk with God and that you are pressing in to know Him more and more, and that you are becoming bold in your words and life to those who are lost and slaves to sin under him, then he is going to do something about it. He will attack. But remember the Word of God, “He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.”
Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:57.
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, victory over the devil, victory over sin, victory over the flesh, victory over sickness and disease, victory over all forms of oppression, depression, discouragement and defeat. In other words, VICTORY OVER THE WORLD, over everything, because Jesus is above everything. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. There is no other name in Heaven or earth that is greater or higher. Jesus has been given all authority in Heaven and earth.
What does that mean for you and me? VICTORY!
We do not wrestle and struggle against flesh and blood, meaning people. Paul wrote by the Holy Spirit to the disciples of Jesus about this in Ephesians 6:10-20 and exhorted and encouraged them to be strong in the Lord.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Today, you can KNOW and EXPERIENCE victory when you humble yourself and go to the Lord Jesus who loves you and cares about all that you go through, He will lift you up, He will heal, He will deliver you. His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. God will not lead you into temptation, but will deliver you from evil, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
1Jn 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
In closing, I return to the question at the beginning. What do you do when you are suffering or under attack, and the pressure is greater than you think you can bear? Go to Jesus humbly and in faith, go to Him in prayer and His Word. What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. Begin to praise and worship the Lord. Shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Hallelujah for Jesus!
Jesus is our Victory in all things! Praise and glory be to our God and Savior forever. Amen.