Why do we struggle? Does it mean we did something wrong? Not exactly! 1 Peter 3:13-14 says, “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed” [NIV].
We struggle to be like Christ, carrying our own cross. Matthew 16:24-25 says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it’.” [NIV]
What statements! To be Jesus’s disciple, “deny themselves,” “take up their cross,” and “follow Me.” It’s hard to follow someone with a heavy burden like a cross, but also, what a gift and lesson to do it humbly for your Creator!
I remember a time I was white river rafting in Colorado. When you raft, everyone has to do their part and continue to paddle because if you don’t, the raft won’t be in a fast enough momentum around the currents, and someone could easily go overboard. So in life and as Jesus’s disciple, it’s a good idea to do “our part,” not just to benefit ourselves but Jesus, our Christian community, and eventually ripple to the ones who don’t know Him.
Joseph suffered for doing good by being sold by his brothers into slavery. Later on, he thanked them and told them in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” [NIV].
Have you suffered for doing good? Has looking back brought you into a “position” of authority like Joseph?
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