“My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” – Philippians 3:10

I had a revelation when I read this Bible verse during a recent morning devotion. The Holy Spirit was speaking in “the fellowship of His sufferings.” I had my usual gut reaction: Do I really want to suffer? NO! I try to avoid suffering! Then it hit me. We all suffer. “The rain falls on the just and unjust alike” (Matthew 5:45). But will I choose to fellowship with Christ in my suffering? Will I look for what He is trying to teach me? Will I praise God from this rocky, rainy place?

Rebekah, Elektra and me (very glad to be done) with the 2013 Run for Triumph.

For me, this has been a season of trials. My daughters have had various painful struggles, some of them typical teen and young adult challenges and a few more onerous obstacles. I experienced a month of health problems and uncertainty that made me weak and unable to do a lot. Not running made me grumpy, but I was exhausted from taking the trash out. Not knowing also made me grumpy.  Where would this suffering lead?

As I look in the rear-view mirror at more than 30 years of following Christ, I can see that God uses suffering in my life to get me less self-reliant and more God-reliant. I want to “consider it joy” when I suffer because I know God will use it. I’m not saying that I like it or look forward to it, or anything crazy like that. But I can trust Him to use it.

This morning I got a devotion via email (TGIF: Prime Time with God) that talked about Joseph and how he named his son Ephraim “because God has made me fruitful in my land of suffering.” – Genesis 41:52. Writer Os Hillman writes, “Samson had great anointing but lacked character. We see many today who have great anointing yet lack character. But God is raising up Josephs who not only have great anointing for these days but also great character. Suffering produces character.”

I am reminded of the Bible passage: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance,  character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.” – Romans 5:3-5

Where will your suffering lead? Physical training (like running) is often difficult and sometimes painful (especially as I get older), but it usually produces desirable results. Likewise, will my suffering be wasted or will I go to God in my distress so I become more like Christ?