2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
Read 1 Peter 4:12-16 (NRSV)
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief-maker. 16 Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name.
Questions for Personal Reflection from Kathy Sizer
In the face of hard times or suffering, how do you respond?
Which of the following scenarios describes your reaction to hard times or suffering?
- I forget, deny, or don't talk about the pain.
- I use pain to win sympathy or to get attention.
- I use pain as an excuse for failure.
- I use pain as an excuse for behaving badly--for not continuing to "do good."
- I allow pain to make me embittered and trapped by the bitterness or revenge.
As you look through "the hole in the canvas" caused by suffering, what "gifts" have you experienced in pain or trouble? Here are some examples from the sermon:
- endurance and/or patience
- compassion for the pain of other people
- thankfulness for all you DO have
- antidote to pride and control
- awareness of God’s power to pull you through
What are your experiences when you look through the "hole in the canvas?"
When has your response to pain been extending forgiveness?
Consider how this has been a sharing in the suffering of Christ?
At the end of each day, look back through the "hole in the canvas" of life, ask God to show you the gifts of the day and where he was in the day. Even on the days when you can't see any gifts, give thanks anyway that God was with you with grace and mercy beyond your seeing.
Prayer Through Song
Blessings
by Laura Story
Click on the image to hear the story behind the song
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching(s) of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
