Partakers of Sufferings

2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2Co 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
2Co 1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
2Co 1:7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.


Partakers of sufferings.


Whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and SALVATION- which is EFFECTUAL in the ENDURING of the same sufferings which we also suffer...


Or whether we be comforted it is for your consolation and SALVATION.


We will have sufferings, we will. The suffering can come in so many forms. We can't pinpoint one suffering being harder than another because we all suffer in our own way. It's true. There are pain tolerances for every individual and there are suffering tolerances as well. The tolerance level being high or low but in the end it doesn't matter really because as individuals we have to live with the sufferings we endure not collectively. I can't truly feel your pain and suffering, I can empathize but I can't feel exactly what you are feeling because I'm not you. So many people say 'man up', meaning endure the suffering like a man, who supposedly endures it very stoically. We all have to 'man up' but our 'manning up' isn't a self-serving, self-endurance test it's a test of our faith, our ability to look to God so we endure through Him, not of ourselves.


We have to have hope knowing that any suffering we endure will be rewarded, there will be a consolation found in Christ when He returns, our consolation- SALVATION.


Salvation is our prize and worth enduring what? Anything? Yes, anything.


By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we as partakers in lifes sufferings endure unto the end our prize life with Christ forever, salvation found in Him.


Amen.