We get a gift as Christians. It’s identifying with Christ in His suffering. Why is it a gift? Romans 8:17 says that we are “fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

We must suffer with Christ to be glorified with Christ.

Paul desired to suffer with Christ. He said as recorded in Philippians 3:10, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”

Why do we want to join with Christ in His suffering and death?

Romans 6:4 “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

We die with Christ so that we can raise as Christ. We are to no longer live but Christ lives in us and through us.

It’s not our life. It’s okay to suffer. It’s not our life. We don’t live for ourselves and our own benefit. Love doesn’t seek its own. It’s His life. He chose to suffer for the sake of others. Don’t be surprised if He makes the same choice with the life that He’s living through you.

Jeremiah is falsely accused and beaten. Just like Jesus.

Do you want to be just like Jesus? Do you pray to become Christ-like? It’s going to involve suffering. Christ was persecuted and so were the prophets. We’re told to rejoice when it happens to us. We’re told to be exceedingly glad about it.

We run to the prayer line in the hopes of getting out of our suffering. God brought it on purpose. He can hide His children when the time has not yet come, but there is a time and a place for everything. That also means there is a time for healing, for restoration and restitution. There is a time for justice. There is a time for all things being made new. Jesus suffered and died, but He also rose from the dead and redeemed your life in the process. The suffering was worth it.