Daily Devotional #1909

I was with a group last night that is going through Paul Little's book "Know Why You Believe”. It has been a great journey for me and last night we were all sharing about the topic of suffering. There are many reasons for suffering. Some of it is because of our own sin, some because of our foolishness and some just from living in a broken, fallen world. I shared a verse that I learned and have been reminded of for many years now. It is 1 Peter 2:21. It says "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps..." Sometimes we suffer as a result of doing good. We follow in Jesus' steps, the one who never sinned and yet he suffered so we could be set free from our sin. It was a plan to save us. The Bible says that he went to the cross for us so that we could be saved and have that eternal life with God. And now, if you choose to follow this Jesus of the Bible, you need to be prepared to suffer too. So when any suffering comes our goal is to face it like Jesus did.....to follow in his steps. God is asking you today to follow the one who suffered innocently for you and me and he did it with patience, calm and confidence that God is in control of the future. Suffering will come...this is not heaven, this is not home. But your willingness to suffer not only honors God, but your faithfulness in those hard and hurtful times becomes a road sign to others that there is something more to this journey of life than to just exist, but to live with purpose and to know the one who makes life worth living. Don't give up, don't give in. Look for the footsteps and get to know your Bible well enough that you can ask the question “What would Jesus do? And then go do it. It will be worth it. Here's our Bible verse for today... 
1 Peter 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps... 
Remember I'm praying for you, 
PJ