Monday: off to war

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church...--Colossians 1:24

It's funny that this is the verse I ran into today after the last few days of dealing with proponents of the prosperity gospel. Paul is not submitting with annoyance to God in hard times--this man is rejoicing as he suffers. This is not normal for humanity. Who likes to suffer? I know I don't. But he had been so transformed by the power of the Gospel that he looked at suffering for Christ's sake as something to take joy in. Whether or not he was happy is debatable, but happiness and joy are not the same thing.

Paul has an eagerness to pursue Christ that I desire in myself. I have grown deeper in my affections for Him, but at the same time my desires and my faith are still immature. I know more than I did, I am stronger than I was, and all this comes from God and through His hand, not from anything I've done. Yet I consistently seek more of Him. In God I find real growing joy, even in the midst of pain; in God I find the only thing that inspires me to be excited that doesn't bore me eventually. I pray that I will have the courage to be a minister of the Gospel today to those I interact with, and for courage when the enemy's attacks come. Whatever may come, He is there and He's always moving and working in me, and for that I am more grateful than even I can express; He is life and whatever else comes, no one can strip that from me.