Obedience in Times of Suffering
Son though he was (Christ Jesus), he learned obedience from what he suffered and,
once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and
was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
(Hebrews 05: 08 - 10)
Right from our childhood, we have known that obedience was a tough task. It needed a willful acceptance and understanding of what the requirement was. It needed that little bit of maturity to realise that obedience to good word always led us towards goodness. For some of us, the road towards obedience was a rough path. It was not a red-carpeted welcome but a walk on hot coals that left some life-changing scars of lessons on our selves. Indeed, sufferings lead us towards learning obedience in the most appropriate way.
Hebrews 05 reminds us of the suffering that Christ Jesus went through, though He was the Son of God. It says in verse 4, "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." Being one of us in human form, Jesus passed through sufferings like all of us. There were times of fears and anxiety. Even though he knew he was on the greatest mission towards the cross, the cries and fears were not less. Our remembrance of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane is one of those incidents and the most felt one. But we learn from the same verse that because of the "reverent submission" he was heard! Yes, let me remind you and repeat it too. Because of the reverent submission or the utmost trust that he had on God, He was heard.
Now, this where I want you to carefully follow where we are heading next. God heard Jesus His Son and knew his fears and sufferings, but death was not avoided, sufferings did not cease. So what do we mean when we say "he was heard?" We notice that even after God heard Jesus' prayer and accepted his reverent submission, sufferings continued, crucifixion approached him and ultimately the death on the cross. Then what was the difference?
My dear friend, this is where, as believers in Christ Jesus, we find the greatest revelation of obedience through suffering. Let us remember that God indeed heard Jesus His Son when he prayed. No doubts about it. He admired and cherished the immovable trust that Jesus had on Him. Jesus was heard. But, instead of taking away the suffering, God helped His Son Jesus to overcome! God gave him the strength of obedience to silently go through this suffering. Instead of keeping Jesus away from death, God helped him to face this death of victory on the cross with the promise of eternal life. It was this obedience that enabled Christ Jesus to 'become the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him' (Hebrews 05: 09). It was this God-given obedience learned through suffering that made Christ Jesus become what was designated by God - to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 05: 10).
Thus, what we learn is that the more the sufferings and fears in Jesus' life the more were his reverent submission. And the more the submission and trust the more did his obedience to God's call and mission established within himself. Hebrews 05: 08-09 says, "he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." I just cherish that phrase "once made perfect." It is a reminder to us that the sufferings, fears, trust, submission and petitions have made Jesus perfect to go forth and do what was designated by God - the great mission of salvation to the whole world. Christ Jesus' submission and trust enabled the much-needed obedience in him to do what God had called him for.
My dear friend, today you may be facing numerous fears and sufferings in your life. You may question why God has allowed so much of troubles in your life even after numerous moments of prayers, tears and expressions of utmost trust in Him. But let me assure you that God has heard you! You were heard because of your reverent submission. But God has not taken away the sufferings. Instead, God is slowly and steadily making you attain perfection so that you can obey His calling in your life and go forward through all these difficulties. God is, little by little, enabling you to become stronger and firm in your obedience to His calling so that you will live a life of blessing and fruitfulness in this world.
I pray that the blessings of God the Father, grace and love of Christ Jesus the Son, and the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit be with all of us and help us to learn obedience to God's word through our reverent submissions in times of suffering.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"What if your blessings come through raindrops" by Laura Story
