Thinking Girls Bible Study

Philippians 1:29: “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Suffer. Doesn’t that word just make you pull back and feel uncomfortable just at the mention of it? The Greek word for suffer is pascho and means to be affected or have been affected, to feel, have a sensible experience, to undergo, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight. Strong’s Definition: apparently a primary verb; to experience a sensation or impression (usually painful) — feel, passion, suffer, vex. (1) There’s also the word suffering, which in the Greek is pathema meaning:      1. That which one suffers or has suffered           A. externally, a suffering, misfortune, calamity, evil, affliction                i. Of the sufferings of Christ                ii. also the afflictions which Christians...

I have a confession to make.  Lately I have been struggling with rest.  If I were to grade myself on my spiritual life presently, I would give myself an A for surrender.  The Lord has worked on me and taught me much about surrender.  I have lived long enough to know that I might as well surrender. By that I mean, I've been on this earth long enough to know it's really dumb not to surrender to the One Who knows everything and has all the answers. Also, the Lord has done a great deal of heart work on me so that I WANT to surrender to my Lord of lords and King of kings.  But rest, I'm back to struggling with. I've been in about a twenty year trial where I've experienced some of my worst nightmares.  I think now I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Looking back, I see all the work He has done in me through the trial and I see how necessary it was.  I see that the work was customized...it had to be the way He did it.  Isaiah...