JMJ
“Christ therefore having suffering in the flesh, be you also armed with the same thought: for he that hath suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from sins: that now he may live the rest of his time in the flesh, not after the desires of men, but according to the will of God.” -1 Peter 4:1-2
This is a passage that, even though we know it brings God’s truth, can be hard to wrestle with. We can learn from this passage how to take what we can from suffering, along with why we should take things from it.
Christ is the best example of how to suffer. “Be you also armed with the same thought.” We are called to respond to our suffering the same way Jesus responded to His. At the beginning of His passion, Jesus asked His Father three times to spare Him from what was to come, but only if it was His will:
“And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” -Matthew 26:39
In the same way, God desires us to run to Him in times of trouble and ask for His help. God, if it be Your will, let this cup pass from me. He wants us, truly desires us, to run into His arms and ask for protection when we are suffering, scared, confused, or hurting. He wants us to feel that safe with Him, for our first instinct to be to run to Him and ask Him for help.
It’s natural for us to always hope or want God’s answer to be, “I’m glad you came to me. I’ll spare you from this suffering.” However, we know that isn’t always the answer we get. What do we do, then, when that answer is no, and we’re left with our suffering? “Be you also armed with the same thought.” Suffer as Christ did. That naturally begs the question of, “What does that mean? How did Jesus suffer?” There are an endless amount of things we can learn from Jesus during His passion, but there are three particular dispositions Jesus had that we could all learn from:
Obediently - Jesus was obedient to the Father’s will, even though it both stressed Him out so much that He sweat blood and ultimately led to His death.
Quietly - Jesus kept silent through most of His passion and death, never complaining or defending Himself, or condemning those who were persecuting Him, even though He would have been right in doing so.
Humbly - He submitted Himself to God’s plan, knowing it was all for a bigger picture. He let the Father use Him how He wanted. He did things and went through things He didn’t want to, because He knew and trusted His Father, that whatever He was asked to do served a greater purpose that would be worth dying for in the end.
Obediently. Quietly. Humbly. That’s our goal. That’s how we suffer like Christ.
I love that the verse is phrased, “be you also armed.” Those three things aren’t just how we’re being asked to suffer, they’re also our armor. It’s what will bring us closer to God and what will work in us in the midst of the suffering. As much as we don’t enjoy suffering, it does serve as a reminder that we are not made for this world. Only the Lord can fulfill us in the way that will eventually end all of our suffering (even if it won’t be in this life). Don’t let the suffering go to waste - run to the Father and take up your armor.
Stay close to Him and have faith!
-Brandy
Scripture quotations in this post are taken from the Douay-Rheims translation unless otherwise noted.