Skip to main content

IBS 14 - Revelation 1:9

Revelation 1:9
“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

John, a companion in the suffering. He suffered before us for the kingdom of God. He wasn’t suffering and said he couldn’t do this anymore. He suffered patiently with endurance. He suffered knowing that he would be rewarded. He kept his eyes on Christ. 
I want to be like that. When I go through tribulations I want to go through them patiently  knowing that I’ll be rewarded in Heaven. Whenever troubles would come my way, I used to complain and be that annoying girl. I always thought poor me, I’m going through struggles, boo hoo. I never took it patiently. I didn’t endure through it like a Godly woman, I was selfish, feeling sorry for myself. 
I had friends who told me multiple times to stop complaining. They hate complaining and would snap at me every time I would complain. I was told to be patient and trust God to come through. It took me a long time to get to that point where I would suffer patiently, relying on God. It’s still something I’m working on, but I know that I don’t have to worry. 
Since being here, God has shown me being patient through my sufferings is something I really need to work on. I can’t sit there and pout, asking God to change the situation. Instead I need to ask Him to change me. Change my heart towards the situation. To be patient. Of course, my suffering has never been anything like John’s suffering, but we both had to learn to endure. He is someone I can look to, as almost every other Bible character, for guidance on suffering patiently. 


Application: I’ll write “companion” on a piece of paper and keep it in my laptop, so every time I open it I’ll remember John and his example of suffering patiently. Tessia will make sure I actually do this. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BS 34 - John 15:15

John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  Jesus is powerful and mighty. God’s son. And He calls us His friends. Jesus desires us to be friends with Him. He loves us so much, and He wants us to love Him back. It sucks when you love someone who doesn’t love you back. The fact that our God, King of Kings, the one who created everything wants a relationship with us is very humbling. And we all know that relationships take work.  When Jesus calls us to be His friends, He didn’t mean that we are friends that don’t have to try. To be in any sort of relationship, you have to be there, be present, and willing to listen and talk. It’s so easy to forget that. When I was growing up I would talk to God, but it was the type of prayers that you’re taught in Sunday School. It was never heart felt, and I just rambled on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

IBS 56 - Revelations 3:19-20

Revelation 3:19-20 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.” I don’t like being disciplined. I don’t like getting in trouble so I try my hardest to not do wrong. To stay away from authoritative figures. The Lord is an authoritative figure, but He’s also Father. He loves me to literal death. He’s not someone I should try to stay away from. And because He loves me, he rebukes and disciplines me. A good parent doesn’t let their kid get away with being disobedient. They discipline the kid because they love them and want them to grow up and behave, be a good adult one day. That’s how God is. He rebukes me because He wants me to live correctly, to behave, and understand.  I shouldn’t be afraid of that. Because it shows me how much God cares for me. How much He wants me to be closer to Him. Being rebuked an...
Post a Comment
Read more

IBS 44 - Philippians 3:11

Philippians 3:11 “And so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” That is so powerful. Achieving resurrection from death. Jesus raised Himself from the dead. That’s insane. When people say they don’t care to follow Christ or they don’t believe He’s got power, they’re wrong. First of all, there are so many proofs of God’s amazing power. But here, He raised Himself from death. That’s power. I believe that. But I’m really good at diminishing the power He has. I forget the intensity of it, putting it in a little box and then going on about my day. The fact that God created this universe, breathed life into my nostrils, and could take my life at any second should just always be a constant reminder of how powerful He is. For some reason, though, I just don’t think about it. I fully believe the power He has, I just make it seem not as big of a deal then it is. And it’s a pretty big deal. God is someone I always want to follow after, someone I always want to obey.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more