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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. 

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