What do you need to suffer well?
Good friends? Family stability? More security – money, a safe and secure home, and material possessions?
None of these are bad things in and of themselves. But will they truly help you endure trials?
What about a good church? Spiritual discipline? Obviously, these aren’t bad; they’re very good things. And with them, we’re closer to the real answer to our original question.
Paul gives his ministry protégé, Timothy, the one thing that all Christians need to handle trials well: Jesus Christ.
By the time he penned 2 Timothy, Paul is in prison suffering for the gospel (1:8, 16). And Timothy, pastoring the church at Ephesus, was struggling with shame over Paul’s imprisonment for the gospel. In fact, he was wary of fully engaging in the ministry he was called to for fear of facing the shame and disrepute of suffering for the gospel. That’s why Paul exhorts him to not be ashamed of the gospel or of Paul’s testimony (1:8), to guard the gospel entrusted to him (1:14), and to suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2:4).
But to motivate Timothy properly for future gospel-sufferings, Paul undergirds his exhortations with Christ – the grace of Christ that strengthens us (2:1), the grace of Christ that gives us wisdom through His Word (2:7), and the grace of Christ in His death and resurrection that saves and sanctifies us (2:8). So, what Paul is telling Timothy, and us, is this: to suffer well, you need more of Christ. We need to remember Christ – who He is, what He did for us, and what He is doing for us now.
The church family is critical for helping us suffer well in our trials. Good Christian friends…also critical. Bible reading and prayer…absolutely vital. But at the center of all those things, what makes all those powerful to give us heart-strength to handle trials well is Jesus Christ, risen from the dead (Savior and Lord), son of David (Messiah/King), and the faithful Shepherd who will ever remain faithful to us even when we are faithless (2:13).
Even when we are ashamed of the gospel in front of hostile or skeptical people. Even when we struggle with unbelief about the power of the gospel to change us or others. Even in all of our instances of faithlessness, Christ remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself, and so, He cannot deny us. We know this to be true because He suffered the greatest suffering of all for us on the cross and is now, and forever, never ashamed to call us His brethren (Heb 2:11).
So, remember Christ…before you enter a trial. Meditate on His glory as Lord and Savior. Believe that He died for you, rose again from the dead for you, and will one day have you reign with Him in His kingdom forever and ever.
