A Covenant People

…put me to suffering;

To understand the other side of this coin we have to remember that the word “suffer” has a different meaning in older English. Remember in the KJV, Jesus words to the disciples who are trying to keep the children away are: “Suffer the little children to come unto Me.”

What did He mean? He meant allow them to come.

So when we say “put me to suffering” that does not mean we are actively inviting suffering … but rather it means that we are actively inviting God to ALLOW ANY consequences of our discipleship.

We are saying to Jesus … if my following You and Your purpose for my life should lead to joyful consequences and victories to me, I will gladly accept that … please ALLOW it … but if following You and Your purpose for my life should bring painful consequences and seeming defeats … I will bravely accept that too … please ALLOW it.

Now, you can’t be a disciple of Jesus and not realise that the Jesus we are following ended life on a Cross. His way of life was so radically different to the world that the world put Him to death. His grace offended their religion. His truth offended their manipulation and deceitfulness. His humility offended their pride. His submission to God’s control offended their desire to control Him. So if we are following Jesus, He Himself said we need to do so with a willingness to follow Him … even if it means following all the way onto the Cross. (Luke 9:23)

A prayer that said, “Jesus I will follow You wherever you go” would be meaningless if it did not include a willingness to follow Him into painful consequences of obedience.

And let it be known that anyone who teaches that Jesus wants all His followers to be healthy, wealthy and powerful at all times has fallen into the same trap as Peter, who rebuked Jesus for suggesting that His obedience to God would mean a Cross. Jesus was fairly plain in His response: “Get behind me Satan. You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men” (Mark 8:33)

Put me to doing, Lord … and put me to whatever consequences may come from that following … put me to suffering.