Worthy of Suffering

     Prior to writing this, I have to admit, I had been feeling very uneasy about our whole situation. I was feeling anxious about our future, devastated by our past year, and oh so sorry for myself. I kept questioning my Father. I would over and over ask Him, "Why us?' What had we done to deserve this? Were we not good enough? Did my body not work right? Was I doing all the right things? Why.why.why were we suffering? I emailed one of my closest friends looking for comfort advice. Thank goodness for her! She emailed me back and slapped me around a bit with her words. Here is a portion of what she said to me...

I have been reading Acts and in the first five chapters the apostles are preaching the name of Jesus throughout Jerusalem. Well well well, they were asked by the Sanhedrin (the priests) to stop peaching the name of Jesus-well you know those apostles, they would never stop preaching the name of Jesus. SO, they were jailed and beaten. Like, holy cow beaten. Then, a man named Gamaliel who was well respected came forward and begged the Sanhedrin to let the apostles go. It worked and they were let go! At the end of Chapter 5 it says, (get ready for this, I cried reading it)
"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted WORTHY of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is Christ."
OH.MY.WORD.
"they had been counted worthy of suffering."
Turn you past suffering around, and pray that God will help you rejoice over it.
As I read this passage I think, "We must praise Him"
In the middle of suffering, loss, pain. We must praise Him.

     Holy.Moly. Wowwee. (told ya she slapped me around a bit, and I'm soo grateful for it!) Worthy of suffering? He counts me worthy of suffering? He is using me in ways that are beyond my comprehension. He is using me in ways that I will probably never know. My pain and suffering are totally worth it if I can use it in a way to bring praise to Him. The pain and suffering I have felt is nothing compared to the pain my Jesus felt, physically and emotionally, when saved me on the cross. I will praise Him. I will lift Him up and tell of His forgiveness, redemption, faithfulness, love. He has counted ME worthy.

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name