A Friend Named Sorrow and A Friend Named Suffering

“[T]hat I may know Him (Christ) … and the fellowship of His sufferings.” (Philippians 3:10ac)

HINDS’ FEET ON HIGH PLACES

In Hannah Hurnard’s classic Christian allegory, “Hinds’ Feet on High Places,” character Much Afraid finds herself on the shores of the great sea, Loneliness, where she is attacked by her relatives, Pride, Resentment, Bitterness and Self-Pity.

Much Afraid has been made vulnerable to these foes since she’s let go of the hands of her companions, Sorrow and Suffering (chosen specifically to accompany her on her journey to the High Places by the Chief Shepherd himself!).

Much Afraid’s relatives all have an assessment to afford her of her situation.

Resentment’s words do well to sum up the input of all:

“What sort of a person is [the Chief Shepherd] to demand everything you have and take everything you [offer, Much Afraid,] and give nothing in return but suffering and sorrow and ridicule and shame?”

“Why do you let him treat you like this?”

“Stand up for yourself and demand that he fulfill his promise and take you at once to the High Places.”

“If not, tell him that you feel absolved from all necessity to follow him any longer.”

A FRIEND NAMED SORROW AND A FRIEND NAMED SUFFERING

And it’s so true, beloved, that we too (like Much Afraid) can face challenges to turn away from serving Christ and they come via resentment (“the feeling of displeasure or indignation at some act, remark, person, etc., regarded as causing injury or insult”).

And when we do our best and still things stay the same and don’t seem to improve and it actually seems like we’re losing ground, resentment says, “Is this all there is? Is this what I signed up for?”

The truth is it is what we signed up for as believers.

When we accepted Jesus the abundant life was what we were promised (John 10:10b), but the path to it is always painful as there needs to be a tearing from us of our relatives we’ve been so accustomed to.

Pride, resentment, bitterness and self-pity all must be dealt the deathblow.

It’s only on pain’s path that they are.

Do you really want to be like the Lord as you’ve been called to it?

Do you really?

Then you’ll cling to sorrow and suffering like friends.

What is it that you’re going through today, my brother, my sister?

Embrace it as God’s way to bring you into abundant life because it is.

(Hand Reaching Out picture above is in the public domain: click here.)

You might also be interested in:

• We Were All There When Mom Breathed Her Last
• Why Does God Allow His Servants to be Killed?