
The Violence of War
“So he poured out on them … the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.” Isaiah 42:25, bold mine.
- October 1, 2023, “Peace after war,” says the LORD, just before the OCT 7 attack on Israel.
- September 11, 2024, “Your Ultimate Prep for the Coming Storm,” 2 minute excerpt.
If you have an individual IQ, you also have an individual SQ.
In fact, if you are not translating your IQ into SQ you will have to answer to God for the mismanagement.
Love is selfless (given at a cost) so your Suffering Quotient is a very valuable gift / treasure to God, an expression of devotion / love to Him, even a basis which He uses to reward you in the future (i.e., Rev. 3:10-13). When Susan experienced a Christophany (2003), He revealed the end from the beginning to her in a sense. He showed her a magnificent diamond in His hand that was emanating star-like light. She told Him it was the most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed. Jesus gleefully insisted that every single “strike to cut” the diamond, shaping its facets, was His work, exactly on purpose, that His invaluable diamond was, in fact, flawless, “And you are My diamond,” He concluded, filling her to overflow with acceptance and completion and belonging and love with fearlessness and so, so much more. Amazing grace.
While we all have varying SQs, when we add them together our corporate suffering unto God provides multiplication of divine fruitfulness.
After our family passed through the eye of a needle (2005, Mark 10:25) in response to the revelation of Jesus Christ, I found myself frequently telling Jesus, “This is very difficult!” We took a wholehearted leap out of this world and into the City of the Living God (a.k.a. Mount Zion, the Heavenly Jerusalem, the Israel of God – Heb. 12:22 & Gal. 6:16).
In response to my expressed pain in this new environment, His Spirit promptly supplied two very effective truths:
- “I’m Fiery. Wanna stay?”
- Isa 31:9, … saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem.
- Isa 33:14, Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
- Heb 12:29, for our God is a consuming fire.
We had given up everything to be with Jesus, was that not fire enough? We learned that continuing to respond to Him by separating ourselves from certain attitudes, desires, behaviors and/or people would be evidence of His fiery love at work in our lives, Him ever caring for us, providing the world the testimony He had in mind by our living sacrifices.
- “You are fortunate compared to ‘them,’ do something with the fortune I gave you to help.”
- Jer 22:16, He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know Me? declares the LORD.
- Jer. 9:24, … have the understanding to know Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.
When things were so hard and I felt I couldn’t go any further, He would also always provide humans that were suffering far worse than our plight. At first, it was abused, neglected and orphaned babies and children. How can anyone say their own suffering is too much while witnessing the horrific suffering of innocent youth? Remember me telling you of the child, about 4 years old, with a flat (pancake) head? Negligence caused the deformity, from lying flat for years.
Corridors in the Sky reveals bread crumbs from heaven, a record of our lives following Him that left golden sustenance for others – through the Fire – but this pub isn’t about us so I’m moving on with the point today.
Jesus instructed that, at all costs, take up your cross and follow Him (Mark 10:21). Whether you do that wholeheartedly in your prayer closet and live life from there … or out loud like we did, actually giving up all you have, physically, to follow Him is between you and Him. When Jesus revealed how Peter would die in John 21, the revelation also disclosed that He is not a cookie-cutter God. Individual results will vary!
Please consider Biblical examples as you simultaneously minimize and maximize your Suffering Quotient to better follow and thereby glorify Jesus:
Ezekiel was made to lay on one side, naked, in front of everyone with weight stacked on top of him for more than a year. He had to cook his food this way using human poop for a cooking fire (changed to cow poop because he protested). His actions were from a Fiery God, an example of what was coming to all of God’s people. They called him crazy … but later found themselves living smack in the middle of the Word Ezekiel was made to demonstrate.
After all that Ezekiel had so faithfully done, one day God spoke to Him (Eze. 24), in essence, “Good morning, I’m taking your wife away before bed tonight & don’t whine (in public) about it.” Again, Ezekiel’s love for God was sufficient for him to demonstrate that God’s people were about to lose their most precious affections. Then they did.
Mind you, Jeremiah is the one whose trials and anguish made him famous as “the weeping prophet.” I wonder what Ezekiel has to say about that, lol.
After He sweat blood resisting temptation, Jesus said that Paul would have to suffer greatly for His Name (Acts 9:16). After Paul tasted what Jesus was talking about, he (Paul) said he would rather die than live(!), but that him living (a precious sacrifice) was Christ to others (Phi. 1:21). He selflessly existed (in literal love) to provide Jesus to his world!
John 12:25, Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it forever.
Heb. 12:4, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
“This is very difficult!”
Some seasons selfless faithfulness to God leads you straight into the enemy’s line of fire:
2 Chronicles 32:1, After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done (hosted a national revival!), Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.
&
Matthew 3:16-17, As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
Next verse…
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) by the devil.
Hebrews 5:8-9, Son though He was, He learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect (mature, think ripe fruit), He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.
“…for all who believe Him.”
“…for all who love Him.”
“…for all who obey Him.”
Mind / heart exercise: interchange the Words “obey, believe and love” while contemplating your relationship with Jesus. Biblically, the difference between these words is like splitting the finest strand of hair. i.e., People go to hell for refusing to love (believe, obey) God.
We are saved as part of God’s plan of saving others by our testimony of “knowing” Him, the Rewards of Jesus’ suffering.
Living is supposed to be a sacrifice to God … not a pleasure-fest. This clarifies meaning in Romans 12:1 where we are told our only reasonable act of worship to God is to be a living sacrifice (like Paul).
Our lives are on Purpose! The suffering we endure in love (belief, obedience) to Christ is an eternal testimony that preaches to others, “He is worthy,” a personal and invaluable gift to God that is within your power to offer or withhold each day – at every moment. Consider the example provided by God of love to Him from each of the original Apostles here.
It’s all about knowing God’s love, personally & intimately, sufficient motivation for following Jesus through anything, a faithful witness to Truth.
1 John 4:
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us.
Want or need to “know” God’s love more Personally? We’re so excited for you, He is Faithful to share. Start here and here!
Thank you for suffering to uphold us in Jesus Christ, a testimony from/of the LORD. Together, we are His silver lining in this dark and perverse generation.
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