Suffering Saints

 I have been a pastor for 26 years. I have never seen more people sick at one time in all those years. It seems I daily get reports about someone else getting sick among our congregation. At last count we were near two dozen people. That is a good many in a church no larger than Spring Creek. 

I checked on one of our men today. He told me he felt normal for the first time in three weeks. I understand. I have slept in my bed twice in the past two and a half weeks because of coughing and sinuses. I missed one Sunday and have gone home early from the office in cold chills running fever. It has been about a month that I have battled one health issue or another. 

So many people are suffering. This Omicron seems more contagious than any disease in my memory. Schools have been forced to shut down because so many teachers and students have been affected. People are extremely nervous to get out around others. Doctor offices are filled as well as hospitals. Pharmacies are out of cough syrup. People are having to call in sick from work. It is spreading like wild fire. 

So many suffering. The saints have not been exempted. The saints suffer as well. We get sick. We face set backs. We grieve the death of loved ones. We battle despair and the dungeon of doubt like others do. We face set backs, snares, and sinister temptations from Satan. 

We are not the first saints to suffer. Nor will we be the last. History is filled with the stories of suffering saints. Fanny Crosby was blind but she wrote thousands of hymns. William Cowper suffered from debilitating depression but he wrote the hymn There Is A Fountain. Amy Carmichael was bedridden but she continued to rescue orphans. William Carey lost his wife on the mission field but he continued to labor for the souls around him. Hudson Taylor lost two wives and two children to death on the mission field. It did not deter him from the completion of his mission to win the Chinese to Christ. David Brainerd suffered from Tuberculosis. He still ministered to the Indians despite his chronic sickness. John Bunyan suffered in prison for refusing not to preach the Bible. He made the most of his time by writing the famous book, Pilgrim's Progress. David Livingstone suffered long stretches without being near his wife and children as he labored in Africa. He died on the mission field knelt by his cot in prayer. Elizabeth Elliot lost her husband to savage Auca Indians who murdered him. She persevered and won her husband's killers to Christ. Jackie Pullinger has suffered in Hong Kong for over five decades laboring with prostitutes, drug addicts, and gang members battling the forces of evil. It has not been an easy road for her but it has been a rewarding one. 

Jesus suffered. So did Matthew, Peter, James, John, and Paul. Suffering continued with saints like Stephen and Polycarp. In each of these cases, the people persevered through their sufferings to make Jesus shine all the more brightly. Their suffering did not deter them. 

Now it is our turn. I contemplated this yesterday. I thought about other suffering saints who did not allow their suffering to be an excuse for not being faithful. Nor can we. Persevere you suffering saints. Jesus is shining through you.