Because everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will suffer.

The Apostle Paul’s response to the prophecy by Agabus in Acts 21 grabbed my attention recently in morning devotions. The great missionary had arrived in Caesarea and was hanging out with Philip the Evangelist when the Judean prophet Agabus showed up. He took Paul’s belt and bound his own hands and feet declaring, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” (Acts 21:11) Upon hearing this, Paul’s friends began pleading with him to stay out of Jerusalem. Paul’s response was amazing: “What do you mean weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13)

A Warning or a Reminder?

As I turned this passage over in my mind I began to wonder whether this was a warning or a reminder. If this was a warning from God, then Paul’s actions could be called into question. Was he wrong to go to Jerusalem? We do know that Agabus was speaking by the Holy Spirit, so he was clearly speaking truth. I think the better way of looking at this is to see the prophecy as a reminder to Paul that he was called not just to preach the gospel but to suffer for it. Remember what the Lord said to Ananias in Acts 9 when told to go to Paul [then Saul] and lay hands on him so that he might receive his sight. “Go, for he is chosen vessel of mine to bear my name…for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15)

Paul went to Jerusalem because he believed it to be the will of God and that was all that mattered.

Have you had one of those moments while reading the scriptures when the Holy Spirit presses his truth on your heart in a new and powerful way. I thought, “Wow! Paul was given assurance by divine revelation of the suffering he would face in Jerusalem, and he went anyway.” When he could not be dissuaded the final consensus was, “the will of the Lord be done.” (Acts 21:14) The great apostle did go to Jerusalem, the prophecy was fulfilled, and Paul was beaten, bound, and put into prison thus confirming the prophet’s credibility.

Driven by Mission, Not Misery

The point pressed upon my heart was that Paul was driven by mission, not misery. How often the mindset in American Christianity is to avoid suffering. If you or I were given notice by God that a missions trip we were about to take would end with persecution and suffering, we would most likely cancel the trip. The thought resonated in my heart, “Do I deem my personal safety above the will of God?” Paul went to Jerusalem because he believed it to be the will of God and that was all that mattered.

I think we may have forgotten that as followers of Jesus we are called to suffer. Peter wrote: For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21) Jesus said, “If they persecuted, they will persecute you.” (John 15:20) The early church entered the fray knowing it would be costly. New believers were told that we enter the kingdom through many tribulations. (Acts 14:22) Paul would later write to Timothy, “All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

The Cost of Discipleship

I think the Lord, through Agabus, was reminding Paul of the cost of discipleship. God was showing him how many things he would suffer for the name of Jesus. In fact, Paul told the elders of the Ephesian church, “that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.” (Acts 20:23) The prospect of suffering never discouraged Paul from proclaiming the gospel, and neither should it discourage us. Let not the mission suffer because we refuse to pay the price. Suffering for Christ’s sake refines us spiritually. It draws us into closer fellowship with our Lord. (Philippians 3:10) Remember that our “slight, momentary affliction work for us an eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

If we are not facing opposition and adversity for the sake of the gospel, are we really following in Jesus’ steps? Are we truly committed to the will of God no matter the cost?

Rejoicing in Suffering

In Romans 5:2-5, Paul says we rejoice “in our sufferings" and in the hope of the glory of God--not “in spite of” our sufferings (which is stoicism), nor “because of” our sufferings (which is masochism). This is a critical distinction and central to how we approach suffering.

It’s through the fire of suffering that God burns away the idols we have built our lives on.

It’s through the fire of suffering that God burns away the false idols in which we really trust. Every person must live for something. Idols can be anything that have become so central and essential in your life that, if you were to lose it, you would feel life is hardly worth living. It is the thing that truly rules your heart, and you will expend great effort to obtain or protect it--even more than honoring God. If you wonder whether you have any idols, here are two questions to ask yourself:

1) What do I fantasize about effortlessly?

When you're alone and there's nothing forcing you think about something else, where do your thoughts naturally go? When your mind can go wherever you want it to go, where does it go?

2) What do I worry about effortlessly?

What is it that you naturally worry about? What is it that would make you want give up on life if you were to lose it?

The answers to these questions may give you an indication of something you may be treasuring above God. Paul says in Romans 1 that the worst thing God can do is give you over to your desires. As Timothy Keller has pointed out, why would the greatest punishment imaginable be to allow someone to achieve their fondest dream? It is because our hearts fashion these desires into idols. "If we look to some created thing to give us the meaning, hope, and happiness that only God himself can give, it will eventually fail to deliver and break our hearts."

Idols cannot hold up to the heat. That's why the most painful times in our lives are when our idols are being threatened or removed. And it’s only Christ, like pure gold, who can withstand the heat of the refiner’s fire (1 Peter 1:7, Daniel 3:25). If suffering brings about the recognition and destruction our idols, moving us toward increased faith in Christ, more love for Him, and greater obedience, we have reason to rejoice in the glory of God.