Sofrimento
O sofrimento é uma realidade da vida neste mundo, mas a Bíblia revela que Deus está presente em toda dor, produzindo caráter, esperança e redenção através das tribulações.
O sofrimento de Cristo
Jesus sofreu por nós, carregando nossas dores e enfermidades. Ele é o modelo supremo de como enfrentar o sofrimento com fé e obediência.
He is despised, and left of men, || A Man of pains, and acquainted with sickness, || And as one hiding the face from us, || He is despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our sicknesses, || And our pains—He has carried them, || And we have esteemed Him [as] plagued, struck of God, and afflicted.
and having unclothed Him, they put a crimson cloak around Him, and having plaited Him a garland out of thorns they put [it] on His head, and [put] a reed in His right hand, and having kneeled before Him, they were mocking Him, saying, "Hail, the King of the Jews!"
for to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving to you an example, that you may follow His steps,
to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
O propósito do sofrimento
Deus usa as tribulações para produzir perseverança, caráter e esperança. O sofrimento presente não se compara com a glória que será revelada.
And not only [so], but we also boast in the tribulations, knowing that the tribulation works endurance; and the endurance, experience; and the experience, hope;
For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory about to be revealed in us;
for the momentary light matter of our tribulation works out for us more and more an exceedingly continuous weight of glory—
because, as the sufferings of the Christ abound to us, so through the Christ our comfort also abounds;
because to you it was granted, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on behalf of Him;
Christ, then, having suffered for us in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same mind, because he who suffered in the flesh has finished [with] sin,
Consolação e companhia
Deus consola os aflitos para que possamos consolar outros. Nunca estamos sozinhos no sofrimento — Ele é o Pai das misericórdias.
Blessed [is] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, who is comforting us in all our tribulation, for our being able to comfort those in any tribulation through the comfort with which we are comforted ourselves by God;
Bear the burdens of one another, and so fill up the law of the Christ,
Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous, || YHWH delivers him out of them all.
And the God of all grace, who called you to His perpetual glory in Christ Jesus, having suffered a little, Himself make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle [you];
But if you also should suffer because of righteousness, [you are] blessed! And do not be afraid of their fear, nor be troubled,
Fé em meio à dor
Os grandes homens e mulheres de fé sofreram e perseveraram. O sofrimento nos aproxima de Deus e nos leva a entender seu coração.
And Job rises, and tears his robe, and shaves his head, and falls to the earth, and pays respect, and he says, "I came forth naked from the womb of my mother, || And naked I return there. YHWH has given and YHWH has taken; Let the Name of YHWH be blessed."
Behold, the blessedness of mortal man, || God reproves him: And do not despise the discipline of the Mighty,
and whoever does not receive his cross and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.
He who found his life will lose it, and he who lost his life for My sake will find it.
and having lifted up his eyes in Hades, being in torments, he sees Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom, and having cried, he said, Father Abraham, deal kindly with me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and may cool my tongue, because I am distressed in this flame.
And He humbles you, and causes you to hunger, and causes you to eat the manna (which you have not known, even your fathers have not known), in order to cause you to know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything proceeding [from] the mouth of YHWH.
Who will separate us from the love of the Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
and if I give away all my goods to feed others, and if I give up my body that I may be burned, and do not have love, I am profited nothing.
Having obtained, therefore, help from God, until this day, I have stood witnessing both to small and to great, saying nothing besides the things that both the prophets and Moses spoke of as about to come, that the Christ is to suffer, whether first by a resurrection from the dead, He is about to proclaim light to the people and to the nations."
pursue peace with all, and the separation, apart from which no one will see the LORD,