December 12 – 19, 2025

THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS

Philippians 3:10 “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.”

The people of God suffer. Pain is neither ignored nor minimized in the pages of the Bible. Jesus flatly said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble.” God also suffers. God opens Himself up to the same suffering that we experience when we love another. Any relationship opens us to the possibility of disappointment, rebellion, rejection, and grief, so we suffer AND God suffers! And there is a unique relationship that comes in the fellowship of His sufferings. In the betrayal and rejection by family or friends, we can experience oneness with our rejected Lord. In facing injustice and backstabbing, we can find union with our persecuted and betrayed King. In the pain of a difficult marriage, we may relate to the pain of God in His covenant relationship with a wayward people. As a parent of a child who has departedfrom the Lord and is destroying himself, we can know our patient, loving Father. 

There is only one way through suffering and that is going through it. But in the fellowship of His suffering, we are transformed. Knowing God in this way, we are engaging with Him at the deepest levels of our being when all else is stripped away. That is why these seasons of storms have the potential to bear fruit for the rest of our lives. 

In this season, we are invited to surrender and often to let something die. We lean into Him. We don’t stop the grieving process. We share with Him our hurt and frustrations. We call evil “evil.” We cry out in anger and pain. Every pain, He sees. Every disappointment, He knows. Every hurt, He feels. No pain or tear is wasted.  In the fellowship of His sufferings, we hurt with hope. We get in touch with His goodness. We trust God’s gentleness and kindness. And by doing so, we are being gentle and kind to ourselves. 

Lean into our Father—the patient, enduring and selfless One who cannot and will not give up—in the fellowship of His sufferings.

 

This is an excerpt from a 90-day devotional written by Emil and Karen. To order the full devotional, click on the TO ORDER DEVOTIONAL page.