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Our Proper Response To Suffering Helps Others

It is said that “no man is an island.” For Christians, this is certainly true. Remember 1 Peter 5:9, which says that your brothers and sisters in the Lord are faced with the same sufferings you are? That is why we can help one another if we deal with Satan’s tests in a godly manner. This fact should be added incentive for us to do so. The following verses aptly express this truth:

2 Corinthians 1:3-7
(3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
(4) Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
(5) For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
(6) If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
(7) And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Obstacles are opportunities for growth. Verse five shows that the bigger the obstacle, the more comfort, strength and wisdom the Lord will give you to help you deal with it. Once you are on the other side of the challenge, you get to keep all that you learned and gained in the experience. Thus you have experienced “growth.”

2 Corinthians 1:5 (above) speaks of “the sufferings of Christ flowing over into our lives.” This is one of several passages of Scripture that touch upon a Christian’s identification with the sufferings of his Savior. Here are some others:

Colossians 1:24
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up [complete] in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

Philippians 3:10
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Although we may not understand it all, “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” somehow enables us to be a part of Christ’s redemptive ministry, and it benefits others, as did his suffering. If you look back to 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (above), you can see this truth.

Verse 5 says that though the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, “so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” Why? Because, as Hebrews 4:15 states, we do not have a Lord “who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are— yet without sin.”

When properly understood from Scripture, the magnitude of Jesus’ sufferings— physical and emotional— far exceeds what most Christians will have to endure. Let us remember that he basically suffered alone, in terms of human companionship. He knows that companionship is vital for suffering people, and he will always be with us, no matter what our circumstances. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:18). That is why each of us should “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

Certainly the Apostle Paul’s ability to deal with all that he suffered (see 2 Corinthians 11:23ff) was in large part due to his comprehending the truths that he himself would later set forth in Scripture. Paul fully realized, even while alone in his sufferings, that how he responded would affect the lives of many other Christians. We too can be motivated to faithfulness by this same truth. No Christian is “the Lone Ranger.” There is comfort and strength in standing shoulder-to-shoulder in battle and supporting one another in times of suffering, because your example of resolute faith and joy can encourage others, and vice versa. Here we are talking about what we like to call “the camaraderie of the committed,” one of the true joys of life.

Furthermore, suffering can actually contribute to the hope of Paradise being magnified in our hearts. As Rice says:

Suffering reminds us that something is drastically wrong with our present situation…One effect of sin is our tendency to find satisfaction in things of less than ultimate value. We are in constant danger of becoming so comfortable with the temporal material things that we lose sight of the eternal. Suffering jolts us into realizing that our destiny lies beyond this world. [1]

God promises us that He will strengthen us in time of trouble, and one day by His power and grace glorify Himself in us in the age to come. At the bottom line of life’s balance sheet is our hope of everlasting life, guaranteed to each Christian by the gift of holy spirit.

Romans 5:1-5
(1) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
(2) Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
(3) Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
(4) Perseverance, character [dokime— what is produced by passing the test]; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his
(5) Love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom [holy spirit which] he has given us.

I GOT A VIDEO LAST WEEK OF THE MAN BURNT IN MONTEGO-BAY LAST WEEK. I DID NOT PUT IT UP BECAUSE IT IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART AND NO VIDEO SOURCING COMPANY WOULD KEEP IT UP… NOW SOMEONE JUST SENT MI A LINK WID DI VIDEO PAN FB AND THE WICKED PEOPLE DEM PUT GAY MAN BURNT IN JAMAICA????????? HOW UNNO SUH !#$%^ SICK! MI SURE NO ONE TOLD UNNO THAT THE MAN WAS GAY SO WHY PUT THAT LIARS?

Big up di runnah whey blazing pass di field and over exposure cause him fi a mek some heavy duty request ina Jamaica when him deh deh..Big him up yuh yere because dem tek di freakiness tun nastiness now………. di bosey runner appoint a special cleaner to him roun desso………. dem seh di cleaner complaning that she has been cleaning too much and not getting no regular sex………….. all him want is for her to clean and finger di rear…………………big him up because some ooman mouth come inlike cesspool and if tongue cudda sound by itself fi dem own wudda request hanging because dem commit mout murder

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2013/int-playwriting-competition.html

International Playwriting Competition 2012 – winners announced
Date: 14.02.2013Last updated: 14.02.2013 at 15.41
Category: World Service
BBC World Service and the British Council, in partnership with
Commonwealth Writers, have announced the winners of the 23rd
International Playwriting Competition.
Ugandan playwright Angella Emurwon has been awarded first prize in the
English as a Second Language category for her play Sunflowers Behind A
Dirty Fence. Representing Jamaica, Janet Morrison triumphed with her
play The Fisherman, which won first prize for English as a First
Language.
The competition, now in its 23rd year, invites anyone resident outside
Britain, to write a 53-minute radio drama for up to six characters.
This year’s competition attracted more than 1,000 entries from the
widest range of countries ever received. These included plays about
Gorgons in Australia, art forgery in India, men stuck in holes in
Greece and cockroach races in Qatar. The breadth of imagination was
limitless.
As part of their prize the two winners will visit the UK later this
month, where they will attend a prize-giving ceremony and witness
their winning plays being recorded. The plays will be broadcast on BBC
World Service in March and April 2013.
Sunflowers Behind A Dirty Fence by Angella Emurwon, Uganda (Director:
Rosalynd Ward) – BBC World Service, Saturday 30 March 2013, 2200-2300
GMT
Young Yakobo has never been in trouble before – but now he’s lost his
grandfather’s favourite photo and, in his desperation to make things
right, he decides to take an ill-advised trip to the big city of
Kampala.
Yakobo’s never been away from the comforts of home before and has no
idea about many things. Reluctantly joining forces with the street
urchin, Tonnie, together they topple in and out of bizarre adventures
and discover why good people sometimes do bad things. Like sunflowers
behind a dirty fence, the two friends are to find that sometimes the
best things can be hidden behind an unwelcome exterior.
A rites of passage story from Uganda, this winner of the 2nd language
category was described by the judges as “a touching, purposeful
adventure in which the characters jumped straight off the page.”
The Fisherman by Janet Veronica Morrison, Jamaica (Director: Helen
Perry) – BBC World Service, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April 2013
In a sleepy Jamaican fishing village, Granma and Granpa find
themselves unexpectedly having to bring up their teenage
grandchildren, Jevaughan and Latoya, after their only daughter has
left the island.
The teenagers feel out of place in their new quiet surroundings, but
while Jevaughan is more or less resigned to his fate, his wilder
sister Latoya has a plan to escape. Her rebellion, however, is to
trigger a series of horrifying events, as she goes missing, leaving
her family to search for her. Their lives become embroiled in the
growing sex trade industry which has engulfed the northeast coast of
the island: a blot on the district which, until now, most people have
tried to ignore. As the village fishermen rise to the occasion in an
effort to protect their community, it becomes clear that not everyone
can be trusted. The results of their attempt are to change the
teenagers – and the village – forever.
The judges described the winner of the English as a first language
category, Janet’s play, as, “an ambitious story, which came to life
instantly – a real thriller”.
The five runners-up in the Regional Winners categories were:
• Europe – And the Sun Went on Shining Cynically by Seda Stepanyan, Armenia
• The Americas – Before We Leave by Jose Eduardo Alcazar, Paraguay
• Asia – A Holy Man by David Price, Hong Kong
• The Middle East – Tunnel Vision by Ray Dolphin, Jerusalem
• The Pacific – Lucky Bird by Neva Grant, Australia
The full judging panel included Actress and Comedian, Nina Wadia;
Award-winning playwright, Bola Agbaje; Bafta-winning TV producer,
Mervyn Watson; BBC World Service Senior Commissioner, Steve
Titherington; Director of Drama and Dance at the British Council, Neil
Webb; and Executive Producer of BBC Radio Drama, Marion Nancarrow.
Steve Titherington, Senior Commissioner for the BBC World Service,
says: “The entries were incredibly strong. Many of the plays were
gripping from start to finish. These two winners are fast moving and
action packed, but also based on provocative and contemporary themes,
which will resonate with our audiences. They centre on some great
characters which bring these issues to life in a very real way. I
can’t wait to hear them.”
Neil Webb, Director of Drama and Dance for the British Council says:
“The British Council is delighted to again be partnering with the BBC
to support the development of new writing and give voice to
playwrights from around the world. Personally, I was thrilled to be
one of the judges this year. I very much enjoyed the shortlisted
plays, the themes they explored and the range of emotions they evoked.
It was a privileged insight into the colours, sights and sounds of so
many different worlds, and I look forward to hearing the works of the
two winners brought to life on air.”
“It’s great news that two playwrights from the Commonwealth have risen
to the top of this year’s competition. Commonwealth Writers would like
to congratulate all the shortlisted writers and is looking forward to
working with the winners as writers-in-residence on our website to
pass on their experience to other emerging playwrights worldwide,”
Lucy Hannah, Programme Manager, Commonwealth Foundation
SW