Persevering Through Suffering
”We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.”
Romans 5:3 (NLT)
Darlene Deibler Rose (1917-2004) was an American missionary who served in Papua New Guinea (with her husband Russell) from 1938-1941. They were making some headway in the remote Baliem Valley when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Darlene’s many sorrows began when the United States declared war on Japan. She never saw her husband again after he was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp. She was also taken to a prison camp and, after four years of deplorable conditions and treatment, she was finally released when the war ended, four years later.
Whenever she recounted this part of her life, she would say, ”I’d do it all again for my Saviour.”
After she recovered from her ordeal, she met her future husband. In 1949 they returned to Papua New Guinea and served faithfully there for 29 years. When the political climate changed in 1978, they moved to the Outback of Australia and led hundreds of Aborigines to the Lord over the next 15 years. In 2004, Darlene died after faithfully serving the Lord for many of her 86 years.
”He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.” (Romans 2:7 NLT)
Darlene’s secret of endurance through adversity is the result of her steadfast dependency on Jesus, and her faithfulness to Him. She was able to do remarkable things for others when she persevered through her suffering.
”So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NLT)
This is where some Christians stumble. They want to have the blessings without any sorrows. They either forget or don’t realize that ”the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 ESV)
Take a quiet moment today and consider the fruit of suffering. Pray today that the Lord will show you the good that shall come from your time of sorrow.
”It is good to understand that Christ’s service never did secure a man from all the ills that flesh is heir to and never will. If you are a believer, you must reckon on having your share of sickness and pain, of sorrow and tears, of losses and crosses, of deaths and bereavements, of partings and separations, of vexations and disappointments, so long as you are in the body. Christ never undertakes that you shall get to heaven without these. He has undertaken that all who come to Him shall have all things pertaining to life and godliness; but He has never undertaken that He will make them prosperous, or rich, or healthy, and that death and sorrow shall never come to their family.” J.C. Ryle