The Benefit of Suffering and Setting Boundaries

1 Peter 4:1-2 - “Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”

Sometimes, growth means that we have to take some hard, painful steps. For example, the apostle Peter changed from a man who avoided suffering to one who valued it. In the beginning he did not value the idea of suffering. When Jesus told his disciples that he was going to suffer and die, Peter rebuked Jesus and said there was no need for that (see Matthew 16:21–23). Jesus promptly replied, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Jesus taught a profound lesson on the value of suffering: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (see Matthew 16:24–25). Jesus calls his followers to embrace suffering.

And Peter learned this lesson. The same Peter who thought suffering and death should not be included in the plan later said, “Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.”

Peter came to see suffering as armor! He came to see suffering as protection against sin. He came to see that if we go through the suffering we need to go through, then we are “done with sin” (or at least the sin that had to do with that particular growth step).

The process of growth means taking some painful steps. But, in sub¬mitting to that kind of suffering, we reap the benefit in the end. Working out a difficult relationship, for example, is not easy. We might have to suffer the hard steps of opening up, facing conflict, etc. Overcoming an addiction usually requires facing the pain that is driving the behavior. But if we face these kinds of suffering, we move past the issues and are on to a better life. We can get done with whatever is holding us back. Just as an athlete embraces “no pain, no gain,” those who want to grow personally have to sometimes go through some hard steps to get there. But it is worth it.

Boundaries make life better!

This devotional is drawn from The NIV Life Journey Bible, which features notes based on the precepts developed by John Townsend and Henry Cloud.