Rough Air

My wife and I were recently flying home from a meeting in Memphis, TN when the captain announced, "We are encountering a bit of rough air.  Flight attendants will need to take their seats, the seatbelt sign has been turned on and no one should be moving around the aircraft."  Those turbulents changed everything that could be considered normal and routine about our flight.

In recent weeks, many of our folks here at FBC-Durham have encountered "rough air".  Four of our men have been diagnosed with cancer.  Several of our people have been faced with non-cancerous diseases, surgeries and procedures.  The economy continues to take a toll on our church families.  Just like our recent flight, things have been anything but "normal" lately.

Recently I was reading in I Peter what God wrote to some folks who were going through some suffering of their own, and I preached to our folks from this passage.  I'd like to share a few of those thoughts with our readers.

1.  Your Suffering Has No Bearing On Your Salvation


In verses 4-6 of I Peter 1 we read about an eternal salvation that is "kept by the power of God."  If you're a believer, no matter what you might be enduring "for a season", you cannot lose your salvation.  The child of God can rest assured that salvation is "reserved in heaven for you."

2.  Find Your Joy In Knowing That


Our temptation is to look for happiness in our circumstances.  We look for eternal happiness in temporary conditions.  We are happy if our job is secure, our health is preserved, our marriage is strong or our kids are obedient.  God says in I Peter 1:6 that our joy should be found in knowing that our salvation is secure.

3.  Learn To See Beyond Your Suffering


It is true, we do go through seasons of suffering.  The scripture clearly states, "...though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold tempations..."  A season is a period of time that has a beginning and an ending.  Your suffering is not going to last forever.  It is very important that you learn to see beyond your suffering.

4.  Determine To Tough It Out


In I Peter 1:13 Peter writes that we are to "...to gird up the loins of your mind..."  In todays vernacular we might suggest, "roll up your sleeves."  That means that we're getting ready to go to work.  When suffering comes, it is important that we dedicate ourselves to endurance.  Grace doesn't come because we sit back and do nothing.  Grace comes when we do all that we can.

5.  Be Holy


Peter addresses holiness in I Peter 1:14-16.  Many times we refer to these verses when challenging God's people about their behavior in the world.  I certainly believe in old-fashioned holiness, but in it's context, the challenge is to be holy in the midst of suffering.  Don't get mad at God!  Don't gripe and complain!  Don't allow yourself to become bitter!  Be holy "...as he which hath called you is holy..." 


6.  Allow Your Suffering To Bring You To Christ


Suffering shouldn't separate us from Christ, it should draw us to Christ.  In I Peter 2:25 Peter alludes to this when he writes, "...but now are ye returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."  I recently read that if a sheep sees green grass on a levee, he will jump down onto that levee and eat until the grass is gone.  The sheep then realizes that it cannot get back up.  The shepherd must wait until the sheep is so weak that it cannot walk before he attempts a rescue.  As long as that sheep has energy, he will try to save himself.  Many times that provokes him to jump to his death.  As suffering sheep, we must allow our struggles to bring us to our Saviour.

"Rough air" on a flight changes everything.  You can't get up and walk around to get comfortable.  The flight attendant can't bring you a snack and a beverage.  Your heart may race and you may wonder if you're going to make it.  The only thing one can do at that particular moment is to trust the captain.  He can see things from his vantage point that you can't see.  His radar tells him where he should go for things to get smoother and how long it will take him to get there.  Thank God that our "captain" knows exactly what we need when "rough air" invades our lives.