13.7 Second kind of suffering – for wrong actions (something to be avoided)

The first kind of suffering is that which Christ came to redeem us from. Let’s be clear on that. If we attribute sickness to God, it’s like saying that the doctor inflicts sickness on his patients. That would make it hard for the patient to get help from the doctor. It would be like trying to switch role between Christ the Redeemer and the Devil who came to steal kill and destroy.

Today, let’s talk about the second type of suffering. Peter talks about it in this passage.

(1 Pet 4:15)
But let none of you SUFFER as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.

Peter is saying that we should not suffer from wrong actions – from sinful actions that have negative consequences, from not walking in the wisdom of God and from walking out of God’s perfect will.

David suffered greatly as a result of committing adultery with Bathsheba. It was not God’s will and he should not have entered into that kind of suffering. Moses suffered the consequences of disobeying God by striking the rock twice instead of speaking to it (Num 20:11). He went out of the perfect will of God.

Christians who are willful tend to walk out from the perfect will of God. They will usually go through a molding process where they learn to yield to the leading of the Lord. The sooner we learn to yield to the Lord, the faster we move out from the desert to the promised land.

Another common area is when Christians do not walk in the leading of the Holy Spirit who warns us of dangers ahead. We end up walking straight into a problem or making a wrong decision. God didn’t put that upon us as a punishment. Instead, we simply made the wrong decision. This is a reminder of how important it is to walk in the leading of the Holy Spirit as sons of God.

Suffering from our wrong actions is not suffering for Christ. We have to walk in wisdom, in His perfect will, and in the leading of the Holy Spirit.