Hebrews 12:1-11 A Peaceful Perspective on Pain + eDoc Teacher's Notes

There is in your future a disruptive moment coming, an unanticipated event that you’d rather avoid, something that is painful, inconvenient and perhaps even that is associated with shame and humiliation. You must take this fact into your calculations.

When you get a phone call at 3:00 a.m. you know that it is not going to be good. You will eventually lose a loved one to death. You may get a bad report from the doctor's office. You children's attitudes and actions may cause you great vexation. Your career outlook may turn bleak. You may find you are married to a difficult person. You may one day suffer a divorce.

Many Christians quit when they are discouraged; they pass out, they faint; but they ought not to. Someone once asked, “Is getting saved the end of my problems?” The correct answer is “Yes ~ The front end!” Being saved marks the beginning of a spiritual war and it is all part of God's plan for his children. We learn through suffering and affliction in a way that is not so with success.