A Servant’s Heart: Suffering
I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting. Isaiah 50:6 (NLT)
In continuing our examination of the third of four Servant Songs in Isaiah 50, we find a portrait of a servant who willingly opens himself up to mockery and suffering. It is one thing to be a servant who listens for God’s voice and receives instructions on how to give comfort to the weary but now is exposed to public indignity and suffering.
We may be able to understand an appeal by God for his people to tolerate or endure suffering, but the New Testament paints a picture of a people who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for their Savior. Isn’t suffering something that we try to avoid at all costs?
The typical contemporary Christian in the Western world has little concept of what it means to suffer for Christ. We may look at Scriptures like: So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. 1 Peter 4:1 (NLT) But, we are not inclined to see the applicability to our own lives or situations. We may sympathize with believers in other parts of the world, but certainly that is not for us. Don’t we live in a Christian nation?
Until we see the possibility of suffering for Christ as a privilege, we will miss a part of the refining work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. A suffering servant does not have his eyes fixed only on the present, but on the joy that lies ahead. We must have the same attitude that Jesus had about suffering.
The Call of Suffering
If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. 1 Peter 4:14 (NLT)
Every year, thousands of pastors leave the ministry. Although there are few who have been beaten, many more have endured verbal abuse and rejection. Recent statistics reveal that 50 percent of current pastors will not be in the ministry in five years and 80 percent will not be pastors in ten years.[1]
Pastors leave the ministry for a variety of reasons. Some leave because they are exhausted by pressures and stress. They have been emotionally drained and burned out. Others drop out after neglecting their own spiritual and emotional health, even becoming vulnerable to temptation, or discouraged by daily battles. Furthermore, most pastors leave under pressure. Only between 15% and 25% of pastoral departures are entirely voluntary.
It would be a mistake to think that these problems and pressures are something new. Paul wrote to the Corinthians concerning the things that he suffered, and he adds: Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11:28 (CSB)
It would be wonderful if Christians acted like Christians, all of the time, or even most of the time, but that is not always the case. We may wish that this were not true, but we must live in the world as it exists. God has commissioned us.
We must learn that our strength does not come from ourselves, but from God. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Better Preparation
But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts 9:15–16 (NLT)
When Paul was knocked off his high horse, and then hobbled into Damascus, Jesus met him there. Jesus told Ananias that he would not pull any punches or paint a rosy picture for what was ahead for Paul. No sooner were Paul’s eyes opened, and he recognized that Jesus was the true Messiah that he learned that he had been recruited as a soldier, and not as a tourist.
When encouraging young men and women for full time vocational ministry, do we fail to disclose the whole truth. Like military recruiters, who paint a picture of worldwide travel, excitement, and adventure, yet fail to disclose the dangers, I fear that the ministry, and its challenges, are not always communicated honestly.
Peter gives it to us directly: Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad him —for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. 1 Peter 4:12–13 (NLT)
Would fewer pastors become disillusioned with ministry, if they were told the whole truth about what they must suffer for the name of Jesus? There might be fewer who answer the call to go into ministry, but if they were properly prepared, the treatment that they receive would not be as jarring and cause so much disillusionment.
Identified with Jesus
So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. Hebrews 13:12–13 (NLT)
We must adjust our expectations. Instead of being surprised by suffering, we should be alarmed when everything is pleasant and easy. When it comes to suffering the Bible uses phrases like this, “Arm Yourself,” “Don’t Be Surprised at Your Fiery Trials,” or “Consider It Great Joy.”
Jesus is our example. He was tested in every way, and He is the author and pioneer of our faith. He does not just send us into the conflict in this world, he leads us. Hundreds of years before Jesus came, Isaiah portrayed him as a suffering servant. We are called to follow in his footsteps.
Steve Ekeroth
[1] Brian Croft, “Foreword,” in Church Leadership and Strategy: For the Care of Souls, vol. 1, Lexham Ministry Guides (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019), xiii.
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