Day 3: Suffering Together, Rejoicing Together
Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 — Paul describes the interdependence of the body's members, noting that when one suffers, all suffer, and when one is honored, all share in that joy.
25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
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Devotional:
The body of Christ is not a collection of independent individuals who happen to meet in the same building. It is an organism. When one member hurts, the pain is shared. When one member is pruned, the whole plant feels it. Loss within a church community is real grief, and it is right to acknowledge it as such. But suffering within the body is not the end of the story. The same God who allows pruning is the One who promises growth. He is not absent in the hard seasons. He is working. Trust that the pain you are experiencing alongside your brothers and sisters is part of something He is building, not something He has abandoned.
Is there a loss or wound within your church community that you have not fully grieved or brought before the Lord?
Write down the names of people in your church who are hurting. Commit to praying for each of them by name this week, and where appropriate, let them know they are being prayed for.
25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Devotional:
The body of Christ is not a collection of independent individuals who happen to meet in the same building. It is an organism. When one member hurts, the pain is shared. When one member is pruned, the whole plant feels it. Loss within a church community is real grief, and it is right to acknowledge it as such. But suffering within the body is not the end of the story. The same God who allows pruning is the One who promises growth. He is not absent in the hard seasons. He is working. Trust that the pain you are experiencing alongside your brothers and sisters is part of something He is building, not something He has abandoned.
Is there a loss or wound within your church community that you have not fully grieved or brought before the Lord?
Write down the names of people in your church who are hurting. Commit to praying for each of them by name this week, and where appropriate, let them know they are being prayed for.
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2 Comments
I’ve been through a lot of church “hurt” throughout my life. But I see now that most of it was because others were hurting too. We, as in collective church members not just NLB, have to be better at sharing our burdens with one another. Like Dave said Sunday, “hurt people hurt people.” If we don’t share the burdens and hurt, the only people who suffer are us. Let’s commit to being there for one another.
✅