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W e can understand how the
Apostle Paul sees his own
suffering when he writes ‘…
that no one should be shaken by these
afflictions, for you yourselves know
that we are appointed for this’
(1 Thessalonians 3:3).
He knows he was called for that type
of ministry. I never thought in my
life that suffering could sometimes
be a calling from God, until I recently
received a letter from a friend, who
has spent years in prison for his
faith. In his letter he wrote: ‘Paul was
trying to comfort the believers that
every affliction suffered by Christians
happens with God’s plan and will.
That is what I also understand when
I meditate on my own experience of
suffering, sadness and the pain of
years in prison. I came to realise that
affliction is my calling and I am in
God’s divine plan. This understanding
has filled my heart with joy and it has
also comforted my soul.’
As I read the letter, I started to ask
myself: can affliction be part of the
calling of Christian ministry? If we
read the Scripture carefully that is
what it is telling us. In Colossians
1:24 Paul says: ‘I now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up in my
flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of
Christ, for the sake of His body, which
is the church.’ It was his understanding
of his affliction that gave Paul joy. Jesus
also said: ‘Now my soul is troubled, and
what shall I say? Father, save me from
this hour? No, it was for this very reason
I came to this hour. Father, glorify your
name’ (John 12: 27-28.) We are not
glorifying affliction and suffering is
not something we choose; it is painful.
Even for Jesus it was so troubling, but
THE WORD
‘Affliction is my calling’
A letter from a friend – in prison for his
faith – changed my understanding of
suffering, writes Dr Berhane Asmelash
of Release Eritrea
to her on the telephone, she said:
‘My husband has been called to that
ministry, to suffer for Christ, and this
comforts my heart.’
In the hymn, ’Tis good, Lord, to be here,
we read:
’Tis good, Lord, to be here,
yet we may not remain;
but since you bid us leave the mount,
come with us to the plain.
Yes, it is good to be on the mountain-
top, where you can enjoy the presence
and glory of God, but sometimes we
are not allowed to remain there and
we are led to go down to the valley;
but the good thing is that Jesus goes
down with us, and it is the presence of
the Lord in the valley that gives us joy
in our afflictions.
• Rev Dr Berhane Asmelash is a
Release International partner and
co-founder of Release Eritrea, which
is a global partnership of Eritrean
evangelical Christians standing in
solidarity with the persecuted Eritrean
church.
‘Not favourable
but unfavourable
circumstances are the
hammers that shape the
saints of God.’
Pastor Richard Wurmbrand was imprisoned for 14 years in communist Romania in the
1950s and 1960s. In 1968 he inspired the founding of Release International, which today
continues his ministry to serve persecuted Christians around the world in the name of Jesus.
INSPIRING FAITH
the Lord accepted it as His calling and
did not try to escape from it. Instead
He wanted to see God glorified.
My friend has admitted that it is
painful to be in prison and the
separation from his family is
unbearable, but still he rejoices in the
Lord. Paul said in Romans chapter
5: ‘Not only so, but we also glory in
our sufferings, because we know that
suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character,
hope. And hope does not put us to
shame, because God’s love has been
poured out into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’
(Romans 5: 3-5)
I can see that my friend’s acceptance
of his affliction has given him an
internal joy, and this is because the
Holy Spirit has flooded his heart with
God’s love. I think that is how he
became aware of his calling in prison.
Other prisoners also share this idea.
Recently I was talking to the wife
of one of the prisoners of faith. Her
husband was arrested in 2004 and
he is still in prison. When I spoke