For a good harvest plant good seeds!
Psalm 129 describes a suffering believer as land being plowed. There's a good message here: the image of a plowed field provides an analogy about dealing with suffering.
In reality, seed planted on untilled soil may take root, but it'll die quickly and not leave any kind of impression. On the flip side, seed planted using a plow to stir the land grows strong and lasts a long time. Likewise, those who never suffer don't grow stronger -- remember the old saying "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger" ?
How one reacts to being mistreated by others determines what kind of seed we plant. If we react with hostility, we will only harvest bitterness. If we instead react as Christians should and love even our enemies, we will harvest blessings.
Or to put it another way, when things go awry we shouldn't ask "why did God allow this to happen?", but instead "what does God want me to learn from this?"
In reality, seed planted on untilled soil may take root, but it'll die quickly and not leave any kind of impression. On the flip side, seed planted using a plow to stir the land grows strong and lasts a long time. Likewise, those who never suffer don't grow stronger -- remember the old saying "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger" ?
How one reacts to being mistreated by others determines what kind of seed we plant. If we react with hostility, we will only harvest bitterness. If we instead react as Christians should and love even our enemies, we will harvest blessings.
Or to put it another way, when things go awry we shouldn't ask "why did God allow this to happen?", but instead "what does God want me to learn from this?"