In addition to the character traits already mentioned, every Christian worker should have a mind to suffer (1 Pet. 4:1). This is crucial. Before we consider this subject from a positive point of view, let us first consider the common Christian concept of suffering.
The teaching of the Scriptures is very clear: God has no intention for His people to suffer. There is a certain philosophy which promotes physical suffering as a means of depriving the body of all enjoyment. Those who hold to this philosophy maintain that every form of enjoyment is wrong. As the Lord's workers and those who represent Him, we must be clear that this philosophy should not be in a Christian's mind at all. God's own Word declares that God has no intention for His children to suffer. The Bible says that God has not withheld any good thing from us. Psalm 23:1 says, "Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing." The words lack nothing do not mean that we have no further needs. Rather, they mean that we do not have to ask for anything because the Lord is our Shepherd. Psalm 23 tells us that we will lack nothing when we have the Lord as our Shepherd. In other words, God has no intention that we lack anything. His intention is for us to be filled. He has not withheld any good thing from us. The entire Bible portrays to us the loving care of the Lord. He watched over His own faithfully, relieved their distresses and pains, and drew a clear distinction between His people and the nations. The land of Goshen was always different from the rest of Egypt; God's blessing was always there. We must never introduce any kind of ascetic philosophy into Christianity. Once we introduce non-Christian elements into Christianity, we confuse the latter. We must pay attention to this point.
Having said this, we also should realize that God does not exempt His children from trial or chastisement; indeed, God gives His children trial and chastisement. But we must make a clear distinction between these and forms of asceticism. Under ordinary circumstances, God always blesses, cares, supports, and supplies His children. But when it becomes necessary for Him to chastise and try His children, He will not hesitate to do so. This does not mean that He tries them every day. He chastises His children only when the need arises; He does not do this every day and every minute. God does not send trials and chastisements to His children continuously. Sometimes He resorts to such methods, but He does not dwell on them all the time. On the contrary, under ordinary circumstances, He always cares for us and makes provisions for us. Of course, when we are stubborn, He will allow trials and chastisements to come upon us. But under His usual provisions, He carries out what He ordinarily would do. He does not want to see us suffer. We must be clear about this. God is reserving all the good things for His children. We can enjoy all of His provisions which He has given to us.
What then does the Scripture mean when it speaks of suffering? In the Bible, suffering refers to a deliberate choice one makes before the Lord. The Lord has arranged for our days to be filled with gracious blessings, but for the sake of serving Him and being a servant to Him, we would rather choose a way of suffering. Hence, the way of suffering is a way of choice. David's three mighty men could have lived in safety beside David, but when they heard him expressing a longing for a drink from the well of Bethlehem, they endangered their lives and broke through the ranks of the Philistine host to fetch the water (2 Sam. 23:14-17). Suffering is a matter of choice, not a matter of imposition. We choose the way of suffering. We suffer willingly for the sake of serving Him. According to God's plan, we can avoid many sufferings. However, for the sake of serving God, we would rather gladly choose a way that is different from that of ordinary people. This is what it means to have a mind to suffer. Having a mind to suffer is a fundamental necessity in the character of a servant of God. Without such a mind, we will produce little results in our work, and the work we do will be very superficial in quality. If a worker of the Lord does not have a mind to suffer, he cannot work at all in the eyes of God. Let us speak of a few things related to this subject.