Acts 5...Worthy of Suffering

I am pulling verses from the story in Acts 5 where Peter and the other apostles are being persecuted for teaching in the name of Jesus....

The apostles had been thrown in jail because they would not stop teaching in the temple courts then in verse 19 and 20 we read....
"During the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. "Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people all about this new life."
The next morning the jail is found locked and guarded, but no one is inside. In fact, they are out in the temple courts speaking again. And here we pick up in verse 28 and 29....
"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said, "yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than human beings."
Through much discussion, the council is persuaded to spare the apostles lives. Instead they were flogged and once again ordered never to speak in the name of Jesus again. But then comes me favorite line of this story in verse 41....
"The apostles left the Sandhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."

I have to admit I don't normally enjoy suffering, it does not make me rejoice, and it definitely does not make me feel worthy of anything. In fact, it usually makes me angry. I ask question like "why me?" or "why this?" or "why now?" I don't always understand why I have to be the one in pain. I don't understand why God would let me go through this.

But here is what I am reminded of again today....The devil is afraid of me. He knows he can never stop me....but he can slow me down. And that is what pain is....a distraction. A way to keep me from being able to focus on what I am supposed to be doing. MY pain is even keeping Dean from being able to focus on what he is supposed to be doing, what we are supposed to be doing as a family....simply because he is worried about me.

Well today I claim it...the devil is a lair, and a cheat, and a thief...and I will no longer allow him to get me down. I consider myself worthy of the suffering....because if he is so worried about keeping me down then that means that there is something BIG in store for this family in our God's name.  Dean continues to say he hears "you ain't seen nothing yet" from God about our family. And today I agree.  If we have the devil worried....then good!  He better start running, because once I am better and on my feet, he will be the first thing I put under my feet. Because he has no hold over me, and has no rights to me, and no weapon he forms against me shall prosper. I am a daughter of the RISEN KING...and nothing is going to stand in the way of my doing exactly what He has planned for me.

AMEN and AMEN!!!!