DEEPENED CHANNELS
The deeper the channel, the greater the flow—so it is with fellowship in Christ through suffering.
Devotional Reflection on Abide Above – March 22
📖 “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” —1 Corinthians 1:9
The longing to walk in close fellowship with Christ often includes a yearning for His peace, joy, and victory. But we may shrink back from the means through which He deepens that fellowship—namely, suffering. This devotional reminds us that true usefulness in the kingdom doesn’t come through ease, but through being made into channels of comfort—people who have known sorrow and can minister Christ’s love to broken hearts.
Outward prosperity can mask deep inward trials, and it is in these hidden valleys that the Lord tenderly brings us into the fellowship of His sufferings. Far from diminishing joy, such fellowship enlarges the capacity of the soul to receive and express it. Life hidden in Christ is not an escape from sorrow, but a shelter through it. From that sacred place, the believer is entrusted with deeper sorrows and deeper joys, becoming increasingly conformed to the likeness of Christ.
As James writes, those who endure are called happy—not because they avoided suffering, but because they discovered the tenderness and mercy of the Lord through it.
Holy Spirit Journal Entry
My beloved, you are not alone in your affliction. I have called you into fellowship—not merely with My joys, but with My sufferings. For as you share in My grief, so too shall you overflow with My comfort. This is not punishment but privilege.
I am deepening you, not diminishing you. Just as a river cuts deeper channels to carry more water, I allow trials to widen your soul’s capacity for My life. In every sorrow I permit, I am preparing you to be a vessel of mercy, acquainted with the language of broken hearts.
Do not resist what I use to conform you to My image. Instead, count it a joy to share in My sufferings, knowing that I am tender toward you, shaping you in love. You will come to see that in your weakest places, My strength abounds. Let your sorrows not define you, but draw you ever deeper into Me.
—See Philippians 3:10, 2 Corinthians 1:3–5, James 5:11, Romans 8:29
Prayer of Trust
Father, I praise You that I have been called into the fellowship of Your Son. I do not rejoice in suffering itself, but I do rejoice in what You accomplish through it. Thank You that no sorrow is wasted, and no trial is without purpose.
Even when I don’t understand, I trust You are deepening my heart to know You more. Thank You for entrusting me with both the joy and the sorrow of Christ—for both are expressions of Your faithful love. I rest in Your mercy today, confident that You are making me into a vessel of compassion for others.
Credits:
Devotional by Abide Above. Image from Unsplash.