Objection: You Are Called to Suffer (Philippians 1:29)

Let’s read Philippians 1:29 in its context:

Philippians 1:28-30:
And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

The suffering Paul talks about is “for His sake” as verse 29 explicitly states!  Getting asthma or a kidney stone is not suffering for the sake of Christ or the kingdom.  Paul was talking in the context of a “conflict” (verse 30) with “adversaries” (verse 28).  So this can only mean suffering as a Christian at the hands of enemies of the gospel.  It has nothing to do with suffering from a cold or any other disease.

As far as persecution goes, you ARE called to suffer in that manner (2 Timothy 3:12) and there is no way to “believe away” or “pray away” that kind of suffering.  Just don’t confuse that with needless suffering from bodily affliction that does nothing “for Christ’s sake” to advance His kingdom and actually hinders you from doing so.