Philippians 3:10

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death

Philippians 3:10 (ESV)

Share in Jesus' sufferings. That is a pretty powerful statement considering what Jesus went through while here on earth. Even excluding the torture in His death, there was nothing easy about his life. Many of the things he went through just on a day to day basis we would call suffering, even if he wouldn't call them that. For example, Jesus didn't have a home. Nothing was consistent. He was never alone. He was always serving others. A regular worldly person put under these conditions would not only complain, but probably count it as suffering.
Paul makes a lot of bold statements in his epistles and to me this is one of them. It's hard for me to swallow that I should want to suffer like Christ did. Some of his sufferings I will endure simply because I am human. They are unavoidable sufferings. But dying to myself every day? Putting myself in situations that I know will cause hardship to serve others? Even preparing to spend six months in Costa Rica in the heat, with bugs the size of my face, away from family seems like a sacrifice. I want to be like Paul and welcome any suffering Jesus endured, but I'm not there yet. This verse is a great challenge to me as I do enter my field time and have these uncomfortable things before me. I am thankful for God's grace that I know will cover me through anything. I'm thankful for his patience with me. I'm thankful that he gives me his Word to help me grow in this area.