So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.  You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.  You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.  1 Peter 4:1-3 (NLT2)

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ  and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:8-9 (NLT2)

I don't believe I have ever suffered physically for Christ.  According to Peter if I had, I would know that I was finished with sin.   But when I look at how he describes a person who is finished with sin, I am certain that physical pain is not required to get there.  

In the past, as a Christian who was not finished with sin, I chased my own desires daily and I was not anxious to do the will of God.   All of that changed for me in a moment.  Just as Peter describes, I came to a place where I had enough of the things the godless enjoy.  I had my fill of all those things.  Another way of saying that is, those things had lost their appeal to me.   I have no idea why, but it was true for me in that moment.   There was an instant emptiness in me because up to that point, my life was filled with the pursuit of those things.  But God was there to fill the void.  He claimed me as His own in that moment, filling me with His love and mercy and grace.   Who does that?  What an amazing God!  What an amazing Father!  What an amazing Friend!

So I am done pursuing my own desires and I truly am anxious to do the will of God.   Not because I have ever suffered physical pain for Christ, but because I have found the love of God in Christ Jesus and those other things are just worthless to me.  

Whether it is because of physical suffering or because of God's amazing grace, I hope you have come to a place in your life where you have finished with sin.   If you have, you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God!   Once you get there, there is no going back!