“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (II Timothy 3:12, ESV)
At times in our walk with the Lord, we become discouraged when troubles seem to plague our every step. We feel we are walking in God’s will for our lives, yet so many difficulties and stressful situations keep coming our way. As a child of God striving to do His will, shouldn’t life go smoother? Can’t the Lord take away these problems?
FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE
When the Lord walked this earth, He endured many things from those who did not believe in Him or His mission. Nor did He promise His followers that they would have an easy path. Quite the opposite. He warned them of the persecutions they would endure for His name’s sake.
- “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11, ESV)
- “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22, ESV)
As we read the Book of Acts, we find that the apostles suffered many things for the sake of the gospel. Yet, the Lord said they would be blessed (happy or fortunate) when persecutions came. When we suffer for the name of the Lord, we should not complain or feel sorry for ourselves. Instead, we should respond as the apostles did in Acts 5:41. They rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”
CHOSEN FOR A CAUSE
When the Lord instructed Ananias to visit a repentant Saul, the Lord said, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15-16, ESV).
The Lord was not repaying, or getting even with, Saul for his past persecution of the church. But the Lord did know the many hardships he would endure. Paul not only faced physical adversities, although there were many of those, but he also endured opposition and attacks against his character.
“To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.” (I Corinthians 4:11-13, ESV)
LESSONS TO LEARN
Second Timothy 3:12 tells us we will all face persecution. Are there lessons we can learn from our trials? Will these difficult experiences help us grow in our relationship with the Lord? Here are just a few things to consider.
- Suffering tests the genuineness of our faith. (I Peter 1:6-7)
- God shows His strength in our weakness. (II Corinthians 12:9)
- Suffering teaches us endurance. (Romans 5:3-5)
- God uses suffering to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. (I Peter 5:10)
- Prayer sustains us in our trials. (Psalm 55:22, Philippians 4:6-7)
- We (the body of Christ) need each other. (I Corinthians 12:26)
- Our reward is not here but in heaven. (Matthew 5:11-12)
Paul fully committed himself to the call God placed upon his life. Nothing he endured deterred him from his mission. Paul’s love for the gospel was greater than any desire for a comfortable and an easy life. He was able to declare, “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (II Timothy 1:12, ESV).
We must ask ourselves, “Am I fully committed to fulfilling God’s call upon my life regardless of the trials I may go through?”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES FOR PERSONAL STUDY
Romans 8:18
Romans 8:35
II Corinthians 4:17
Philippians 1:29
I Peter 2:21
I Peter 4:12-19
Devotion by Mary Loudermilk
Comments are closed.