“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5 ESV)
Believing in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives is not just about forgiveness of sins and having heaven as our eternal destiny. It is not even just about being delivered out of our slavery to sin so that we can now be empowered of God to live holy lives, pleasing to God, in submission to his will and purpose for our lives, in walks of obedience to his commands. For when we believe in Jesus, and we choose to make him Lord of our lives, we are also choosing a life of suffering for the sake of his name.
For Jesus said that if we follow him in obedience, and if we become like him in his death, that we will also suffer as he suffered when he lived upon the earth. And he said that we are blessed when others revile us and persecute us and utter all kinds of evil against us falsely on his account. And he said we will be delivered up to tribulation and that some of us they will put to death and that we will be hated by all nations for his name’s sake. And he said that if the world hates us, we should know that it had hated him before it hated us, for he said that if they persecuted him, they will persecute us.
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14 (Jesus’ words); Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]
But our suffering is not for naught. Our suffering serves a purpose. And the purpose is for our good, though at the time of the trial we might not be able to see the good in it. For, we can go through some pretty horrific things in this life, at times, which try our faith, and which may even tempt us to question the goodness of God and his sovereignty over all things, too. So, we need to understand why God allows us to go through the things he allows us to go through, so that when we go through them we don’t lose faith, but so that our faith increases. For, the purposes of trials are:
• To produce in us endurance, godly character and hope (Rom. 5:3-5)
• To produce in us steadfastness, that we may be mature (Jas. 1:2-4)
• To test the genuineness of our faith (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
• That our faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
• To give opportunity for us to bear witness for Jesus Christ (Lu. 21:13)
• That we might comfort others in their trials with the same comfort we received from God in our difficulties (2 Co. 1:3-11)
• To make us rely not on ourselves but on God (2 Co. 1:3-11)
• For producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Co. 4:17)
• Because God disciplines those he loves for our good (Heb. 12:3-12)
• That we may share God’s holiness (Heb. 12:3-12)
• That it might yield in our lives the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:3-12)
• To lead us to repentance when we have strayed from the truth and we have gone our own way, instead (Rev. 3:19)
But not everyone who professes the name of Jesus is going to suffer like this. But those who are walking with Jesus in genuine fellowship with him, who are denying self, dying daily to sin, and following him in obedience to his commands, they will suffer like this. For the persecuted are those who are serving Jesus with their lives, who are walking the walk that he walked, not in absolute perfection as he did, but in daily surrender to the Lord. They are those who are speaking the truth of the gospel in opposition to the lies which are being spread, and so they will have many enemies as Jesus did.
But we are not to fear such persecutions as this, but we are to trust our Lord and to keep following him in obedience despite how we might be treated in return. And we are to believe that such trials as these are for our good. And we are to keep going with God in doing whatever it is he has for us to do, believing that he is working all things for our good (as he defines good).
His Tender Mercies
An Original Work / January 26, 2014
Fear not! I’m with you.
Be not dismayed!
God watches o’er you.
Trust Him today.
He’ll lead and guide you;
Give you His aid.
He’ll love and keep you
With Him always.
Walk in His footsteps.
He’ll lead the way.
Trust in His love;
Believe that He cares.
He will not leave you.
Faithful He’ll be.
His tender mercies
Now you will see.
Fellowship with Him
Throughout the day.
Tell Him your heartaches.
He’ll heal always.
Rest in His comfort.
He is your friend.
Your faith He’ll strengthen,
True to the end.
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