“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the
fiery trail which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto
you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that,
when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
1 Peter 4:12-13 KJV
As
we are persecuted, we are told we are to rejoice! We are to be praising God and
thanking Him for the hardship that we have been given to endure. This sounds
all fine and dandy, but it is an entirely different matter when I actually have
to do it. In the midst of my hardship, I want to complain like the children of
Israel did in the desert when things got hard. But this is not what God tells
me to do: He does not tell me to give into my fleshly nature. Instead, God
tells me to rejoice like Paul and Silas. I dare say that we are also to work
like those who built the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah’s watchful eye. Hey,
persecution came to them, and they adjusted for it to defend themselves; and
then kept right on working: the people had a mind to work! Friends, I think
that we need that kind of focus: a focus
that is so intent upon Christ and what He has called us to do that we will
endure through the hardships, rejoicing that God will be even more glorified as
His work is accomplished under so called insurmountable odds! The world
can’t deny the power and greatness of God when we rejoice in our trails, so
intently focused on Christ that we can’t be stopped. Think on such verses as
these.
