Laboring
with the Character of Christ
“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.
