(2 Timothy 3:12) tells us: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” As Christians trials, suffering, pain, and persecutions, for the sake of the gospel, are part of the package of being a follower of Christ. Knowing this fact can be very helpful when we are going through the trials of life. I believe, this understanding is an important first step in helping us deal with suffering and pain in a God glorifying manner. I like what Max Lucado shared: “God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them.”1
As I have matured in my walk with the Lord and studied the Scriptures the way I view struggles and tribulations has changed greatly. I would like to share a few observations that I pray may help you as you go through your own trials in life.
First, knowing that it is normative for Christians to go through trials, as we walk in the will of God, helps me to understand that there is a cost to following Christ, but that’s OK because it helps build my trust and faith in Jesus and, quite frankly, the trials the Lord allows us to experience are often the only way we can draw closer to Jesus, as we see how God uses the trial for our long-term benefit and blessing.
Second, as we trust our Savior to help us overcome our trials and persecutions, we will receive great joy and a myriad of future blessings. (Matthew 5:11-12) tells us: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” While there is a cost in following Jesus, the blessings far exceed the cost!
And third, I now realize that God uses trials as stepping stones to bring Jesus glory! One of the greatest revelations that the Lord has taught me is that whether we are going through difficult times because of our own bad decisions or whether we are experiencing persecutions because of our stance for Christ, in both instances, God has a master plan to use these situations to allow us the great privilege of overcoming them, with His help, to bring glory to His name.
My friends, since we know that God works all things together for good in our lives (Romans 8:28), and that every trial and negative situation we go through, is an opportunity to grow closer to Christ, and through overcoming them, to glorify His name, we can not only rejoice, but we should praise God for the opportunity to be used by Him in such a special way!
So, the next time you are faced with a difficult trial, I pray that you realize that it’s your opportunity to use it to shine for Jesus and glorify His name – and what can be more worthwhile, exciting, and joyous than this!