Blessings of Persecution

1 Peter 5:12-19 Do not be surprised, beloved, that a trial by fire is occurring in your midst. It is a test for you, but it should not catch you off guard. Rejoice instead, in the measure that you share Christ's sufferings. When His glory is revealed, you will rejoice exultantly. Happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ, for then God's Spirit in its glory has come to rest on you. See to it that none of you suffers for being a murderer, a thief, a malefactor, or a destroyer of another's rights. If anyone suffers for being a Christian, however, he ought not to be ashamed. He should rather glorify God in virtue of that name. The season of judgment has begun, and begun with God's own household. If it begins this way with us, what must be the end for those who refuse obedience to the gospel of God? And if the just man is saved only with difficulty, what is to become of the godless and the sinner? Accordingly, let those who suffer as God's will requires continue in good deeds, and entrust their lives to a faithful Creator.

Life's challenges are not designed to break us but to bend us toward God.

Romans 5:5 And this hope will not leave us disappointed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

As fellow workers, we are "sorrowful, though we are always rejoicing; poor, yet we enrich many. We seem to have nothing, yet everything is ours! (2 Corinthians 6:10)

"Pain and sorrow are inescapable facts of life. Yet the Holy Spirit is our source of gladness, bringing us the richest treasures man can wish or God can send." - David McCasland

Psalm 37:5-6 Commit to the Lord your way; trust in Him, and He will act. He will make justice dawn for you like the light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.

As the famous German song writer, Paul Gerhardt, proclaims, "Entrust your days and burdens to God." Leave it to the Lord, and wait for Him. (Psalm 37:7)

Lamentations 3:25-26 Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks Him; It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord.