The journey of salvation is not easy and never will be. In fact the worst is yet to come. You will suffer persecutions. You will be rejected and mocked. You will have to sacrifice a number of things. Temptations will come your way and sometimes you will feel like giving in. All manner of things will be thrown against you. But take heart and do not give up. The good news is that God knows all about your suffering and he will give you the kingdom. Jesus said that you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices but your grief will turn to joy.
Once I met an old friend of mine whom we had not seen each other for close to two years. As we were catching up I told her that in that period I got born again and that I loved the Lord. She burst out in laughter in a scornful manner and told me to remain with my salvation. It was so hurtful for me but still I tried sharing the word of God with her.
In your journey of salvation, suffering will be inevitable but despite that you should continue testifying the good news of God’s grace. You might run out of food while in the mission field, you will be rained on or experience harsh weather conditions, people will make fun of you and some people will even chase you away but above all this stand firm, let nothing move you and always proclaim the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul says that persecution has been granted to us in Philippians 1:29. It sure seems like a sour tasting gift to me. However, persecution helps Christians because they realize the remarkable strength they have in persecution to maintain their faith could only come from God (Phil 1:28). This strength Paul says is a sign to unbelievers that the source of this strength, God, is stronger than them and they will have to answer to him. That is why he means when he says that persecution is “ …a clear sign to them of their destruction (Phil 1:28).” Persecution also helps assure us as believers that sustained me and my faith during persecution then surely he will sustain it to my salvation. “Blessed are you when others revive you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely…(Matthew 5:12).” So thank the Lord for persecution because he uses it be show you his strength for your assurance.
