I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish
the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—
the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24
Let’s face it – who wants to be an expert at hardship? I don’t, and yet we’ve looked at the fact that faith is often best refined through trials and tribulations. This is somewhat of a foreign concept to us in America. As of yet, our faith has not really been challenged because God’s blessing has been flowing for decades on end. Daily tasks relating to food, water, fire, shelter, etc. are not an issue. Neither is facing persecution, nor fleeing from it.
For centuries, however, followers of Christ have faced obstacles you and I cannot fathom. And our imaginations won’t do the reality justice. Here’s an example applicable to us to help drive the point home: reading about a hurricane or preparing for one pales in comparison to actually going through one. And for all you “preppers” out there, all of the supplies in the world can’t really prepare you for what you think lies in the future, to actually live in it day after day. Reading this devotional will only prepare you so much, but I hope it will help.
The Apostle Paul knew trouble like few people ever had. He also had a God-given perspective on hardship: “…I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul was strong because he knew the Lord was strongest in his life when he was weakest. He knew a thing or two about living a life of hardship in this epic spiritual battle we are in. Listen to his words in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27:
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked,
I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
I have been constantly on the move.
I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits,
in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles;
in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea;
and in danger from false brothers.
I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep;
I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;
I have been cold and naked.”
In my mission travels I have actually met some faithful men and women who have faced similar trials. Can you imagine coming up with a similar list of the traumas that you have had to experience as an American Christian? It would be almost comical in comparison. Yet, it is something to be grateful for, not embarrassed by.
Many believers around the world gladly embrace persecution. They fully grasp, as the Apostle Paul did, that their life is worth nothing, if only they “may finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given [them]”. May this be true for us as well through whatever journey God has for each of us.