If you haven’t yet started thinking about how you’re going to deal with suffering and persecution (big or small), now is the time to do so. May God grant that the worst that will ever happen to you is that you encounter some angry comments on your Facebook page, but you may face more, and even little discouragements have a way of adding up. How will you deal with them?
I’ve been asking this question for a while now—reading books about people who have suffered, asking questions of people who face opposition, trying to understand how they continue to press on. And overall, the answer comes back to one thing: Those who know and love Jesus well, those who think He’s worth any price, persevere. I don’t think there’s anything else strong enough to keep us going—not a love for the truth, not a love for the lost, not a desire to make a difference, but only Jesus Himself.
If you want to persevere, that’s where your focus needs to be. Seek with all your might to know Jesus, trust Him, and depend on His power in your life and in the world.
You can start here:
- James Gray on Mastering the Bible (Yeah, I know I keep bringing this one up, but there’s a good reason for it!)
- How Our Suffering Glorifies God
- Be a Parable of God’s Grace
- If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil