Rejoicing in Our Great Salvation: Rejoice In Persecution and Suffering

The Christian life is filled with seeming contradiction. We are saved by God’s grace, yet He calls us to obey. We live in the world, yet we seek the things above. We rejoice in our salvation, yet we also rejoice when we suffer for His name. How can this be? To the fleshly mind this is foolishness, but to the Christian it is the wisdom of God. We rejoice in suffering and persecution because it testifies to the reality of our faith, and we see plainly the hand of the God who is hidden from our eyes. By this faith we willingly die to self, keep His commandments, and lift our voice in the sweetest praise while in the throes of the bitterest pain. Are you rejoicing in God? Are you grateful for the work He has given you to do, for the suffering He has providentially appointed you to endure, and for the purifying effect these labors and trials have upon your soul? If not, then it is time to closely examine your heart. Then confess, repent, and rejoice!