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Joy Through Persecution
Or Daniel in the Lion’s den, our faith may sag and flail When Paul was on his journey to teach and spread God’s Word, He usually spent some time in jail everywhere he was heard The hardships that he suffered were many ‘ere he was done, Five times the Jews beat him, giving 40 lashes, minus one Three times more he was beaten with pain delivering rods All because he continued telling people about God. He faced evil robbers, was shipwrecked three times upon the seas He hungered and thirsted often, would be hot then nearly freeze He thought these hardships “light” for the love of Jesus Christ He would never yield or break, though he often paid the price Why did God require of him the hardships he endured, To simply grow in grace and propagate the Word? We may perceive the answer from Scriptures tried and true Paul told Timothy it was so salvation could come through. Again he cautioned Timothy, here is what it says “That if we suffer we shall reign with Him”, throughout eternal days To do the work, to take the Word throughout the whole wold ‘oer Affliction is the price we pay as it separates gold from ore To be glorified with Jesus requires we should sacrifice As we are heirs with Jesus and He paid the utmost price For the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to compare With the glory He will share with us when He takes us home up there Let not one tear be wasted, nor one drop of sweat go free For our Father saves them up for us to bless our eternity Joy comes in abundance when our trials of faith are done As with Christ our Savior and His final victory won. So what’s the deal with pain and trouble all the way? Could it be submission that pain yields at end of day? Could it be that God is really, truly glorified When joy that comes through troubles is doubly amplified? If it is not right to suffer for our walk with God Why does God ordain it, using satan as a rod? When we with joy surrender to God’s Holy will We exhalt our Savior, and make up His suffering still. Would we give God what costs us naught; and hope He would be blessed; Or will we walk the miles with Him, and trust Him with the rest? Will we be faithful to the end no matter what the cost; Or will we sit and grumble and then we’ll suffer loss? |
