All people go through stuff in life. Some may
endure much more than others. However, there is not one person in this
world who has not endured something during their entire lifetime.
I remember many years ago when I had somewhat of an
idyllic life. I was in high school or college at the time. That was
decades ago now though. That was way before I lost my mom to metastatic,
malignant cancer; suffered through an abusive, co-dependent first marriage;
witnessed my Dad's two separate re-marriages, and lost many other relatives to
illness, disease, or just plain old age.
Since then, I have endured a lot more in both my
life and ministry.
Through
rejection, accusations, confusion, arrests, jail, convictions,
judgment, prosecution, injustice, neglect, doctors' diagnoses,
surgeries, hospitalization, abandonment, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, loss, domestic violence, separation, divorce, underemployment, misjudgment,
criticism, persecution.
All Christians have endured and suffered through
hardships, challenges, and trials in life. What are some of yours?
The Apostle Paul was all too familiar with
challenges, hardships, and trials during his life and ministry.
"Rather, as servants of God
we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships
and distresses; in beatings,
imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and
hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy
Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power
of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the
left; through glory and
dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as
impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live
on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful,
yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having
nothing, and yet possessing everything." (2 Corinthians 6:4-10,
NIV)
I can identify with
Paul in a lot of ways. He was a writer and author of the
majority of the New Testament. He
probably endured more than any of Jesus' disciples. However, he did not
give up. He persevered through all of it. He had quite an
adventurous life and ministry with all of its ups and downs. I have also had many valleys and mountains
during my life and ministry so far.
We are always given over to death for Christ's
sake, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our physical bodies (See 2
Corinthians 4:10-12).
"But we have this treasure in
jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and
not from us. We are
hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in
despair; persecuted, but
not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians
4:7-9, NIV)
Though we go through stuff in this life, we are not
alone. God never leaves us nor forsakes us (See Deuteronomy 31:6, 8).
We can also count on Him to rescue us, deliver us,
and save us from the fiery furnace, the lion's den, the pit, or whatever else
(See Genesis 37; Daniel 3, 6). He always helps us to get out and back up.
"for though the righteous
fall seven times, they rise again..." (Proverbs 24:16, NIV)
The Christian song, Through All of It, by Colton
Dixon would be my theme song if I had one for my life and ministry. What
about you? What would be your theme song?
Copyright 2016 by Dawn Freeman. All rights
reserved.
