Daily Devotion

There are blessings that are immediate and there are blessings that are delayed. There are parts of the Christian faith we love and parts that are hard to take.

This one is tough, isn’t it? 

It goes against what we want.  We’d love to be loved and admired by all. It also goes against that sentiment that if we just have faith and serve God faithfully, everything will go well in our lives.

It’s one of the harder lessons of being a follower of Christ. Often, those who speak up for Jesus are not treated well, they are mocked, hated, and persecuted. 

• Many prophets of God were rejected or killed.
• According to church tradition (and Scripture in the case of James and John), of the 11 disciples, 10 were martyred and 1 exiled.
• Even look around the world today and you will see Christians being persecuted for their faith in many placed.
• Of course, Jesus, Himself, suffered and died for us.

The truth is that suffering for faith isn’t unusual, it’s more like the norm.

When we suffer for Jesus, we are in good company.

But we don’t want to suffer.  So, we try to avoid it.  But what does “avoiding suffering” look like?

I think we’d all like to think that avoiding the suffering is what happens when people deny Jesus and we would never do that. If armed men came into our building, we stand for Jesus. Maybe. Hopefully. But often times that isn’t what this avoiding suffering looks like. It isn’t denying Jesus outright, it’s simply being silent.

It can be all too easy to simply not be overtly Christian, to not talk about Jesus, to just be invisibly Christian. However, we are called to be witnesses, to make disciples of all nations. This means living overtly for Jesus and telling others about Him.

Thankfully, even when we fail at this, there is forgiveness. Peter outright denied knowing Jesus 3 times, but Jesus forgave him and entrusted him with a great ministry. Peter was forgiven, but afterwards, he didn’t stay silent.

So, what is the blessing when we suffer?

• Heavenly Rewards – In our passage, it says, “your reward is great in heaven.” The Bible talks about rewards and “crowns” in heaven, but never goes into great detail. We know two things. First, whatever the rewards are, they will be very good. Second, the rewards will not cause envy or sadness among others or pride for those who receive them because there is perfect peace in heaven and no sin.
• Honor – Sometimes, if we are insulted or persecuted for our faith, it means God isn’t pleased with us. Yet, the apostles understood it is actually the opposite. After being beaten and told not to talk about Jesus, they were released and, “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” – Acts 5:41
• Hope and Endurance – “…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” – Romans 5:3-5

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Please forgive us for when we have denied You or simply been silent. Give us the courage to speak boldly for You, even enduring suffering for Your name, knowing that You promise to be with us, the suffering is only temporary, and there is great reward in heaven and even here and now.  Most especially, thank You for suffering for us.

Amen.