Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
Devotional Thoughts
By David Wilkerson
It is incumbent on every Christian that in all our trials, afflictions and difficulties we see Jesus in everything.
How can believers possibly stand firm and steadfast in times like these? The author of Hebrews answers us: We must see Jesus in all that is happening in our lives.
Consider the apostles Stephen and Paul in their hours of great trial.
Stephen was a man who stood unmoved as a mob of Christ-haters surrounded him armed with stones and ready to put him to death. Stephen knew he had only a matter of minutes to live — yet he was filled with peace and calm. What was the secret of this man’s endurance?
In that very moment, Stephen testified, “Behold, I see Jesus…Son of man…standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). He kept his eyes focused on Jesus alone. He could face a cruel death knowing Jesus was with him in it all.
I am convinced there is something of great importance in these examples for all who love and serve the Lord. It is this: When we truly see Jesus in the midst of our afflictions and hardships, we will always hear him tell us, “Fear not!”
Even the apostle Paul knew this kind of desperate isolation. Yet in the midst of his own trials, Paul had a vision of Jesus standing beside him. Paul was able to declare in the midst of his persecution, “All men forsook me…but the Lord stood with me and gave me strength” (2 Timothy 4:16-17).
For Stephen and Paul, life’s circumstances could not have been darker. Yet both men testified of seeing Jesus in their trials. Now, dear Christian, I have a question for you: Do you see Jesus in your present situation?
Are you able to say as these men did, “Christ stands with me. He is giving me strength despite my circumstances”? I believe we are at a time in history when God’s people need to rest in the truth that Jesus is always with us in every test, every dark hour. Is your trial a sickness of some kind? Unemployment? Fear of the future? I tell you, Jesus is there.