Trials and Sorrows

Hello everyone,

How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord.

Primary Text

“So you became our followers and the Lord’s; for you received our message with joy form the Holy Spirit in spite of the trials and sorrows it brought you.“ 1 Thessalonians 1v6 (TLB)

The life of a believer is often with trials, sorrows, persecutions and afflictions, some of it because of the gospel. However, the reality is that as Christians we are not invited to an affliction-free life, but one in which in the midst of the troubles we can have peace, our faith is developed, victory is assured and God would walk with us through it. Indeed “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all” Psalm 34v19 (KJV).

Supplementary Text

“In fact, in everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure suffering and hardship and trouble of every kind. We have been beaten, put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, stayed awake through sleepless nights of watching, and gone without food. We have proved ourselves to be what we claim by our wholesome lives and by our understanding of the Gospel and by our patience. We have been kind and truly loving and filled with the Holy Spirit. We have been truthful, with God’s power helping us in all we do. All of the godly man’s arsenal – weapons of defense, and weapons of attack – have been ours. We stand true to the Lord whether others honor us or despise us, whether they criticize us or commend us. We are honest, but they call us liars. The world ignores us, but we are known to God; we live close to death, but here we are, still very much alive. We have been injured but kept from death. Our hearts ache, but at the same time we have the joy of the Lord. We are poor, but we give rich spiritual gifts to others. We own nothing, and yet we enjoy everything.” 2 Corinthians 6v4-10 (TLB)

Prayer

Father, we thank You so much for this day. We thank You for the assurance of Your presence when we go through trials. We pray for the grace to go through each of them in Jesus name, amen.