Articles
A Willingness to Face Adversity
Have you ever compared your work for God’s kingdom to that of early church members like Paul or Silas? When Paul and Silas first arrived in Thessalonica, they followed Paul’s normal routine. They found a local synagogue and spent three sabbaths teaching about Jesus Christ to the people of the city. During those three weeks, a man named Jason had been converted and his heart was greatly moved by the Holy Spirit because he invited Paul and Silas to live with him. Jason, Silas, and Paul were filled with the love and kindness of Jesus Christ, but this doesn’t that life was easy while working for God’s kingdom.
Acts 17:5-9 says, “But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus’… And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.”
Young or old, every follower of Christ will face adversity. However, if our adversities are faced with God, then His power will enable us to overcome them. As a new disciple, Jason was dragged out of his house, his reputation got destroyed, and his money stolen. Silas and Paul traveled throughout Macedonia and the Middle East teaching about Christ to the Jews and Gentiles. While doing so they faced imprisonment, and other abuses. The devil was using these circumstances to tempt Silas, Paul, and Jason into leaving their faith. However, these three men stood firm when facing adversity because they made Heaven their home. Philippians 3:20-21 reads, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” The underlying question from this biblical account is: Are we prepared to face our own adversities and unpleasantries for His glorification?
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 states, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
