Rejoice and be exceedingly glad
Matthew 5v12 has this great verse "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad"; until you read it in its context and look at verse 11.
Consider:
- 2 Timothy 3:12, " Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
- Hebrews 5:8. Christ learnt obedience through the things He suffered.
- Philippians 3:8-11. Here Paul sums it up.
In short, if our focus is heaven bound, if we fully understand who we are in Christ and what His desires are for us then any trials in this life will not only pale into insignificance but they will actually serve to draw us closer to Him.
What a different message to the one spread by many churches and organisations today but one that is definitely shared by the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12 and the saints mentioned Revelation 12:10-11,
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
Oh Lord, like Enoch (Genesis 5:22,24) and Noah (Genesis 6:9), may I walk with you,
Like Abraham (James 2 vs 23), may I be your friend,
Like Job (Job 1:8), may I be perfect, upright, fearing you and fleeing evil,
Like Daniel (Daniel 1:8,12), remain unspotted from the world and determined to understand your word,
Like David (Psalm 119:11, 2 Samuel 12:13, Acts 13:22), hide your word in my heart, be quick to repent and in short be a "man after Your own heart",
And like Paul (Philippians 3:14), may I continually press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.