The Christian life is marked by hardships that seem to work only to refine the Christian. Any believer who has totally surrendered his life to God knows that trials and tests do come, but God is over and above any trial and ordeal we might face. Do you believe that?
A human example
The Bible says the Lord Jesus Christ is fully human while at the same time He is fully God. He encountered such hardship for us that if we were the ones going through the pain that He suffered, we would have probably have given up. Yet because we follow Him, we will strive to exercise our faith even in the face of hardship.
One such person who has taken this to heart is the apostle Paul. He said in his letters that we should imitate him as he strives to imitate Christ our Lord (see 1 Corinthians 11:1). Paul knew that in following Christ, all that he would do would be to the glory of God, not his own. And he also knew that in following Christ, he would also go through hardships, for as the Lord Jesus Himself has said,
"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you ... If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My words, they will keep yours also." (see John 15:18, 20)
Enduring hardships
Knowing that hardships are a normal part of the Christian life, it's best we learn from those who went before us and have fought the good fight of faith. Here are some things we can learn from Paul about enduring hardships
1. Hardship is temporary and has purpose
"For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT)
2. God will show His strength through your weakness
"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in hardships, in persecutions, and in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 MEV)
3. You will grow in Christ-likeness when God is in the picture
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)
