How to Rejoice While Persecuted
Tom Shrader walks through Acts 5:33-42, where the apostles are flogged by the Sanhedrin and released, yet immediately return to preaching and teaching in Jesus's name. He identifies five reasons the apostles could rejoice under persecution: they genuinely believed the truth, their lives had been changed by that truth, they witnessed God at work around them, they were actively serving others, and they understood the eternal reality behind temporary suffering. Drawing on passages from 2 Corinthians 4 and 2 Timothy 3, Shrader calls believers to the same posture — not merely surviving hardship, but thriving through it because the eternal weight of glory far outweighs momentary affliction.
“The things we see are temporal. The things we don't see are eternal. And it's the eternal things that give us a sense of reality.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Acts
Recorded: 1999 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 41 min
Themes: persecution, rejoicing, suffering, boldness, obedience, joy, courage, hope, facing persecution, doubting your faith, feeling discouraged, new believer, missionary, pastor, navigating hardship, young adult
Scripture: Acts 5:33-42, Matthew 23:13, Matthew 23:23, Luke 2:1, John 14:6, 1 John 1:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 2 Timothy 3:2-5, 1 Peter 4:12-13
Theological Themes: soteriology, eternal glory, apostolic witness, sanctification, resurrection, suffering for christ, obedience to god, holy spirit
Full Transcript
The Sanhedrin's Fury
When they heard this, they were cut to the quick and were attending to slay them. If we start right there, we know immediately that we have entered in the midst of something ongoing. We need some context. We need to understand what is being said in this verse.
The Jewish leaders had tried to stop the preaching and teaching of Peter and John by arresting them and warning them, and then by arresting the apostles as well. We saw that last week. The guard had come in the morning — the jail was locked and secured, the guards were in place, but the prisoners were gone. They had been supernaturally released. They were then rearrested without violence; they came in a cooperative manner. The high priest said to them, "We told you not to preach in the name of Jesus, and now here you are trying to somehow put His blood on us."
Then Peter spoke, and the highlights of his message are these: you murdered Jesus, and God raised Him from the dead, and God has exalted Jesus. He has put Him in a place of authority. He is at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is the originator of salvation. Continually, as the early church preached the gospel — especially to the Jews — they reminded them of the Old Testament truths, how the Old Testament was continually pointing to a Messiah, and they declared that Jesus is the fulfillment of that. Jesus is the Savior. He is the deliverer. He is the one who rescues. Jesus is our salvation. The Holy Spirit has been given to each believer, and the Holy Spirit bears witness of this.
We Must Obey God
All of these points that Peter made to the Jewish leaders were preceded by this statement: we must obey God. We must obey God rather than you. With that statement, Peter had pitted these Jewish leaders against God. They made their request known to Peter, and Peter said, "I cannot follow you. I have to follow God." The clear inference was that they were in opposition to God.
The word translated "obey" there is a strong word, rarely used in the New Testament. It means actual, absolute, unquestioning submission — not even a shadow of a doubt in our minds that we must follow God. One author writes this: "This is the language of a company of people that have come into fellowship with God and have swept from their lives all other masters and all other authority."
We are going to look at these apostles responding in a remarkable way. Even as Peter faced the opportunity to speak before these Jewish leaders, he did not cave in for a second. His safeguard against opposition and hardship was this: I am going to obey God. It was not even a decision for him. If the issue before him had on one side what God says and on the other side what man says, each and every time he was going to follow what God had to say.
Cut to the Quick
Back to the verse — when they heard this teaching, they were cut to the quick, and they intended to kill them. These were the Jewish leaders who had dealt with Jesus Himself. As they heard Peter speak, they likely had recollections of times when they had experienced this same reaction before.
Jesus spoke to these Jewish leaders. From the New Living Translation, Matthew chapter 23, Jesus says: *"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law, you Pharisees, you hypocrites, for you won't let others enter into the kingdom of God, and you yourselves won't go. How terrible it will be for you teachers and religious leaders, you Pharisees, for you cross land and sea to make a convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourself are."*
Verse 23: *"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law, you Pharisees, you hypocrites, for you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. You blind guides, you strain the water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat and you swallow a camel."*
*"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law, you Pharisees, you hypocrites, you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are filthy, full of greed and self-indulgence. How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law, you Pharisees, you hypocrites, you are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. You try to look upright outwardly, but inside your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law, you Pharisees, you hypocrites, for you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed and decorate the graves of godly people your ancestors destroyed."*
They heard those words from Jesus, and it was about that time that they determined He needed to be killed. Now they hear this message from Peter, and the response is similar. In their minds they are reasoning: Jesus started all this — we killed Him, and we thought that was the end of it. Then Peter and John rose up and began to preach. We arrested them. We told them never to speak again in the name of Jesus. But that was not the end of it either.
God's Unexpected Deliverance
The arrests don't stop the church — all of a sudden, the church begins to grow. The authorities arrest all the apostles, and in the night they are released supernaturally. They re-arrest them, and the council says, "We've got to do something about this. We've killed once — we killed Jesus — we will kill again." I am sure that at this moment the church was gathered together and praying: Father, spare them. Save them. Intervene somehow in the lives of the apostles and deliver them from this threat. I would guarantee the church was praying, and I am sure they had no idea that God would use one of the Pharisees himself.
Verse 34: "A certain Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up in the council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time." He stands and says, let's get the apostles out of here — we are going to have some candid conversation. He wants an intramural discussion. By all accounts, Gamaliel was the most prominent rabbi of the time. He was Paul's teacher, and he said of Paul that Paul had one flaw: they could never get him enough books. He devoured everything they gave him to read.
Gamaliel's History Lesson
Gamaliel stands and says, verse 35: "Men of Israel, take care what you purpose to do with these men." You better stop and think about this. He has their attention — he is a respected man standing among his peers — and he says, let me give you a little history lesson, because we have been in circumstances like this before.
Verse 36: some time ago Theudas rose up and claimed to be somebody. We do not know exactly who he was — there are several historical figures with that name — but we do believe he was probably involved with a radical action group determined to overthrow Rome, one of the zealots. What we do know is that about 400 people joined him, and when he was killed, all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. He came along, claimed to be somebody — perhaps even claimed to be a Messiah, as Jesus had — and a large group of people got excited. But once he was dead, that was the end of it.
Then there was another man, Judas of Galilee. He rose up in the days of the census. We can place that in the same time frame that Luke writes about in Luke chapter 2, verse 1: "Now it came about in those days that a decree went forth from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth, and all were proceeding to register for the census, each in his own town." In the midst of that period, this Judas of Galilee drew some people away, and after a time he perished. Once he was gone, the movement amounted to nothing.
The Logic of Gamaliel's Warning
Gamaliel then turns to what is in front of them and says, verse 38–39: "In this present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them, or else you may even be found fighting against God." This is a true statement on both counts. If this is some human religion, it will destroy itself. All human religion will eventually fade away — it may take centuries, but it will happen. If Peter and John simply cooked this up themselves, it will die under its own weight.
On the other hand, if it is of God, no power or force anywhere can stop it. He says to these religious leaders: you are opposing these men, and if they are truly of God — even though he himself would not believe this — you are going to find yourselves in an awkward position, standing in direct opposition to God.
The Beating and Its Aftermath
They take his advice — sort of. Verse 40: "After calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them." They bring the apostles back in and beat them — likely the thirty-nine lashes, beaten with rods or some device. This was not a light punishment. People actually died in this process. They were beaten not merely as a punishment, but as a warning. And for the third time the council says to them: knock it off. Stop preaching in the name of the Lord. No preaching, no teaching, no speaking, no healing in the name of Jesus.
Verse 41: "So they went on their way from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name." Their backs were bloodied, still dripping, and they went rejoicing. They were honored that they had been dishonored in the name of Christ. They were counted worthy to face shame in His name. Just as Jesus Himself had been flogged before this same group of people, so now would they be — and they were rejoicing.
Rejoicing in the Midst of Suffering
What a strange reaction in the midst of suffering and pain and hardship. That doesn't sound natural. Is that your reflex instinct in the midst of suffering? Some of you are going through all sorts of things in your lives right now — suffering, pain, hardship, difficulty. Is your reflex reaction to rejoice in the midst of it?
Consider what follows: they flogged them, ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, and then, verse 42, every day in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching.
Preaching Without Pause
They didn't miss a beat. They didn't stop for a second. All the power that could be thrown against them didn't stop them for one minute. They went to the temple — they had to, in fact, because the angel who released them said, "Go to the temple and speak in the name of Jesus there." So they went to the temple. The next morning when the Sanhedrin came together, the voices they heard sounded familiar. There they were again, preaching in the name of Jesus.
They also went from house to house. Luke had told us earlier that the apostles had filled Jerusalem with doctrine. How did they do it? They went from house to house, person to person, one on one — preaching the proclamation of the gospel, primarily what we do with unconverted people, and teaching, which is what we need once we've come to Christ so that we can grow in our knowledge and our love for Him.
Rather than being stopped, they weren't stopped for a second. What's interesting is that there is not even a mention of a moment of complaining or self-doubt, not a moment of self-pity, not a moment where they stopped and said, "This isn't fair. Look at what we've done for You, God, and this is the thanks we get." There is none of that. And I think there has to be a lesson for us in that.
Learning from Others
There are a couple of ways you can learn. One is to read a book — you go to school and you learn. The second is experience: don't touch the stove, it's hot. There is a third way, and it has become my favorite. As part of my responsibility here and in Priority Living, it's a way I have an opportunity to practice frequently: learning from other people's mistakes and strengths.
A week does not go by that I don't sit with somebody — generally somebody who is hurting and reaping what they have sown, experiencing the circumstances of their own behavior — and it reinforces in my mind: God, Your word is true. If I violate it, I will suffer. Or I sit with people in whose lives God is working in a magnificent way, and by the same token, the same principle applies: it reinforces in my mind how God works. What an honor and a privilege it is to be part of that.
You have a chance today to learn from these apostles. When I read through that passage and I know this is going to be the text for today, I find myself stopping and asking a question: how could they continue rejoicing in the midst of all this? What is it in their lives that allows this attitude — this reflex reaction of rejoicing — to exist? How could that happen?
Suffering for Faith Today
I believe many of you are suffering and are persecuted for your faith. There is a tendency to look at what the apostles endured and say, "Well, we're not being dragged in, we're not being beaten, and they're not denying us the ability to assemble — therefore we aren't suffering." But I think many of you do suffer for your faith, maybe not to that extent, yet it is just as real.
You have had friends, classmates, parents, or children put you down. Business associates have done the same. Maybe you have even seen your career suffer because you took a stand for Christ. How do you continue? How do you not become bitter in the midst of that? How do you keep from wanting to lash out? Well, here are five things I see in the lives of these apostles.
Number One: They Genuinely Believed the Truth
The first is that they genuinely believed the truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." It is important for you to understand that you live in a world that no longer believes in truth. I had a cup of coffee this week with a fellow who, in business, is having opportunities to impact the lives of non-believers in the marketplace. As he talks with them and shares the truth, what he finds is they are willing to say, "That's good for you, but there's no such thing as truth." In other words, that may be true for you, but it's not necessarily true for me. It may have worked for you, but it won't necessarily work for me.
If you talk to Walter in college, or Tim in high school, or Jamie in junior high, they are running into exactly the same thing. And every one of you has encountered it in the marketplace. You say Jesus is the only way, and the immediate response from many people is, "Well, wait a minute — that's just what you think. That's what you say is true." These apostles knew, just as you should, that this is the truth.
So frequently, fear creeps into our lives because of things that are unknown or uncertain. But these men were absolutely certain of the truth, and that knowledge gave them courage. The Apostle John writes: "What was from the beginning, what we have heard and what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld with our hands, concerning the word of life — what we have seen we bear witness to you, this witness of eternal life. We have seen this and we proclaim it to you." They knew the truth, and the truth set them free from fear and bitterness and anger and allowed them to simply rejoice.
Number Two: The Truth Had Changed Their Lives
The second thing is that the truth had changed their lives. Every week when you come in, you receive a bulletin, and inside the front of that bulletin is the purpose statement of East Valley Bible Church: to help one another learn God's truth and live biblically changed lives. For almost a year, maybe a year and a half, when you came into the church on Dobson — and many of you will remember this — when you came in, we had to put...
Changed Lives Change Lives
For almost a year, we have been talking about preparing to unveil our own brand of evangelism — our own way of preparing and teaching you in the area of evangelism. We have asked Walter to head that up, and the training mechanism he is developing will be called "Changed Lives Change Lives." That is the message of Scripture. Here is what Paul says: "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away."
Paul writes to the church at Corinth. Corinth was an evil city. If you go there now and look at all the things that have been excavated over the centuries, you will see graphic pornography on the pottery. It was simply an evil place, and it was evil because the people in it were evil. Then God plants a church there, and Paul writes to that church.
Here is what he says: "Did you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminates, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers — none of those are going to inherit the kingdom of God." Then he looks at that church at Corinth, just as I might look at you, and he says: "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."
One of the most powerful testimonies you have is the way God has changed your life. That is why it is so damaging when you say you are a Christian and your life is still filled with blatant, unrepentant sin. When God comes into a life — when somebody is truly converted, truly saved — there will be a change. There has to be. It changes.
A Letter from Prison
Chuck Holmes was in my office this week. Chuck is involved with the Mount Nebo prison ministries, a ministry that reaches incarcerated men and women, and he personally has been going into the prison. Many of you need to be involved with Mount Nebo — Chuck's name and phone number are on the back of your bulletin.
He brought a letter with him. I can always tell when he comes in with a little envelope and a little smile that he has got something he wants to read. Let me read it to you. It is dated September 8th, 1999.
"Mr. Holmes — I come before you at this time from the recommendation of one of the Christian brothers on the yard here at CMC East" — that is a prison in San Luis Obispo. "I have been in the Department of Corrections for nearly 24 years. I have never even thought about picking up the Bible before this past month, which is when Steve started preaching to me and told me about your ministry. I have been given an NIV Bible that is very helpful; however, I feel I am ready for a Bible study and perhaps a study Bible."
Let me stop for a moment. What Chuck will do now is send this man a copy of the workbook *Foundations of the Faith*. That book is available for you to use as well, and many of you already do. There are twelve lessons in it. When a prisoner completes those twelve lessons and they have been checked and approved, Chuck will then send him a MacArthur Study Bible. You may want to be involved in that. It is a fairly expensive process, and there is no way to short-circuit it. Maybe you want to sponsor this man. Let Chuck know and get involved.
The letter continues: "My name is Eddie Perez. I am a 52-year-old Mexican-American. As I said, I never picked up a Bible before a month or so ago. The majority of my life has been spent hating everyone and everything. I was once a member of a prison gang" — and Chuck tells me you have to have killed somebody to be in this particular gang. "I spent 21 years in that organization. My heart was always filled with negativity, hatred, and evil. But I am happy to report today that I found God. I feel His love changing my way of thinking and the way I view life."
What Genuine Conversion Looks Like
See, that is what conversion is. The heart is changed. The mind is renewed. A person begins to think differently and see the world differently. The changed behaviors follow almost naturally — they proceed, as Eddie Perez illustrates so clearly, from a changed heart that begins to change the mind, which in turn begins to change the way a person lives.
After only thirty days as a believer, Eddie captures it perfectly. If you say you are a Christian and someone asks you to show it, you might want to talk about all the studies you are in, your quiet time, all the things you are doing — which is fine. But Eddie Perez nails it cold after just thirty days.
The letter goes on: "God's love is the most wonderful gift I have ever been given. I want to learn all that I can about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I would appreciate any and all literature you could bless me with in my quest for a better understanding of Christ Jesus."
He says, send me anything. You and I are at home with shelves of books we have never even cracked. He says, send me something — anything — so he can learn about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Think about this man. He is 52 years old. He spent roughly half of his life in the prison system, and his time outside was probably no less rugged. For 24 years he never once thought about picking up a Bible. But God gets hold of that heart, converts that man, and the minute He does, the man's life changes. We can debate all the ethereal questions about whether believing in Christ actually changes a life — but Eddie Perez makes the answer plain.
The Power of a Changed Life
These apostles had seen their lives change. They knew how, just months before, they had been huddled together, afraid of everything — even a knock at the door petrified them. Now they were bloodied, and they went right back, fully expecting to be beaten again. Why? They saw the power of a changed life. You say you're a Christian, there is life change. You go tell Eddie Perez that he can go back out in the yard and be any old way he wants — he can't.
Seeing God at Work
The third thing they experienced was seeing God at work. They couldn't deny it. The lame were walking. People were being healed. Thousands were coming to Christ in repentance and faith, and they said, "How could we ever abandon this? Why would we want to go back to the way we used to be?" It was simple: we either obey God or obey man. That is no choice at all. We always obey God.
How about in your life? I believe that if, like the apostles, you begin to see God work in your life, maybe He is already working and you haven't even stopped to notice it. Maybe He is answering prayers. He has changed your whole view of life. He has given you wisdom. Maybe this was the week you didn't quite get to the point of sharing your faith, but at least you recognized the opportunities He placed before you. Maybe you shared your faith and people began to respond. You saw needs being met. You saw relationships come back together.
You saw a husband and wife who hated each other — who couldn't even stand to be around each other, who despised each other — and now they are together, and they will tell you they are more in love than they ever were, and it is all because they yielded to the power of Christ. Does He save every marriage like that? No. Sometimes the converted, saved spouse is left, and that marriage does not come back together. But that spouse has a love and a peace about the whole circumstance, because as far as it depends upon them, they are trying to live at peace with one another.
And it is not just individual — you see it corporately as well. You go to rock.com on Wednesday night and you see these students hanging around, not because they do not want to go home, but because they are asking, "Hey, wait a minute — Tim is talking about really having a life that makes a difference. Real, true love — where do I find that?" Or you are in a small group setting, and all of a sudden you start to hear about what God is doing in a family across the room. There is not a week that goes by that somebody does not tell me about the way the body at East Valley Bible Church stepped up in their time of need — to encourage them, to meet the need. That is how you rejoice in the middle of this work.
The Call to Serve
The fourth thing they were doing was serving. That is the motto of the church, right under the purpose statement: "Help one another learn God's truth and live biblically changed lives." Here is what we want you to do: come, learn, and serve. Not come, learn, and sit — come, learn, serve. We define serve as an obedient response to participate in the work of God wherever He has placed you.
Chuck Swindoll talks about service and says it always comes at a price. Here is what he writes: "It is impossible to give ourselves to others at arm's length. You have to be involved. Personal involvement is essential, not incidental. And it usually involves adapting our ways and our schedules to fit into other people's needs." If you are going to serve, you are going to have to serve people almost on their terms and conditions. But you are a servant. What does that mean? It means using the gifts God has given you to meet the needs of the people around you. Serve and minister are the same word. Are you involved in ministry? Well, are you involved in service? Then you are involved in ministry — wherever He places you.
Understanding Reality
Then there is this: they understood reality. We had dinner the other night with a man who, in May of 1971, was a student at Kent State — where the shooting took place, where students were killed. That conjured up all sorts of memories for me, because I was at St. Ambrose University — the Harvard of the Midwest — during that same time. As students, we did not just listen to what was happening. We struck and closed down the school, and I am not sure what the adults were thinking when they let us do that.
We were the St. Ambrose College Bees — not the most intimidating nickname for our opponents. The student union was called the Beehive, so we would sit in the Hive. These guys smoked cigarettes endlessly. I cannot stand cigarette smoke — I hate it. So I had my cigar, which I do not find offensive, and we would go back and forth talking. I can remember many a night sitting there, and we were asking: what is reality? We not only had no clue what reality was — we did not even know where to look for it.
But these apostles did. When you get a grip on reality and understand what is real, all of a sudden life starts to come together. Peter didn't wrestle for this — Peter understood reality. Probably reflecting back on this time, here is what he says: "Don't be surprised at fiery ordeals. You are going to get this stuff. To the degree that you share in the suffering of Christ, keep on rejoicing." They never for a second thought that because they were Christians and followers of Christ, and had been with Him, they were not going to have —
Seeing Reality Clearly
They didn't look at the world through rose-colored glasses. They had Christ-tinted glasses. They saw the suffering and the hardship as normal. Paul understood this, not just Peter. Look at what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Reflecting on all the hardship, he said: "Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though the outer man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. We look not at the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen. For the things we see are temporal. The things we don't see are eternal." It is the eternal things that give us a true sense of reality.
The Last Days We Live In
Paul writes to Timothy — a man he loves — and launches him into ministry, preparing him for what lies ahead. He says to him: Timothy, understand that in the last days there will be difficult times. We are in those last days now. I am not saying that Jesus is coming again tomorrow, but Jesus is clearly coming again sometime. See if the last days Paul describes don't sound like the days you and I live in.
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3, verse 2: "For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving. They will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure more than God." Then verse 5: "They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly."
These are self-centered, religious, spiritual people — and that is the world you live in. You can go to any bookstore right now and find racks of spiritual books that are religious but deny the power. What is the power? The power is the person of Christ. They even call it self-help — the antithesis of what God says. You cannot help yourself out of this. You sinned your way into separation from God, and there is nothing you can do on your own to get out of it.
Thriving, Not Just Surviving
The question is: how do I survive in the midst of that? But these apostles were not about surviving — they were thriving in the midst of it. How do you do that tomorrow and for the rest of your life? How do you begin to live this way?
I think it is the same thing you see in their lives. You understand that this is true. You have the power of seeing that lives have been changed. You see God at work. You start to serve. You understand that these things are temporary. There is a line that captures it well: life gets pretty precious when there is less of it to waste. That is about where it is.
What are you going to do with the rest of your life? I mean that to the person here who is seventy years old and to those who are eighteen — you are both in the same boat. We are not just talking about the quantity of life you have left. I want to talk about the quality of it. Where are you going to invest your time, your energy, your effort, and your money?
It is so interesting to watch in the Christian community — at Christian schools, watching the best, brightest, and sharpest students, watching how excited everyone is to launch them into business. That is fine. But it never occurs to many that perhaps those students should consider giving the rest of their lives to full-time ministry somewhere. I know the argument that all of life is full-time ministry. But the question still stands: where are you going to spend the rest of your life?
The Normal Christian Life
In the midst of suffering and pain, how do you not only continue but continue rejoicing? You see God at work. Why would you stop? Why would you change it? That is the picture, and I believe it is the picture of the normal Christian life. That is the way it is supposed to be.
All this other stuff — the suffering, the pain, the difficulty, the hardship, the study and work it requires — that is the reality of the life. But in it, I see God. And He is so real that it never occurs to me for a second to feel sorry for myself, or to talk about injustice, or to worry about my rights. The only question is: how can I serve Him?
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Father, we pray that You would touch our lives that way. That You would put that attitude in our hearts. That our deepest desire would be to serve You. God, let us be men and women who cling to the truth. Let our testimonies point to lives that have been changed. God, open our eyes so that we can see You at work around us. Let us be serving and ministering. And help us understand reality — that this momentary light affliction in this world is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond anything we can imagine. So we do not lose heart, because day by day You strengthen us. God, keep us dependent on You and filled with Your Spirit. We pray to You in Jesus' name. Amen.