“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5 NASB1995)

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are not promised that life will go easy for us. We are not promised that we will not have trials and tribulations. In fact, we are promised the opposite of that. Jesus and his New Testament apostles promised us that we would be hated and persecuted like Jesus was, and that we will suffer, and that some of us will be put to death for our walks of faith, and that we will be falsely accused of wrongdoing, falsely imprisoned on erroneous charges, and beaten and left for dead, like the apostle Paul was.

And we will be treated as Jesus was treated by the religious authorities of his day, and by the same types of people of our day. For if we take seriously the truth of the Scriptures, taught in the correct biblical context, to teach them to others, and to follow them in practice, by example, and so we call sin what it is, and so we teach the necessity of death to sin and of obeying our Lord and his commands, as part of faith which saves, we will be rejected. We will be cast aside as unwanted, ignored, and/or falsely accused of wrong.

And with regards to the warnings in the Scriptures in reference to the last days, and the kinds of things which will take place, if we are at all observant, we have to realize that we are living in those last days, and there is a very real possibility that things could come crashing down upon us all very soon, and our lives as we now know them could quickly go in a completely different direction. The signs of the times are everywhere we look now. And we should never presume that tomorrow is guaranteed to any of us.

And just because things get much harder, and more difficult, and more complicated, is no reason for us to “jump ship,” i.e. to run away from it all. Now we should run away from the things that God tells us to run away from, such as sin, and temptation to sin. And we should depart from partnerships with what is evil and wicked and against God so that we do not partake with others in their sin. But when the Lord says to stay and to tough it out and to learn from our trials, we need to obey God. For he knows what we need.

For trials and tribulations, although painful, are for our ultimate good, to mature us in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, to train us in perseverance, and to transform us in character to be more like Jesus. For do you remember what God told Paul when he prayed for deliverance from his “thorn in the flesh” (which was not a sinful habit)? He told him that God’s grace was sufficient for him, for power is perfected in weakness. So Paul decided to be content with weakness, for in his weakness he was strong.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

To Be Like Him

Based off Scripture
An Original Work / March 16, 2014
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Crucified you are with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,
Because He died at Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be free.
Oh, what joy He brings into your life,
Giving life with Him endlessly.

Oh, what plans He has for your life.
Share the gospel faithfully.
Show the people He loves them.
Now His witness you’ll be.
Tell the world of sin about Jesus,
How He died for them on a tree.

Purifying hearts, He saves them,
Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from their idols,
New lives they have begun.
Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry He won!

When He comes again to take us
To be with Him evermore,
There will be no more crying.
Gladness will be in store.
Heavens joys will now overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord evermore.

Tribulations For Our Good
An Original Work / April 10, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love