2 Timothy 2:3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

I don’t see how anyone who is familiar with the New Testament could be sucked in by the Prosperity Gospel! This admonition by Paul to Timothy is perfectly in line with what Jesus said just before His crucifixion: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) From this world’s standpoint the Christian life is hardly a bed of roses – unless you include the reality that roses have thorns! There are indeed countless blessings in Christ even in this life, but signing up for His army instantly puts you deep into enemy territory, because that’s what the world system is. That’s perhaps a bit easier to understand when you look at “globalists” like Charles Schwab and George Soros, but our focus isn’t to be on them, but rather on our Lord. Technology is changing things all around us in ways unimaginable even a generation back, but technology doesn’t change human nature, so Paul’s advice is just as relevant to us as it was to Timothy. We aren’t to be seeking “Easy Street,” but rather “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) In a sense it’s like one of America’s founding fathers said: “Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.” If we refuse the cross that Christ offers us, thinking to have it easy, we eventually discover that we have refused life itself.

I’m as big on avoiding discomfort as the next guy, but 75 years on this planet have taught me that indeed, in this world we have trouble. However, I am deeply grateful to say that I have tasted life in Christ, and as Bill Gaither wrote, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.” Yesterday I had an encounter that I had been dreading, but the Lord brought us through it and brought genuine blessing in the process. Every situation looks different as we approach it and then as we move on from it. At our Thanksgiving dinner last year one of our believers gave a testimony that it had been a very rough year, but that looking back on it, it had been a very blessed year. I’ve had that sort of experience countless times. I need to look forward to God’s plans for me, whatever they look like in the process of going through them, because I know that the outcome will be blessed.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You indeed for Your presence and guidance yesterday. Thank You for the things You have for today. May I walk in full obedience and peace each step of the way, however hard it might seem in the moment, for my blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!