Psalm 119:161-168
English Standard Version (ESV)
Scripture never promises us that we'll escape this life without suffering. The reality of sin and death assures us suffering -- whether it is our own physical suffering, through sickness or disease, or the suffering of a loved one. As the church is one body, whenever the church is being persecuted anywhere in the world, we all join together in that suffering, just as whenever I step on a Lego in the basement, my entire body cries out in pain.
A powerful testimony is the way we endure under suffering. We can opt for self-pity, or we can choose to endure with faithfulness, demonstrating our trust in God to ultimately redeem us through suffering and bring us into eternal life. By keeping our eyes fixed on the hills and our hearts filled with joy, we endure and demonstrate our trust in the God who is greater than our suffering, who is able to overcome all of our fears and oppressors and ultimately lead us into a place of triumph over whatever persecutes us.
Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil, for God is with us, and we shall emerge into eternal light on the other side.
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