Under Attack?

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

1 Peter 4:12-17, 19 New Living Translation (NLT)

At times it seems like nothing is working right. We try and try but fail to accomplish some things we set out to do. Trials come seeking to hinder our progress, especially when we truly believe we are trying to do something good and pleasing to God. When we bear the name of Christ, we shouldn't be surprised by opposition because we are told in God's Word that this would be the case. We may have some trouble in this world when we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, but there is protection against the unseen forces that come against God's children who follow His Son. Jesus has already overcome the world. We just need to stay under the umbrella of God's grace through our obedience to His will.

Let us praise God for His total control over everything and that includes our troubles. We can trust Him! Our sovereign God is faithful and He does not fail.

And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans. (Romans 8:28)