Some preachers and teachers tell listeners that being a Christian is very easy. They make it sound like once a person is a Christian, that person will never have troubles. While being a Christian makes it easier to live with life’s problems, being a Christian will not make your life trouble free. God tells us we must have endurance. This means that problems will arise; troubles or situations will still be in our lives. What does God say we need to endure?
Hardness – “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3).
Affliction – “Endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5).
Chastening – “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons” (Hebrews 12:7).
Grief – “For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief” (1 Peter 2:19).
Contradiction – “Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself” (Hebrews 12:3).
Temptation – “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation” (James 1:12).
All Things – “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake” (2 Timothy 2:10).
I am glad we have a God who cares for us. If we lean on Him, He will help us get through the difficult times. This makes it easier to deal with them. We always know that no matter how bad things are on earth for us, things will be so much better for us in Heaven (Romans 8:18). Study your Bible. Learn what is necessary to live for Christ. If any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
