No one likes to suffer for his beliefs, but strangely, a committed group of men counted it an honor to do so. What can we learn from their example?
The men found themselves standing, once again, before a council composed of some of the most powerful authorities in their nation. Their lives were hanging in the balance, all because they had been preaching a message about Jesus Christ that these authority figures didn't agree with. The council wanted nothing more than to kill them, but, afraid that an execution would start a riot, they instead decided to beat the men and forbid them to ever preach their message again.
What do you think these men did afterward? Did they give in to the council's threats and stop preaching? Were they upset with God for letting them be beaten? Did they throw in the towel and turn their backs on God?
Hardly. These men were apostles of Christ, and the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. tells us, "So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name " (Acts 5:41, emphasis added throughout).
They had just been beaten (and were no doubt in a severe amount of pain, since they may have received the maximum 39 stripes) and had their very lives threatened, and yet, these men were rejoicing. This begs an important question: How do we view the trials in our lives?
We will go through trials, no doubt about it. Jesus told us, "In the world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33). They may be big, they may be small, they may be any size in between, but everyone has them. So it isn't about whether or not we have trials; it's about how we look at them.
How to view trials
The apostles looked at trials as blessings. When we go through hardships in life, we need to remember that God has counted us worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of His Son—our Savior and King. This is no small honor. We are to be Christ's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), and trials are God's way of shaping us into men and women worthy of that title.
After all, "the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it" (1 Corinthians 10:13, New Living Translation). This is another thing to keep in mind: No matter what we are going through, God has personally made sure it's something we can handle with His help.
There are blessings in trials too. The author of Hebrews tells us to "go on to perfection" (Hebrews 6:1). One of the best ways we can do this is through the lessons we learn during trials. James wrote that we should know "that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:3-4).
What trials do for us
Trials help shape us and sometimes force us to shape ourselves. In overcoming them, we obtain and sharpen personality traits that are essential to every Christian regardless of age or position.
Paul writes that "we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4). Hope is an absolutely necessary ingredient of faith, which is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Without faith, we have nothing.
But the best thing about trials is that we don't have to go through them alone. Earlier, we looked at John 16:33, which assures us that "in the world you will have tribulation." What we didn't look at was the rest of the verse, where Christ says, "But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. " This means that we have an example of Someone who has gone through all His trials without sinning, yet still knows how difficult they are.
We can turn to Him any time we need strength or comfort or just someone to talk to, because Jesus is not just our High Priest (Hebrews 4:15), not just our King (John 18:37) and not just our Savior (Luke 2:11). He is also our older Brother (Hebrews 2:11) and our Friend (John 15:14-15).
Next time you find yourself in a trial, count yourself worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. VT
