Don't be surprised when suffering or persecution comes, but don't go looking for it to prove or "mature" your Christian walk. There are different seasons we walk through in life and to search for suffering, is to prematurely leave our season of needed rest. We do not know what is next, but should trust the one, who does know, to move us from season to season accordingly.
We must also consider the momentum of our ancestors. We live in America. To consider our suffering today to be equal to the suffering of the first century Christians is to mock or at best forget the millions of souls who have poured out their lives for the Kingdom of God to advance so we could live in greater freedom and reality of God than they did. I cannot compare, but instead return a heart of thankfulness to God and to the souls who have went before us who have served faithfully. I will press on to carry this freedom to a higher level, advancing the kingdom for God and for my fifth generation beyond me.
I will pray, and Lord willing, will go to the lands who do not have momentum or the freedom of the gospel richly proclaimed and taking root in their society. I will stir the pool of time as I rush the gates of Heaven and rattle the gates of Hell with my prayers and life mission to go beyond what is now seen or predicted for my generation.
So be it in whatever season I am in to be faithful, hungry, content, and in awe of the goodness and glory of God, for His name sake, until my time is complete and my family line has extinguished. For the glory of God in Christ Jesus, I am. Amen.
