Will you rejoice in your suffering?
Posted by appolus on April 3, 2022

Act 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
How far we in Christendom have fallen. Where is the generation that rejoices in being counted worthy to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? The apostles had just been beaten, and yet they rejoiced. They had just suffered greatly, yet they rejoiced. They could not believe their good fortune that they had been counted worthy. The disciples and the saints were not praying for them not to be beaten. They were not praying for God to minimize or stop their suffering. Rather, we read, that the saints were praying that the apostles would have even more boldness. And when they were praying that prayer, the whole place was shaken and they were all filled afresh.
How do you pray saints? When you or one you know is suffering for the cause of Christ, how do you pray? Do you pray as the saints in the early Church prayed? Are we so westernized and have we suffered so little for the name of Jesus, for so long, that we forget how to effectively pray, to the point that the everything is shaken and we are filled afresh? The Holy Spirit initiates boldness, and when that boldness is acted upon He fills us again…… and again……..and again. When the apostles are dragged in front of the Sanhedrin for violating their previous orders of not mentioning Jesus. Here is their reply. “We ought to obey God, rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree……….and we are His witnesses.” We too, brothers and sisters, are His witnesses, it is our calling, it is why we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Exercise boldness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and He will continually fill you, even as you rejoice in suffering for His name sake.
Anonymous said
Amen..