Hardship – no one likes the sound of that word. The fact is, living involves hardship. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live. Even God, Himself did not promise us a life of ease if we would follow Him.
Accept your share of suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Nobody who serves in the military gets tied up with civilian matters, so that they can please the one who recruited them. -2 Timothy 2:3-4 (CEB)
None of us like to experience hardships but there are some people in our society who experience them on a regular basis. Not only that, we expect Soldiers to endure those hardships on our behalf. More than that, soldiers are trained to endure hardships that most people never have to face. I have experienced just a small taste of those hardships (a very small one) in my chaplain training.
Whether we want to hear it or not, we are in the front lines of a spiritual battle for the lives of those living all around us. In the same way that an American soldier must train for hardships, we need to be spiritually strong. We need to be built up in our faith and in the knowledge of God.
I think the challenge of Easter is to accept Easter is to accept hardship. Those of us who believe in and serve as resurrected God, face persecution, ridicule, and hardship – even today. While we live in Easter hope, we also fear rejection and hardship. I believe that through Jesus Christ, we have been given armor and tools to persevere.
Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens.Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. -Ephesians 10:6-17 (CEB)
Don’t be like so many who wait for a spiritual attack to run to the Lord for help. Be ready at all times. Be strong and secure with your feet firmly planted in the Word of God. Be filled with His Spirit. Be armed and awake as a good soldier of Christ.
The Timothy Blog 