I just read a chapter of Dangerous Faith that was talking about persecution and suffering in the first century church. Joel mentions that throughout history the church would grow tremendously when suffering took place. There have been many people who have been killed for their faith and instead of killing the message they were preaching, their deaths paved the way for others to come to know Christ.
On Sunday at church, my pastor talked about Philippians 1:21 where Paul says "To live is Christ, and to die is gain" which I have been meditating on for the last couple of months - trying to understand what this might look like in my life. That day it took on a new meaning to me. Even though the method of death may be painful, am I truly willing to live my life or lose my life for Him? I know that life in Christ is the only life worth living for, the only life that cannot be taken away and the only life that has eternal gain. But do I know that in my heart and not just my mind? Not always.
In addition to that, this next question posed a challenge that knocked me out of whatever apathetic state I have found myself in. Are you living in Christ? If not, then have you connected with the love of God lately? Because if you have been connecting with the love of God then you will naturally be drawn to making Him your life. That's what I want - to connect with the love of God. The last couple of weeks have been hard and I'm not sure if it's winter setting in or busyness distracting me from disciplines but either way, I've been coasting and I don't want to anymore. From past experience, connecting with the love of God will pull me out of that spell quickly.
So pray that for me and I'll be praying that for you. I'm praying that you will be able to feel His love today in a way that refreshes your spirit and draws you closer to Him.
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I have been going through the same thing. My daily bible study through BSF has been helping with this struggle though. We are going through Matthew and you see all these amazing people who drop everything and listen to God and follow Him. I often ask myself how many people today would do that and if I myself could leave it all behind. It seems like it would be harder today to leave everything behind because we are so caught up in material things like our houses, cars, jobs, clothes etc. Hang in there. God is pleased with you.
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