November 26
Suffering as a Christian
1 Peter 4:16

  1. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
  1. But if [one is ill-treated and suffers] as a Christian [which he is contemptuously called], let him not be ashamed, but give glory to God that he is [deemed worthy] to suffer in this name.  The Amplified Bible.

Again he says if any of us suffer trouble as a Christian then we should glorify God rather than being ashamed.  He goes on in verses 17 and 18 and speaks of judgment that begins at the house of God and goes on to unbelievers.  Even though our example is not the ungodly he asks what will become of the ungodly if the righteous are having difficulty.

We are at least endeavoring to obey God.  The desire of a believer’s heart is to obey God.  There may be difficulties and areas we have to overcome and our goal should be that we don’t ever suffer the consequences of doing wrong because we are living free from wrongdoing.  That is what we are striving for.

But when we go through trouble as a Christian, we should not be ashamed but glorify God instead.

 

Confession:

During any trouble I go through as a Christian, I will not be ashamed but I will glorify God.  I thank God that I can live free from sin and as a result, free from suffering the consequences of sin.

Obedience is a tree of life!