Much Tribulation

Exhorting them to continue in the faith.
Acts 14:22

I've decided to continue to write about the subject of trials that a Christian must face...

In my case, my latest challenge has been with an unruly and troublesome neighbor, from whom I have no escape.

Today I was reading the New Testament's book of the Acts of the Apostles. Where, in the fourteenth chapter, Christ's disciples are told that it is through much hardship and tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of God.

This caused me to think about the apostle Paul. A Jewish disciple of Messiah Jesus, Paul perhaps suffered
more for his faith than any other follower of Christ, ever. He endured starvation, being pelted with rocks, multiple beatings and whippings, imprisonment for sometimes long periods where he was forced to sit in cold, dark dungeons, and without the fellowship of fellow disciples.

Thinking about this made me realize that my trials, to include my satanically energized neighbor, are as mere mosquito bites when compared to what Paul had to face. Yet God has been patient with me during my times of complaining. He has, for now at least, overlooked my grumblings and groanings. I'm glad this has been the case. Frankly, I still need a lot more growing up to become the spiritual soldier the Lord wants me to be.

D.B.