Well, my dear friend, all I can tell you is what I find in the Scriptures. God is sovereign and righteous in all His judgments (Psalms 119:137), and all His ways are perfect (see also Isaiah 55:8-9). Our Lord never promises Christians smooth sailing in this life; quite to the contrary, we can expect persecutions and trials if we live for Christ in this fallen world. Some believers may live until they are old, but their lives in this scene are then to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1; see also Philippians 1:21). Living for Christ is our reasonable service on behalf of that One who gave Himself for us at Calvary’s cross. And yes, some will be required to lose their very lives in His service (see John 21:18-22). For the true Christian, the fiery trial is not to be considered a strange thing in our fallen world (1 Peter 4:12).

We must remember that Christ Himself was persecuted, and He warned His own that while in this world, we can expect persecution (John 15:20). Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” No matter what unpleasantness we may encounter in this scene, true believers must remember that God is love (1 John 4:8). He loves us so much that He once sent His only begotten Son into the world to save sinners like you and like me (1 Timothy 1:15). We may not understand fully why God allows certain unpleasant things in the lives of His saints, but we are to have faith even in those times that try the soul (Isaiah 55:8,9; 1 Corinthians 13:12). We can rely upon the fact that God is good, and that His plans for His own are for our good (Jeremiah 29:11), and thus the Bible teaches us “the just shall live by faith,” (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).

My dear friend, we live in a fallen world, and there are wicked spiritual forces at work which are opposed to Christ and the Gospel (Ephesians 6:10-18). Many believers may suffer for His name; but praise God, the Christian is never left to suffer alone, “…For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” (Hebrews 13:5). So perhaps it is that the testimony of the great faith of the apostles and others who gladly laid down their lives for the Gospel of Christ can encourage and strengthen the hearts of the rest of us who believe to go on fighting the good fight, come what may. We can read all about such testimonies of great faith in Hebrews 11:35-40, where we see some of the extreme brutality which Satan and the ungodly world has hurled against God’s people, but they were not defeated in any sense of the word, neither are we defeated if we are persecuted (Romans 8:35-39). perhaps we can see how God might use such testimonies to strengthen our faith and be a strong encouragement for us to walk in such a way that will glorify God, come what may.

Consider Hebrews 12: 1 where we read: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” The great consolation for the believer is that there is a glorious reward in store for us at the end of this life. There is heaven’s glory and God’s rest for all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the light of that truth, how can any earthly trials which we may experience ever truly dampen our spirits. In Romans 8:18 we read: “…the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us….” I pray that the Word of God will comfort the souls of all who read this response.  (SF)  (726.5)