Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Paul was well acquainted with the subject of this passage. Of the hardships he endured, he wrote:
2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (KJV)
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
Albert Barnes writes, “Soldiers often endure great privations. Taken from their homes and friends; exposed to cold, or heat, or storms, or fatiguing marches; sustained on coarse fare, or almost destitute of food, they are often compelled to endure as much as the human frame can bear, and often indeed, sink under their burdens, and die. If, for reward or their country’s sake, they are willing to do this, the soldier of the cross should be willing to do it for his Saviour’s sake…”
We’ve misplaced our expectations if we have any idea other than hardship in the work of the ministry. Indeed, we have done a grand disservice to our faith by creating a kind of religious system that elevates those serving the Lord into celebrities rather than soldiers. I do not suggest we ask for hardship, nor do I encourage the members of the church to unnecessarily make it hard on their pastors. I’m just saying that when we do what we’ve been called to do, hardship will come.
· Plan for it
· Endure it
#EndureForChrist #SoldierOfTheCross #FaithThroughHardship #MinistryChallenges #ServingTheSaviour
The Soldier’s Call: 4 Realities of Hardness in Christian Service
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