Just Another Day

In this life you will have trouble, but have no fear I have overcome the world.  John 16:33

I wish I could tell you that the words expressed above were easy to swallow, but they are not. And I believe the reason they aren't is because very few believers accept or embrace the fact that suffering is apart of our walk. Even though the bible is filled with men and women who suffered much in their efforts to share the Good News we so freely confess today, our capacity to handle the reality such words reveal is very limited.

We say we are willing to die for Him; we say we are willing to walk away from it all just to follow Him; and yet, we have never had to prove our faithfulness to these words.

Please don't misunderstand my thoughts and think that I am suggesting that you are not true believer if you haven't had to give your life for Christ. For that would be the furthest thing from the point I am trying to get across. However, what I am saying, as I reflect on my experiences over the past year is this, what I call suffering is nothing compared to what others around the world have had to suffer as they strive daily to live as believers in this fallen world.

So what I've had to spend the past two years working in a very hostile environment. So what my first tenure as principal has come to abrupt end. So what, so what, so what!

To get a better perspective on what I am trying to say, one would only have to think back to a little over a year ago, when 147 Somalian college students were killed for their belief in Christ. Believers who in the face of death, chose to hold fast to their confession and leave behind all they knew and loved. For these, our brothers and sisters, made the only decision possible, which required them to fear God and not man, who with all his resources, only had the ability to destroy the body.

I pray that my faith runs as deep as theirs and that I never come face to face with the choice they so bravely made. I pray that I will remember their example and in doing so, will derive the strength to endure the challenges I will surely face along The Way. I pray I never forget the message of John 16:33 and that I will always remember, it's simply apart of the journey. And beloved, it is my prayer that you never forget this truth as well. Amen

Until next time...