Trouble

Over the past number of weeks we have studied the trials and tribulations which Paul has had to face.  And yet through it all he never wavered from his calling from God nor from trusting in God’s promises.  His response to trials is a wonderful example of faith and trust for the disciple of Christ.  We all understand that trials, tribulations, and troubles will come our way, but the harder question to answer is why these troubles happen.  After all, being disciples of Christ should mean an easy life, right?

I recently picked up a book titled Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand.  It is a very short account of his life as a believer in Communist Soviet Union and from which an excerpt is below.

“I worked in both an official and underground manner until February 29, 1948.  On that beautiful Sunday, on my way to church, I was kidnapped from the street by the secret police.

“Many at a time were kidnapped like this.  A van of the secret police stopped in front of me, two men jumped out and pushed me into the vehicle.  I was taken to a prison where I was kept secretly for over eight years.  During that time, no one knew whether I was alive or dead.  My wife was visited by the secret police who posed as released fellow-prisoners.  They told her that they had attended my burial.  She was heartbroken.

“Thousands of believers from churches of all denominations were sent to prison at that time.  Not only were clergymen put in jail, but also simple peasants, young boys and girls who witnessed for their faith.  The prisons were full, and in Romania, as in all Communist countries, to be in prison means to be tortured.

“The tortures were sometimes horrible.  I prefer not to speak too much about those through which I have passed; it is too painful.  When I do, I cannot sleep at night.”

From the seemingly annoying troubles of life to the deadly, God’s people over the past thousands of years have come face-to-face with the reality of this fallen world and that world’s hatred of God and His people.  What is the purpose behind such atrocities? 

This week we will study Acts 28:1-10 and read about not only the trouble in which Paul once again finds himself but also the joys which come about through that trouble.  And how that joy comes from trouble may surprise us.  May God prepare our hearts this week as we dig deeply into His Word and Truth.