Esther 4:14b “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
II Corinthians 12:9-10 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Acts 5:40-42 “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:3-4 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope”
Pastor Henry Crane wrote the following during the dark depths of World War II:
“Rejoice that we are matched with such a supremely significant age as this. Rejoice that we now have an unusual chance to test the validity of our Christian principles. Rejoice that we shall discover what we ourselves are actually made of. Rejoice that we shall be able to discover how tribulations bring patience, patience experience, and experience hope – which means we shall be living deeply, richly, greatly. Rejoice that we shall have revealed to us the necessity and availability of God.”
In the midst of the dark depths of our age, may we embrace such a powerful perspective that should cause us to rejoice, glorying in our infirmities and motivated by God’s wisdom to place us in our situation for such a time as this. We should rejoice because we have been matched with such a supremely significant age. We should rejoice because we now have an unusual chance to test the validity of our Christian principles. We should rejoice because we shall discover what we ourselves are actually made of. We should rejoice that we shall be able to witness how tribulations ultimately bring hope. And, we should rejoice because we shall have revealed to us the necessity and the availability of God.
Indeed, we live in a supremely significant age. As a result, we must rejoice in our situation, remember God’s calling on our lives, recommit to our Christ-centered principles, resist self-sufficiency or resignation, and respond with bold prayer for our communities, our nation and our leaders.
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WOULD USE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS IN THIS SUPREMELY SIGNIFICANT AGE. And, as we endure the challenges of the day, rejoice that God has counted you worthy to serve Him in such a day as this.
