When you see you are about to be hit, either by a car, a person, or an object, what is your first reaction?
Usually, you tend to brace yourself - clench your muscles, close your eyes, and prepare for the worst!
Our tendency is to react in this way not only to physical suffering but also to all kinds of pain. We can tend to fear, clench, and expect the worst because suffering hurts!
And yet, Jesus, in Revelation 2:10a, tells the church in Smyrna, "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer."
The church in Smyrna naturally would fear the extreme persecution it faced for Christ's sake. And yet, Jesus would give them specific reasons NOT to fear suffering, which are instructive for all of us today.
In today's program, we learn not only why we do not have to live in fear during seasons of suffering but also what to do specifically when we ARE afraid!
Turn your Bibles to Revelation Chapter 2, for our second installment in our suffering series, here on Rinse and Repeat.
(RAR2024EP13)
