Malachi 3.18 promises, you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Sometimes the people of God become discouraged following the Lord because they are not feeling blessed by the Lord as a result of their following Him. We follow Him for what we want from Him, blessing. We don’t follow Him because we love Him.

Yet those who follow Him must be prepared to suffer for Him in this life just as He suffered while living among us. God as man suffered from man because they rejected Him as God. In the garden the Father did not answer His prayer for the cup to pass but made Him drink to the bottom the full dregs of His wrath against humanity for their sin.

As Jesus suffered so He promised His people will suffer. Our current suffering is nothing. We fear losing our job, we fear losing our position, we feel losing our esteem if we acknowledge wholly and fully our relationship with Jesus before men in the marketplace. Whoa to us who are ashamed of Him in this world for He promises to feel that shame toward us upon His return.

As Jesus was raised from the dead King of kings and Lord of lords so too the people of God will be raised by God to live forever with God and receive their great reward. God rewards the faithful, God rewards the fervent. God rewards the fruitful who labor for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

So many faithful have greatly suffered for His Name’s sake in the world and even now suffer in various parts of the world. We who suffer little must work hard to glorify God in the world and to correct injustice lest we lose our reward. When the Lord returns all will be made right, until that day we must expect resistance to the authority of Jesus in the world.

Let us enter 2020 ready to suffer for identifying ourselves with Jesus and working to help others know Him as God and Savior.