“O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul” (Lamentations 3:58)

Jeremiah was rightly called the “weeping prophet”. He warned the Jews for many years they would be carried off to Babylon, and they hated him for it. But Jeremiah rightly felt, as long as he obeyed God, he was a success. He knew God was for him, even when, according to Church Tradition, he was stoned to death. Stephen died the same way, his last words being, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60).

Since so many Christians are persecuted and even die for their faith, it’s important to understand how we are to see our responsibility as the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).

1) We should be willing to lose our lives in exchange for eternal life. “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:38-39).

2) We should be willing to lose family and friends. “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake” (Luke 21:16-17).

3) We should be honest about what happens to sinners. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

4) We should expect to suffer for Christ.“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God … joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17).

5) You are part of God’s eternal plan. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us … (nothing) shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

As long as you obey God, you will be a success.

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