There was a soldier in a fierce battle. He was laying in a shallow ditch trying not to be seen by the enemy which had surrounded him and the other troops. He thought to himself, “This is it. I’m about to die. He could hear the death screams of his fellow soldiers as they were overrun by the enemy. He could tell by the screams which of his fellow soldiers were dying, one by one.
He scratched the dirt below him to sink in as deep as he could to become hidden and safe, knowing he could be next. When all seemed lost he remembered the sermon his chaplain gave them last week about the joy of the Lord. Suddenly peace flooded his soul and fear left him. Then he heard footsteps and an enemy soldier stepped right over him. He then stopped, turned around, and pointed his rifle at his chest. But he didn’t shoot. Instead he took the point of his bayonet and lifted a tiny cross that was around the soldiers’ neck. Believing he was bout to die, he closed his eyes and smiled, ready to meet the Lord.
To his surprise he felt himself being lifted up by the arms. He was slapped, kicked, and spat upon, but not killed. The enemy bound him and dragged him off to a prison camp where he spent the next 48 days until the camp was overwhelmed by his forces and he was rescued. The only survivor of his patrol, he was asked how he survived. He said, “All I know is that when it looked the worse, I gave myself, my life, to Christ and prepared to meet Him with a smile on my face. My suffering could not compare to His, and yet I felt Him struggle together with me!
The Bible says, “Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.” (Philippians 1:28-30)
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