The Church at Smyrna • Devotion 4

Crown of Life
Pastor Philip Piasecki

Being a Christian is the greatest joy in my life. It has brought immense amounts of happiness, purpose, contentment, and so many other positive things I could not even possibly list them all. Each day I can wake up encouraged because I know how the Lord has saved me. This, however, does not mean that every day of my life is going to be a scene out of a children’s book. Despite the joys of following the Lord, life can get tough sometimes. It is not a question of “if” we see tribulation and trials in this life, it is a question of “when” we will see them. We see a clear picture of this in Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

This verse at first glance can be discouraging. We see words like “suffer,” “prison,” “tested,” “tribulation,” and “death” and that makes us do a double-take. This is a challenging verse. Thinking about going through this as a Christian can be scary. We do not know what the future on this earth holds for us as believers. One day this very well could be one of us being thrown into prison because of our faith in Jesus Christ. However, despite the possibility of that circumstance, we can have joy because of our eternity with the Lord that is promised to us. In this verse, we are commanded to be faithful unto death, and as a reward, we will receive the crown of life. Even if we lose our life, we gain eternity with the Lord. I pray that the Lord would empower me through His Holy Spirit to stay faithful to Him even in the midst of extreme persecution. I pray that I would stay faithful to Him even in the midst of the minor tribulations that I face each and every day. Our Lord is so faithful to sustain us through the tribulation so that in the midst of it we can still praise His name and hold fast to Him.

Do not fear what you are about to suffer, be faithful unto death, and He will give you the crown of life.
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