"The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus" - Acts 5:41 (NLT with my emphasis)
Wow! As I read this passage, I am always amazed at the faith and commitment of the disciples. Sure, they had been with Jesus as he healed the afflicted, walked on water, and rose from death on the cross, but they were also human. I think few of us realize the humanness of the disciples. We tend to put them into the category - "Super Christians". Able to withstand beatings, famine and even welcome death in a single bound. These guys were average at best. Read through the early accounts of the Gospels. Their resumes were not impressive, but they were chosen to be His witnesses and start the greatest movement of God in history.
Now back to Acts 5:41. How often do we question God and wonder "why me?" when something doesn't go our way? The question is not if those days will come, but how we will react. Will we become depressed and defeated or will we rejoice in the current suffering because God chose us and He feels that we are worthy to be afflicted for the name of Jesus.
Every time you feel the world is crumbling around you and wonder why God would let this happen, remember Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) - "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Rejoice when you're being persecuted for Christ. It means you're hurting the cause of the devil and he is retaliating. But we know that we are "more than conquerors" and nothing the devil can do will separate us from God (Romans 8:28-39)
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