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Paul confirmed or strengthened the churches by urging then to continue in the faith because through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of heaven. Hardship is necessary, and all believers will endure it on their way to glory. How do we do it well?

Nothing in your life happens by chance, it is all ordained by a sovereign God. Hardship is one of the chief means by which God molds and teaches his children, so we must learn to manage hardship and respond it well as Christians, being a light in this present age.

Acknowledging God's sovereignty in creation and providence are central in understanding why hardship is experienced by all his creatures, even his children. After discussing enumerable hardships, Job and Paul both end with

Hardships come in different degrees, at different times, in different ways, and the participants react in different ways, with the hardships producing different results. Some of the categories of hardship include general war and famine because the world is in sin, it's broken and under the wrath of God, the suffering and hardship promised to disciples of Christ as they take up their cross and follow him, the discipline coming from diving pedagogy, inevitable persecution of the godly in Christ Jesus, and the spiritual warfare that all Christians engage in clothed with the armor of God.

Suffering and hardship is ordained of God, necessary to the Christian life, a privilege, and measured out for us by a sovereign, loving God. What are some principles by which to manage those hardships, avoid common pitfalls, and help one another as we share in the hardships of this life? Hardships come in the every day life, in health, relationships, finances, distress, sorrow, depression, persecution, jobs, loneliness, natural disasters, spiritual warfare. But our current suffering in this life, some of which are enumerated in verse 35, cannot be compared to the glory we will have at the resurrection with Christ in the new heavens and new earth.

Paul commands believers to always rejoice. What does that mean, and how can he command that we rejoice, being joyful in the Lord? It is because for the children of God, things are always well with us compared to the unchanging, never ending privileges and blessings of being in Christ!

Christians in the body should not have a retaliation mentality, we should accept offenses and insults and all types of evil as we continue to interact with and even do good to the offender! In Matt 5:38-48 Jesus describes how to respond to evils against us, commanding that we follow God's example in our image bearingness, walking in humility, forgiving believers and unbelievers because we have been forgiven much in Christ.Â

Caleb was singled out to spy out the promised land, and though most of the spies feared the great men in the land, he trusted and followed The Lord fully in faith, obedience, and courage.

God helps the weak and clings to us, therefore Christians should imitate Him and help the weak, holding on to them, whether they are the poor, the needy, the unborn, orphans or widows. And be patient with all, forgiving and forbearing with one another in love.Â

Encouragement is in the category if comforting, consoling, and strengthening, and it is accomplished through words, reminding Christians of the truth and promises of God. Encouragement should be given to the fainthearted, the exhausted in the faith for whatever reason, to strengthen them, keep them in the faith and free from sin.