What was the feeling like when you gave your life to Christ? It must have been such a transformative experience from the inside out. The new life is a journey of faith and dependence on God for every need. It involves building a personal relationship with Him and trusting Him for who He is and that He is capable of doing whatever He has promised. Our access to God, who we are, and what we have are a result of our belief in Christ Jesus. We are saved, restored, justified, and made righteous by faith. We receive and appropriate every spiritual blessing by believing and trusting God for them. When we gave our lives to Christ, we were called into a life of triumph and numerous blessings because of His mercies. However, many believers are oblivious to the fact that suffering, hardship, and persecution are a part of the Christian life.
Jesus did not keep us in the dark about this aspect of our walk with Him. He spoke about living victorious and did not fail to mention that we will go through persecution and tribulation for the sake of His name (John 16:33). From their experiences, the apostles wrote in their epistles that the Christian walk is incomplete without facing hardships. Suffering for the sake of the gospel of Jesus is a means of solidarity and identifying ourselves with Him. It should not be a thing of shame. Rather, we should consider it a privilege to suffer for Christ just as He did for us. We should develop an attitude of gratitude and view suffering as an opportunity to show our love for Him who went through pain and suffered for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me so much that You sacrificed Your Son for me. I am grateful for the mercy You have shown and for the blessings in Christ that I've received. Help me be willing to endure suffering for the sake of Your name, and let me not deny You in the face of hardship. Grant me strength to be courageous in the face of persecution and tribulations and increase my love for You in my heart. Help me see suffering as a privilege and an expression of my love for You just as You loved and gave Yourself for me. I love You, Lord.
In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.