"If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified."
Context: Going through hardships makes God's victory all the more sweeter in the end.
I have a story for you. My senior year in college was very difficult for me. Many things were all going wrong at the same time. There was drama among my friends. Things didn't work out between my boyfriend and I. I was dwelling on the words of those who said mean things instead of listening to those who were trying to encourage me. I was student teaching and burdened under the requirements of that program. It didn't seem like I could take much more... when the final straw did happen.
At the school I was working at, I tried utilizing everything I could from my education classes. However teaching that way was not a style that worked with one of my two cooperating teachers. In her classes, she preferred a much more flexible plan. That on top of a personality conflict let to a lot of stress and misunderstandings. The other cooperating teacher watched me come in after the classes I taught for the first teacher and was concerned, though her conclusions were not accurate as to what she thought was happening upstairs. In the end, I was asked to leave.
Feeling like a failure and that my goal to be a teacher was no longer obtainable, I felt complete despair that I have never felt before nor had felt since. It was the end of life as I knew it. Then my teachers at my college came through for me and put me into a school where the things they were trying to teach me could actually be practiced. I had a new cooperating teacher who was very open to the requirements of the student teaching program as well as aware of other personalities besides his own.
Once more I worked hard to prove I could be a teacher and to meet the requirements. This time with success.
The way I was teaching was viewed by two different parties in two different ways. The first party couldn't understand the paperwork that was required and constantly bad-mouthed my school and teachers. The second party understood that despite personal opinions, the paperwork must be dealt with as well as my classes. I had the complete support and encouragement of my teachers at school, but that wasn't enough to become a teacher. I had to survive the real world of a school. Now I am a teacher and am very thankful for teaching the way my teachers at Union College encouraged me to. It works well, even if it is seen as strict and too difficult by those who haven't tried it.
God is the same way. Those who follow Him are encouraged and enjoy life that way. Those who scorn God and those who follow Him can't understand the peace and love He gives us. God knows that you praise Him with your life. God also knows that those who don't are missing out and will have much more difficult lives because of it.
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