Tribulations

The Apostle Paul is here stoned to death...or so the unholy alliance of Jews and pagans thought. He recovered and continued his preaching. Later, he includes this event in a list of many of the tribulations he had faced in his Christian life. He had as an example the Lord Jesus Christ who himself suffered and who said that his disciples must daily carry their cross for his sake. Out tribulations are ordained by God for his wise and loving purposes, so we accept them and patiently pray for our deliverance. They are also steps in our ongoing entrance into the kingdom of God, or "Kingdom of heaven". Believers are in the kingdom now, and their path to the more immediate fellowship with God in the resurrected state has its tribulations, but the knowledge of this glorious end should be an encouragement to the suffering saint.