2 Thessalonians 1:5-12
5 This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,
 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--for our testimony to you was believed. 11To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Persecution and Affliction

The fact is clear we are going to be persecuted and afflicted as Christians. It is inevitable, the word of God speaks so clearly about this. I would be concerned if you have never been persecuted for your faith and obedience to Christ. We know Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:12

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

I think it is a good idea for us to sit down and reflect. Have I been persecuted for just doing plain old good, have I been afflicted because of my belief in Christ, have I had trials for trying to be holy? Or do I seem to be getting in trouble for the sins I commit?

This is a huge challenge for us men in todays church. My heart is convicted when I think about this. Am I living a life of persecution? Or am I doing everything in my power to avoid pressures, problems and persecutions? But when do we grow, through the easy or tough times?

If I want to have Christlike qualities and be like Christ then I am going to go through fiery trials over great lengths of time. This is why Peter talks about our faith being purified by fiery trials (1 Peter 4:12). And James tells us to count it all joy when we go through these trials (James 1:2).

Pastor John Courson writes
"Although I know this in theory, I still find myself praying, “Lord, I don’t want to deal with this. Lord, I don’t want to go through that. Lord, do I have to go there? Lord, get me out of here!” In reality, such prayers are unwise because they can actually hinder the work the Lord was doing in me through these trials.
Consequently, I am praying less, “Lord, help me Yourself,” and more, “Lord, help Yourself to me. I am tired of directing You. Put me wherever You see I’ll be happy and most fruitful. You know best."

God tells us in verse 5 that we go through these things to count us worthy. However, He also tells us that at the end of the day He will do what is right and He is in control and will provide relief to us in that Day! Food for thought.