Crown of Life

READ

The Book of Revelation opens with letters to seven churches. In these letters, Jesus addresses His people in the midst of their specific circumstances, guiding them with correction and strengthening them with encouragement. 

The church of Smyrna was facing affliction, poverty, and persecution. But Christ was not apathetic to their pain—He acknowledged it and experienced it alongside them. 

In His grace, Christ warned the church of the suffering still to come and urged them to hold onto their faith. But He didn’t instruct them to remain faithful for His own sake.

Our God is not a cosmic narcissist who wants to be worshiped to fuel His ego. His insistence that we remain faithful is for our benefit. He knows that when we cling to Him, we are able to endure anything and everything thrown our way. 

Here’s what’s beautiful: Jesus doesn’t merely command us to stay rooted in faith. He imbues us with the strength necessary to persevere. 

Let’s take a moment to read Revelation 2:10:

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 

REFLECT

When we face trials, it is difficult to remain steadfast in faith. When we walk through darkness, it is all too easy to believe God has abandoned us. Our circumstances paint a different picture of the God we know and love. 

When tragedy strikes and our hearts grow weary, we stop reading our Bibles. We stop attending church. We can’t bring ourselves to worship Him. Rage rises up within us when we hear reminders of God’s goodness and faithfulness. 

But here’s the amazing thing: Jesus Himself understands this feeling. He knows what it is to feel abandoned by God. On the cross, He cried out in agony: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? 

On Calvary, God Himself demonstrated that faithfulness can coexist with wrestling, questioning, and doubt. 

God knows that earthly trials have the potential to shake the very foundations of our faith. He doesn’t expect us to have faith that remains unwavering in the face of hardship. All He asks is that we trust He is holding onto us, even when we are barely holding onto Him. 

When our faith is hanging by a thread, we can rest in the knowledge that God will renew and restore our trust in Him, according to His perfect timing. Though it may take time, God’s faithfulness enables us to become faithful again. Even after seasons of wandering, He lovingly beckons us back to Himself. All that’s left for us to do is respond and accept His invitation. 

It takes immense strength to return to God after a period of distress, doubt, and frustration. God acknowledges and celebrates our willingness to seek Him again, despite our enduring heartbreak and grief. He rewards our persistence and endurance with a “crown of life.” This heavenly prize reminds us that God sees us and recognizes how difficult it is to choose Him while living in a broken world. 

This “crown” is not salvation. Our entrance into heaven is a free gift, one that we cannot earn through our own effort. Our eternity is secure because we have been saved by the One Who was perfectly “faithful until death.” We get to wear the “crown of life” only because He first wore a crown of thorns.

Our faithfulness in Him is ultimately borne out of His faithfulness to us. 

RESPOND

Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read. 

• How might it change the way you approach seasons of doubt knowing that faithfulness can coexist with uncertainty and honest wrestling?  

REST

Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying: 

Faithful Father, thank You for seeing me and meeting me in seasons of suffering. Thank You for giving me the power and strength to stay faithful, even when the circumstances of my life try to tear me apart from You. Remind me that maintaining faith in You doesn’t mean avoiding my doubts and shoving my difficult emotions under the rug. Being faithful means bringing my heart before You, even when it is shattered, bitter, and cynical. Lord, when I am wandering, bring me back to You and restore my faith. Give me the courage to come to You again, even when it is the last thing I want to do. Use my seasons of apostasy to make my faith brand-new, to revitalize it and refine it. Lord, I trust that even when I am faithless, You are faithful. Amen.

Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.