devotional post # 2

Luk 22:28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my tough times,
Luk 22:29 and I am assigning to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom,
Luk 22:30 so that you will be able to eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

staying with him in tough times

For some time now, I have been studying what the Bible says about tough times, and the more I read, the more I realize how deeply Scripture prepares me for seasons like the one I’m in. I’ve been walking through a stretch of negative experiences—disappointments, pressures, uncertainties—and I keep asking the Lord how I should respond. I don’t want to react out of frustration or fear. I want to understand what faithfulness looks like when life feels heavy.

As I sit with today’s text, I’m struck again by the truth that tough times are not an interruption to the Christian life; they are woven into it. Jesus never promised me a smooth path. He promised me His presence, His strength, and His victory—but He also promised tribulation. The early believers didn’t treat hardship as something strange. They expected it. They understood that following Christ in a broken world would mean walking through seasons of loss, pressure, and pain. And I’m beginning to see that more clearly in my own life. These difficulties aren’t signs that something has gone wrong with my faith. They’re reminders that I’m walking the same road He walked.

But there’s another truth in this passage that humbles me even more: in some mysterious way, my eternal status—my future honor in Christ’s kingdom—is connected to my willingness to stay faithful during these tough times. Not that I earn salvation by endurance, but that endurance reveals the depth of my devotion. Every moment I choose to trust Him instead of giving up, every time I cling to His promises instead of collapsing into despair, every act of obedience done in weakness—He sees it. He remembers it. And He values it.

This means my suffering is not wasted. My perseverance is not unnoticed. My tears are not forgotten. The way I respond to hardship becomes part of my eternal story with Christ. That gives weight to my choices. It gives meaning to my struggles. It gives purpose to my pain.

So I pray that in these difficult days, I won’t lose sight of what matters most. I want to honor Him—not just when life is easy, but especially when it is not. I want my faith to shine most clearly when the night is darkest. I want to be found faithful, because He has been faithful to me.

LORD, help us to honor You by being faithful during our tough times.