Acts 14:32 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
God promises many troubles and trials for believers who enter the Kingdom, who have eternal life. That doesn’t sound like a promise we are looking forward to, but it really is a comfort and an encouragement for us. We need this promise to “continue in the faith,” and not give up when things get tough.
Trials and tribulations are to be expected, so don’t be surprised when your faith is tested. It will happen. Fiery trials are tests that will either strengthen your faith or cause you to give up on God. Remember the Parable of the Sower, where some of the seed (the word of God) fell on rocky ground (a stony heart): “they believe for a while, and in time of testing they fall away.” The devil, the world, death and sin do not want to let us go to God. The devil and his demons don’t want to let us go to God. the world doesn’t want to lose one of its own, death and the fear of death will try not to relinquish its hold, and sin wants to continue as slave master. No wonder we have trials, tribulations, and testings!
But we have the underlying promise that He will keep us in the one true faith and that ”nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is an amazing tribute to God’s love and power that we can embrace tribulation and ”count it all joy when you meet trials [James 1:2].”