Sufferings and Humiliations After Conversion

“Remember the great challenge of the sufferings that you had to meet after you received the light, in earlier days; sometimes by being yourselves publicly exposed to humiliations and violence, and sometimes as associates of others who were treated in the same way.” (Hebrews 10: 32 – 33)

When we respond to the grace of Jesus Christ and embrace him and his way, the world does not stand up and say: “Hurray! Congratulations!” in fact, conversion could bring about great challenges and sufferings. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews was fully aware of this. Every saint who has walked this path knows that this is true.

What did I expect on that fateful day in 1995 when I signed my name in my bible and promised to Jesus: “From this day till I die, I will follow you, love you and serve you?’ I expected that Jesus would be very happy that at long last, I have got the message. But I also expected many other things. At that time, I was broken in health, my finances were broken and I had no job. Life was indeed very grim to put it mildly. I genuinely expected all these problems to be fixed if not in days in a few weeks. What did I get? It took almost two years for me to recover my health. I did not get any job till five years after my conversion. After I got a job and almost 8 years later, the Lord provided just the money I needed. But that is ok for me since I have never desired or prayed to be a millionaire.

Today’s scripture describes the same condition that I have personally experienced and can attest to. But what is not mentioned is the joy, the consolation and peace that come with a genuine conversion experience. I can attest to this too. I often wonder what my life would have been if I have had a similar conversion experience 20 years earlier. Knowing Jesus brought a fresh spring time in my life. I have never been happier and fulfilled as I am today. Thank you Jesus.