2Timothy 3:10-12: “But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience. 11: Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12: Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
The route to eternal life in heaven is not and will never be a bed of roses. As Christians who are desirous of being with their maker, our Lord Jesus Christ, we are bound to face challenges, temptations, and even persecutions in the course of the heavenly race. The devil is in constant war against the Christians because they have their faith in Jesus Christ, the son of God. In league with the fallen angels, the devil mounts challenges, temptations and oppositions against God’s children to make them fall out of their faith and be destroyed in the hell fire. The devil, as a result of pride, leading to his attempt to usurp power from God, there was war in heaven in which other angels led by Michael fought, defeated and threw him and about a quarter of the angels who followed him, into the earth.
He knows there is no chance again for him to enter heaven or be with our Lord Jesus Christ, hence, he resorted to fightingthe people who are obedient to the word of God. He wants all to disobey God, so that, nobody will enter the kingdom of God and be saved.He, therefore, mounts oppositions, challenges, and temptations against the children of God.
Fortunately, challenges and temptations are good for the heaven-bound Christians, as it is preparatory for them to make heaven. It is when one faces challenges and rough roadsthat he is strengthened to do exploits for God’s kingdom. In the lead scripture, it is written that the people who will truly serve God must suffer persecutions.
Christians are bound to suffer challenges and temptations as a way ofstrengthening them. In its original Greek translation, the word ‘tempted’ literally means to test for weakness. It is the same word used for the process of testing a sword for strength and proper forging: the same process we can call tempering in today’s parlance. This was done by putting the sword in fire. The steel for the sword is heated until it was red-hot, beaten flat into proper shape, and then held up.Any grayish spot in the red-hot metal indicated areas of weakness. The sword then went back into the fire, and the weak spots beaten with hammer on an anvil to smash the molecules together, so, they would be tighter and stronger. After this, the sword is placed in cold water to freeze the molecules in place. Then it is heated to red-hot again and re-examined for weak spots. This process of examination, hammering, cooling, reheating and re-examination are repeated until all the weak spots are beaten out of the sword. Only then is the sword ready for use in battle. An untested sword might break in the heat of the battle, and will come with deadly consequences for the soldier who uses it in the battlefield.
Therefore, the word ‘tempted’ means to test for weakness, not out of a desire for destruction, but for the purpose of making one strong and unbreakable. So challenges, oppositions and temptations are to strengthen the believer in the work of God and to face challenges that might arise in the course of the heavenly race.
The children of God are never consumed by temptations and oppositions or defeated in a battlefield, as God will always intervene to give them victory. In the Bible, the Israelites were turned to slaves in Egypt after Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph mounted the throne. They were subjected to forced free labour, their daughters were taken into marriage without proper rites. At the heat of all the troubles, God’s intervention led to their delivery from this bondage. On their way to the Promised Land notwithstanding they were moving under the will and guidance of God, they met stiff oppositions and great lack in the wilderness. They faced enemies who engaged them in battles, they lacked food and water even faced snakebites, but all are today, history, as God helped them to become victorious in all situations.
When a Christian is faced with temptations, oppositions and challenges, they are meant to strengthen and make him forge ahead boldly. Apostle Paul using himself as an example encouraged believers to endure whatever comes their way in the course of the heavenly race. Admonishing believersin 2Corinthians 11:24-28, the Bible says:“Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25: Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep. 26: In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. 27: In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28: Beside those things, that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”
The great Apostle, Saint Paul suffered all these yet he overcame them at the end to the extent that he announced of waiting for the crown, which the righteous God will give to him and to all the people that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. It should be noted that the more persecution and oppositions suffered by them, the more exploits they were able to do for the kingdom of God. God will not allow us to be tested beyond our capacity; hence, He is always with us to ensure that we overcome temptations and challenges. The Biblein Romans 8:35-39 says: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36: As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. 39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Eternal life with our Lord Jesus Christ is the focus of every Christian and as long as God is with us nothing shall separate us from loving, serving, and following Him till the end of all things when we will reign with Him in the New Jerusalem.
Temptations, trials, challenges, and oppositions are bound to come. Whenever we are faced with these, God has given us answer to troubles and oppositions in Psalm 50:15.
It says:“And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” When we are confronted with troubles from the devil and his agents, the solution is to call on God for His rightly intervention will bring deliverance to us.
Temptations and challenges are for our good because they are there to strengthen us, but when it becomes hard on us we call on God for intervention, deliverance and our prayers will be answered in Jesus’ name.
Testimony Of The Lord’s Doing
Built Fellowship Centre, Open Door Granted, Son Secured Visa
Deut 28:1-2, “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2: And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord, your God,” (NKJV).
GOD blesses His children in accordance with the level of commitment to His work and this has been the portion of Sister Anna Chukwuka. Since she hearkened to God’s words,the Good Lord has continued to favourherand her children, especially asshe keyed into what is written in Matthew 6:33.
Our Sister said she joined the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries in 2025, and as at that time she joined the church, her family lived in carnality, but she kept on serving God.
In our sister’s testimony, she attended one of the leaders’ vigils, where the General Overseer declared that he would make some people millionaires, especially people whose names started and ends with “A.”
According to Sister Anna Chukwuka,“by the grace of God, I joined that group and from there, the blessings of God started manifesting in my life. I was able to raise money to travel to America. I studied nursing and in America; I worked with two licenses, with that I was able to train my children.One of them is a medical doctor working in the USA now.”
She did not stop there.Our sister further stated that at a point her children told her to stop working andshe stopped, but laterventured into food business. She wouldcook bitter-leaf soup and sell it.
In her words: “It was giving me money. My children gave me $7,000 and I used it to build a fellowship centre for God, in Atlanta, USA. This house is a magnificent piece.
“Again, I built another fellowship centre for God in my home-town here in Nigeria. Since this was done, God has continued to bless my children and I, even, in America.”
In conclusion, SisterChukwuka,said: “God eventually granted visa to my last son who was then in Nigeria and today, he has joined us in the USA. This boy has been applying for visa, and doing all the tests, yetthe embassy kept denying him visa.But,after G.O’s last visit to the USA, the visa was granted to him, and he is already in the U.S. with us. Praise the Lord!”
