We Must Go Through Many Hardships (Acts 14:21-22) 

During the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas, they visited the churches in the Roman province of Galatia. And they strengthened the disciples there by giving them a message that is rarely heard in the American church: “Remain true to the faith, for we must go through hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Hardships? What? I thought the kingdom of God was only full of blessing? It is, and one of those blessings is to suffer for him and persevere in him. For those who truly follow Jesus and proclaim the true gospel, will be persecuted. It sounds grim, but as the apostle Paul said, “when I am weak, then I am strong.” Going through hardships is one part of picking up our cross daily and following Jesus. It is often in the midst of life’s hardships that we experience the depth of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Why? Because when we go through hardships our life is raw and is stripped from all self-righteousness, self-dependence. and false faith. All that is left is JESUS.

(Acts 14:21-22) Paul and Barnabas traveled back west about 200 miles (330 km) through the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. They strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to remain true to the faith. They told them, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”,