16. Believers Enduring Persecution Breaks Hardened Hearts. While persecution is meant to break the believer and cause him or her to turn from the faith, perseverance under extreme cruelty sometimes does the reverse and breaks the persecutor, causing him to leave his faith! Endurance at the risk of life and limb reveals the authentic nature of Christianity. No man wants to die for a lie, but many a man, woman, and child have been pulled limb from limb for the truth! This stark reality is often the chisel in God's hand under the hammer of the Gospel that breaks the hardened heart.

17. Persecution Conquers the Flesh. 1 Peter 4:1-2 "Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God." Did you see that? One of the numerous ways God works persecution for our good is by using it to destroy our most vehement, vile, constant, and forceful enemies-our flesh! Suffering silences the flesh! Now no one wishes to endure violent persecution, but we all long for the giant of fleshly indulgence and temptation to be destroyed. This, along with many other reasons, is why those who endure persecution appear so saintly. The fire has purged the flesh.

18. Persecution Emboldens Other Believers. Philippians 1:14 "And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord because of my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." When believers see or hear of other believers enduring the pains of persecution they began to wonder why they have been so timid and lacking in faith. Boldness and courage and faith tend to spread from heart to heart. This is one insight into why persecution will never silence the Church. God has worked it into the hearts of believers to join the persecutions by standing firm through the witness of their persecuted brethren.

19. Persecution Advances the Gospel. Philippians 1:12-13 "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ." In other words, these guards may have never encountered the Gospel of Christ had it not been that one of their captives was held in captivity for the Gospel! The Gospel will find a way. The Gospel will be heard and believed and proclaimed, and even imprisonment, torture, and death cannot keep it from running to its goal and crossing the finish line victorious!

These 19 reasons are certainly not an exhaustive list, but I pray that having such manifold reasons presented from Scripture and experiences will serve to encourage my dear family in Christ who find themselves this day under persecution. May we who have never tasted persecution, at least not to the degree of the reports from overseas, stand by our brothers and sisters in prayer and encouragement. May we also be strengthened so that when our time should come, we will be found to stand strong and faithful to the end!