【约16:33】……在世上你们有苦难……
信徒们，你是否问过自己遭遇苦难的原因？
那么请仰望天父，注视他的纯全和圣洁。你是否知道有一天你要像他？被塑造成他的样式岂是易事？难道不需要在苦难的火炉里被炼净？脱离自己的败坏，成为和天父一样完全岂是轻而易举？
圣徒们，你再向下看看。你知道你脚下是怎样的仇敌吗？你曾是撒旦的奴仆，没有哪个王会将自己的臣仆拱手相让。你以为撒旦会单单放过你吗？不会的，他会一直追赶你，因为他“如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人”。因此，当你向下看时，要预备好迎接苦难。
再看看你的周围，你在哪里？你在仇敌的地盘，是客旅，是寄居的。这个世界不是你的朋友，如果是，那你就不是上帝的朋友了，因为与世界为友的是与上帝为敌。你周围仇敌环伺，当你睡觉时，要知道你是在战场上休憩；当你走路时，要知道每个篱笆处都有埋伏。正如蚊子更爱叮外来人，而不是本土居民，世上的试炼对你也会更为严峻。
最后，再自省你的内心，看看你里面有什么？罪恶和老我依然在你里面。哎！即使没有魔鬼试探你，没有仇敌攻击你，也没有世界的网罗，你自身的邪恶也足以使自己陷入痛苦的深渊，因为“人心比万物都诡诈，坏到极处”。
因此，将苦难视作当然，但不要因此沮丧恢心，因为神与你同在，他帮助你、坚固你。他已经应许说：“你在急难中，我要与你同在。我要搭救你，使你尊贵（参诗篇91:15）”。
“In the world ye shall have tribulation.” （John 16:33）
Art thou asking the reason of this, believer?
Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou art one day to be like him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to his image? Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions, and make thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect?
Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. Dost thou know what foes thou hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king will willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou think that Satan will let thee alone? No, he will be always at thee, for he “goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Expect trouble, therefore, Christian, when thou lookest beneath thee.
Then look around thee. Where art thou? Thou art in an enemy’s country, a stranger and a sojourner. The world is not thy friend. If it be, then thou art not God’s friend, for he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be assured that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. When thou sleepest, think that thou art resting on the battlefield; when thou walkest, suspect an ambush in every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more than natives, so will the trials of earth be sharpest to you.
Lastly, look within thee, into thine own heart and observe what is there. Sin and self are still within. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no enemies to fight thee, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still find in thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”
Expect trouble then, but despond not on account of it, for God is with thee to help and to strengthen thee. He hath said, “I will be with thee in trouble; I will deliver thee and honour thee.”
