A Desire to godliness...but persecution must follow

Paul's words of strength to Timothy - "...what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!  Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."  Oh that our persecutions whether self inflicted or by others, these trials would reveal to us that we striving even harder to reach the foot of the cross.  It feels like a legion of Satan's army is preventing every step I take to return to my first Love, yet it is at the foot of the cross that I must return and stay.  But then when I know that I can no longer move because of the ravages of sin and this life, there is one who presses on ahead of me, destroying the enemies shackles that have been placed on my life.  From the ashes, arise no longer one who strives on his own, but instead, I cling to the power and work of Jesus Christ, and rising I look ahead.  Oh yes the enemy clamors and the flesh wants to be given another chance, but this is war.  In war there are causalities, this time though the victor is Jesus my Savior and Lord who has unbound the shackles of sin and the thoughts of what I once was.  No longer does the enemy have those to cling to, but instead the enemy must flee not because of me, but because of the power of the Spirit.  May I desire to live a godly life, and realize that through that comes persecutions and trials, oh but the splendor of God and His glory is so sweet during these times.   That I believe is the reality that it seems the Lord is teaching me.  Yes, I have a college degree and I have taught hundreds over the past 10 years of being in ministry, but there are times where we must be reminded that those things are nothing compared to sitting at the feet of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, and learning as a child, mystified and in awed, by every word that proceeds from His mouth.  His love is recapturing my heart in a way that I could have never imagined.  Oh if this world rages and if the waves of life come crashing in, no longer do I wish to stand on sand of my own making, but instead, I return humbly and with joy to the Rock of my salvation.  The Rock upon which I placed my feet some 11 years ago.  As David prayed in the Psalms, "Lord return to me the JOY of my salvation!"  I praise God that He does not leave his children alone to falter in the waves of life, but instead ushers them up in His arms so that whatever the storms may bring, we are protected by something far greater than this world has to offer.