But the Christian also has remarkable consolations. There is a whole dimension of Christian experience that you never know until you suffer something for him, until you bear some burden for him, until you suffer some level of exhaustion on account of your testimony for him. For instance, you will have insight into the Scriptures, into your situation in life, into God’s purpose for you. You will have insight which you may never have had if you never bore a burden for Christ. This is the meaning of the passage. You will have a strength and a vigour imparted to you when you desperately need it for his service, for his cause, for his sake, which you would never had experienced if you had not known the hostility, the impediment, the difficulty, the pressure. You will have a level of joy and assurance you may never have otherwise have known. People often say, and how do I get assurance? Well, one of the routes is to serve the Lord and be given to him and to be committed to his cause because as you get the problems, so you get the special measure of strength and blessing and joy and assurance.