Persecution: How God uses it to help us grow

Persecution helps us in two ways. One way is that it shows us to whom our true allegiance belongs. If you are living in an area where you are allowed to worship the Lord Jesus Christ freely (The West), then one can not see whether or not you truly love Him. However, if someone puts a gun up to your head and says, "Convert to Islam or die!", then that will be a real test of whether or not you love Jesus Christ. God uses persecution and trials for the same reason he ask Abraham to go up to Mount Moriah and sacrifice Isaac. He does it to put a child through the fire so they can out as goal. God does to see if we "fear him" (Genesis 22:12). God also uses it to help us develop many numerous virtues. You can't have perseverance unless there are obstacles to overcome, you can't be a servant unless there is someone to serve. The old maxim, "No pain, No gain," applies here. Persecution, as painful and unpleasant as it is, can be a tool which the Lord Jesus can use to sharpen his saints.