Saturday, November 17 For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake.​—Heb. 12:2.

[GrumpysWife]

Saturday, November 17

For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake.—Heb. 12:2.

 

Millions of modern-day worshippers of God are following the example of Jesus by keeping their hope in clear focus and not allowing trials to weaken their faith. Consider the example of Rudolf Graichen, who was born in Germany in 1925. He recalled pictures of Bible scenes that hung on the walls of his home. “One picture,” he wrote, “showed the wolf and the lamb, the kid and the leopard, the calf and the lion—all in peace, being led by a little boy. . . . Such pictures made a lasting impression on me.” (Isa. 11:6-9) Despite many years of cruel persecution, first by the Nazi Gestapo and later by the Communist Stasi of East Germany, Rudolf maintained his strong faith in an earthly paradise. Other severe trials faced by Rudolf were the loss of his beloved mother, who died of typhus in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and seeing his father weaken in faith and renounce being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. w16.10 3:12-14