¹⁹ Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.  ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:19

We face different kinds of hardships and obstacles in our lives. They come to us in all shapes and sizes. They can range from the smallest annoyances to life-changing, cataclysmic events. Stress at work. Something happens at home. You get sick. A relationship turns sour. You’re in debt. Whatever comes our way, big or small, recognize it as God’s rebuke in the case of small hardships and discipline in the case of bigger hardships. When God rebukes and disciplines us, we need to do three things.
One.
When you face adversity, the first thing that should pop up in your mind is “God’s love is on the way!” Remember God rebukes and disciplines the ones He loves. Remember that. For most of us, when we face adversity, the first thing we do is despair. We complain. We look for someone to blame for the misfortune. We look for a solution without considering God. We do a lot of pointless things. When we’re hit with a life-changing event, we feel scared, lost, and generally out of sorts. For something less important, we get annoyed, lash out, and complain. Whatever comes our way, big or small, recognize it as God’s love. Don’t complain. Don’t look for answers. Don’t lose hope. Accepting it as God’s love puts peace in your hearts because suddenly, there’s a plan in place. God is doing this for a reason. God is doing this because He loves us!
Two.
Be zealous and repent. When we meet adversity, there’s a tendency to drop everything. It affects our entire lives. It puts us off course. But when we face hardships, be zealous. Work harder. In other words, continue to do the things that are good. Do them even more! Don’t drop the things you’re doing well because you face adversity. So continue with your good works and repent. Fix what is wrong with your relationship with God. Repent sins. God rebukes us because He wants us to repent and fix the things wrong in our lives. So work hard and be zealous in continuing good works and repenting sin.
Three.
If we recognize hardships to be God’s love and we repent, God will “come in” and “dine” with us. He will enter our hearts. Does God live in your heart? Do you have a spiritual connection with God or is He just some distant figure you call in times of need? Imagine going through life with God in your heart. Imagine going through all the ups and downs in life with God in your heart. You’re not alone! If we recognize hardships as God’s love, repent, and have God come into our hearts, we are victorious. We sit with God on His throne. For what more could we ask?

When we face hardships on any level, it’s important to recognize the hardship for what it really is. Put aside all the negative thoughts and remind yourself that it’s God’s love. He’s not giving us this difficult time to destroy us- it’s out of love! With this mindset, don’t drop everything you’re doing. Continue to do good works. And work even harder at those things you know are good and please God. While continuing with those works on one side, on the other side repent what is wrong. Stop sinning. Repair your relationship with God. And finally, let God into your hearts. Walk with the Lord at all times. Keep Him in your heart. If we do these things, we will sit down with God on His throne. So when hardships come, take it as a wonderful opportunity to change your life for the better.

Click for Korean sermon. https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1983-9-7-full-mixdown

Click for English reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0mhz-SKRCg