Hardship and difficulty can come as the result of several reasons.  It could be chance… or choice.  Do you know anyone who chooses a vocation or life that inherently is dangerous?  Conversely, have you known someone that if it was going to happen to someone, it was going to be them?  Consider the following people…

Violet Jessup.  In 1911 The Olympic (Titanic’s sister ship) had Violet on board when it collided with a British warship.  Then she was on bard the Titanic when it hit the iceberg and sunk (But got into a lifeboat).  Then in 1916 she was on the Britannic when it hit a mine and sunk… but she did survive.  She died in 1971 and was buried at sea.

Lincoln Robert Todd Lincoln.  To be a president and have him close by was not a good thing.  Of course we know his dad Abraham was killed, but he wasn’t the only president to have that fate.  He was Secretary of War under James Garfield when he was killed.  Then he was invited to an event by William McKinley where he was killed.  From then on he turned down every presidential request for his presence at any event.

Ann Hodges.  On November 30, 1954 Ann was taking a nap in her house unaware that a meteorite was streaking through the atmosphere.  It crashed through her roof and struck her on the hip.  She is the ONLY person ever to have been hit by a meteor in such a manner.

Roy Sullivan.  He is the only person to have been hit by lightening… SEVEN SEPARATE TIMES!  The odds of that happening are 22 followed by 24 zeros to 1.  I am NOT playing golf with this guy.

Tsutomu YamaguchiTsutomu Yamaguchi.  Only two atomic bombs have been dropped.  Mr. Yamaguchi lived through both of them!  On August 6th, 1945 as he stepped off a tram in Hiroshima, an atomic bomb blew up less than two miles away.  After spending the night in an air raid shelter, he decided to go home to… Nagasaki.  As he was describing the Hiroshima event to his boss… the second bomb exploded.  Two atomic bombs… one man experienced them both.  Oh… he is still alive as of June 9, 2009.

Christian Missionaries.  Many brothers and sisters in Christ don’t have random events like the ones described above happen to them.  Instead they purposely… in response to God’s call… go to places like North Korea, China, Iran, and Indonesia where they know suffering awaits them.  They choose to do move toward hardship, trusting God to be glorified in their life.  They know they may lose their life… family… health… and many other things on top of those.  But they go anyway, for the glory of God.

These are people we need to be praying for!  Click here to read about these saints of God.  In India… in China… in Nepal… and in Pakistan.