The Bible tells us about a man named Stephen who was “full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), as he was always looking at Jesus. “All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). He gave out the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified (Acts 7:37, 52, 56), and this brought joy to his heart, amid the persecution of his life.
For preaching the death and resurrection of Christ, Stephen was stoned. But notice how God sustained Stephen and gave him joy through this terrible ordeal that ended in his death:
"When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:54–56 NKJV
What did Stephen see as he was being stoned? He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God! Jesus, though always seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 10:12), rose to greet Stephen. And in seeing Jesus, Stephen saw heaven opened (the same thing John saw in Revelation 19:11). Stephen understood the secret to having joy in hostile circumstances.
At the cross, Jesus offered Himself as your sacrifice, and as He did, the temple veil in the most holy place was torn in two from top to bottom. Jesus opened up a new and living way for you to come into the presence of God clothed in His sacrifice (Hebrews 10:20). You can now boldly come before the throne of God and, like Stephen, receive sustaining grace that produces joy in your heart and enables you to sing through the painful and frightening moments of life (Hebrews 4:16, Acts 16:25).
Stephen’s tormentors hurled stones at him, but he did not focus on his persecutors or the rocks that they threw. Stephen looked at Jesus and had joy, which radiated on his face (Acts 6:15). He bravely faced death because He was looking to Jesus, who had overcome death for him. Sadness cannot prevail and is replaced with joy when looking at Jesus.