Persecution spreads the Gospel? How is this possible?

How persecution spreads the gospel and strengthens the church is a concept that blows my mind, and honestly, it has always been kind of hard for me to understand. When things for believers get harder, and their faith is challenged, it actually makes the church stronger and grow? That seems pretty backwards to me, but it happens to be true. There is a purification that takes place when the pressures are applied, and in doing so, those who want to play church and those who are the church become quickly distinguishable.
The disciples of Jesus were persecuted for their faith and many other believers for the past 2,000 years up to our present day have been as well. How is this possible? How do attacks on believers produce strength? How do those believers who face these horrors continue to remain faithful to the very end and share the gospel anyway? Although my mind has struggled to understand this, I have come to realize that this struggle is due to the fact that it is humanly impossible to understand this type of faithfulness and obedience. The type of obedience required to follow Christ is not one that is gained by a simple snap of our fingers, but instead it’s an obedience that is given ; it’s an obedience that must be received.

In light of this great inability, now is a perfect time to insert Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This verse gets quoted quite a bit, especially when we are working towards a great, personal achievement, but I think the greatest application for this verse is when it is applied to our lives as we run our race for Christ, and to our striving to finish faithful to the very end.
In Romans 1, Paul was calling the Gentiles “to the obedience that comes from faith.” (Romans 1:5) I believe within us all is a measure of understanding and a desire for obedience, and as well as a striving to live morally, all of which is a result of God’s common grace. In times of persecution, we begin to see the difference in having a common, moral obedience, verses an obedience that is a result of faith. In these times,  we begin to see that there is an obedience that arises that is only obtained by having faith in Jesus. This obedience that is a result of faith is what allowed Paul to say in Romans 1:16-17, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes… For in the gospel a righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”
How does persecution spread the gospel? How does purification of the church arise out this mistreatment? How are those in Christ able to stay faithful to the end? All of this is possible because there is an obedience that we are gifted with that comes from faith, allowing the true church to arise and stand firm. This supernatural gift of obedience is what gives us the strength and the desire to remain faithful, and the righteous, those in Christ, will live by faith, and this faith will produce the obedience needed to carry us through to the end!