Jesus didn’t say that following him would free us of all troubles. He said we would have troubles because (1) of our sins and the ensuing enslavement by Satan that our sins lead to; and (2) the world that hates us. Both conservative religious/moral people and liberal pantheistic pagans persecuted Jesus and the disciples, and they can still persecute us.

When we are persecuted, we tend to feel abandoned by God. It feels like God is absent.

But, Jesus said, (1) he has overcome the world by the power of the cross and defeated Satan so that we can be free from his dominion; and (2) he will send the Holy Spirit to be with us through the troubles.

So, our call is to respond to the troubles not necessarily by trying to escape them, but by going through them so that God can make them into grace.