Matthew 5:10 in the amplified version of the Bible says, "Blessed and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous (in the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions) are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (for being and doing right), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!" This remarkably profound statement promises happiness, favor, spiritual maturity and closer relationship with God to those who refuse to bow down to sin. It teaches us that if we are professing with our mouths to love God, and deep within our hearts we desire to please Him, then we will be persecuted. We will be made fun of, ridiculed, rejected, put down, and belittled when we take our stand for righteousness. It shows us that when the test of persecution comes, and note that it will come, we are expected to go through it and come out victorious because we are standing for God.
In a Bible lesson at church, my Pastor used the example of the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to illustrate this point. These three young men refused to bow down to serve sin and as a result were thrown into the fiery furness. Even in the fire, they refused to compromise and so the heat was turned up 7 times hotter. With God's unfailing protection, they endured this test and emerged without any broken bones.
Another case comes to mind on the same point. King Darius had set a decree in place that banned the worship of Gods other than himself (since he saw himself as a God). Daniel, a faithful servant of the Lord refused to follow this law and increased the amount of times he worshipped each day. As punishment for his 'menacing' crime, Daniel was thrown into the lions den. Again, our faithful God stepped in and shielded Daniel from the hungry beasts. In the morning, the king was in awe when he saw Daniel make his way out, alive and unharmed!
These recorded events are there to fill us with hope. Students in a classroom are tested at different times to ensure learning had taken place. In the same way, the children of God are tested to ensure that we have learned all that God intended in the season we may be facing.
My dear friend, I know you are going through a time of persecution where the very people you love are making you out to be the enemy. Embrace this season of your life because you are "Blessed and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous (in the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions)". Use this precious time to build your relationship with Our Father which art in Heaven. Know that this is not meant to harm you but to instill in you more of a Christ like character that will be evident to the world. As you have given yourself over to God, be strengthened and know that He will never let you go through anything alone. He is standing with you. Don't compromise. Don't carry the weight on your own. Allow Jesus to carry it for you as you exchange your burden for His. Remember, His thoughts towards you are always good and with this test, He wants you to draw even closer to Him.
God Bless You All!
Powerful words Lis.
ReplyDeleteIndeed as followers of the One True and Only Living God, we will face our own persecution, tests, trials, rejections in our journey with Christ, but its important that we show strength by smiling and remaining confident that in the end, we will have the victory.
Smiling may not necessarily mean that the problem or the pain has gone, it means that we TRUST the God that we serve, for he is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider....He is El Shaddai, the all sufficient one and his grace is more than suffcicient for us to get through whatever we face in life.
And during this time of perseuciton Lis, we may even find ourselves drawing closer to God than ever before, being TOTALLY dependent on him ALONE for his STRENGTH, LOVE, PEACE AND JOY. Jesus alone can supply our needs according to his riches in glory for us.
May the Lord continue to strengthen you Lis and use to to forever magnify his wonderful, mighty and powerful name.
God bless,
Nate