Sometimes, in our walk with Y’shua, we find ourselves thinking about what we don’t deserve. In one sense, our feeling is correct – no one ought to face abuse from another, for any reason, at any time. In another sense, we ought not be surprised, it’s par for the course. Moreover, we were warned. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Matthew 5:11 NIV
[11] “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Persecution WILL Happen
Recently, a friend and I were contemplating a situation, and it struck me that it was a case of religious persecution. It may have been mild as far as what we often think of as persecution, but what was inflicted on the people was exactly that: persecution. Moreover, it was persecution for righteousness’ sake.
I didn’t recognise it for what it was while we were reflecting because persecution seems like a strong charge to lay on someone for what seemed to be a slight offence. But based on what I know of the situation, there was no trigger, except for the fact that the victimised openly confessed Christ.
Self-Check
What about you, have you been targeted because of your faith? If so, that was persecution. Have you handled it?
Application
Strong’s Concordance (my handy dandy online Greek source) interprets the Greek diōxōsin as pursue, press forward, follow, and by extension, persecute. They conclude that although the root, diókó, can be positive, the context alludes to aggressive chase, or an earnest desire to overtake or apprehend. This is what happens when believers are arrested, maligned, discredited, or are even overlooked for promotions simply because they confess Christ as Lord.
Jeremiah tells us that the human heart is most deceitful, and desperately wicked (see 17:9), and James pleads with us to tame our tongues. These texts remind us that humanity, without God’s grace, is prone to evil. Y’shua further states that what emerges from our mouths is found in our hearts. Thus, when we opt out of walking according to God’s Spirit, then the flesh is prone to maliciousness (see Galatians 5:16). Is it any wonder therefore that we become prey for others who don’t walk in tandem with God’s Spirit?
Now we’ve seen why persecution, we might wish to grasp, why blessing. God willing, we’ll discuss that tomorrow. For now, recognise that as believers we can face persecution. Hopefully, we will recognise it if it presents itself before us. When it does, we can refute it by Christ’s authority. Please however, let’s avoid being equally offensive.
Prayer Pause
Dear God
You’ve assured us that persecution is likely on this faith journey. You know that when we chose to be led by Your Spirit, we became targets for the enemy of our souls. Please control our responses to persecution so that we remain focused on You, rather than on what’s happening to us. May our testimony point to Your hand upon us in these moments dear Lord, in the name of Y’shua Jesus we pray, amen.
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May all we seek be found in Christ
