“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
–Matthew 5:11
All around the world, many of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are waking up not knowing if they’ll die for their faith today. And when they lay their heads down tonight, they’ll thank God that they made it through one more day of living under intense persecution.
You know, I sometimes find myself wondering what would happen if mass persecution like that broke out against Christians here in the U.S. I wonder if churches would be packed with faithful believers who risk their lives to simply worship or if they would be emptied as the convenience of ‘safe worship’ is taken away.
But as I read the Bible, one thing is clear: Christ never promises his faithful people an easy road of faith. And if you live for Jesus Christ and stand for him, you will likely suffer, to some extent, for what you believe.
We are so blessed here in this part of the world to have the freedoms we do. But at some point, God may have you suffer for your faith. And if God’s path for your life leads to suffering, persecution, or even death, he knows what he’s doing and he knows where he’s leading you.
It’s been said many times that the will of God will never lead us where the grace of God cannot keep us. So when persecution or suffering comes into your life, trust in God’s grace that your victory has already been won in Christ!
STAND STRONG IN THE FACE OF PERSECUTION KNOWING THAT THE VICTORY IS YOURS IN CHRIST.
