1 Peter 4:14-16
If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
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Pain is inevitable
Starting things off on a hard note, pain caused by others is something each of us is going to experience. There’s no way around it.
Whether that pain is being slighted by a co-worker, broken-hearted because of a bad relationship, or hit in the face by an angry sibling…pain is an inevitable part of life.
But, there’s something different when you are hurt by someone because of what you believe…
The pain cuts deeper than any actual damage done to you because it reaches to your heart. If you’re going through that pain, I want you to know that you are not alone. I may not be going through exactly what you are but, I can relate.
I’ve had a strain on relationships because of what I believe, I’ve had to endure stereotypes, I’ve been let go from a job because I ran a ministry on the side. I’ve lost out on business deals because I prefer to stand up for my beliefs and not compromise my convictions.
But Friends, I encourage you to not lose hope because there is a silver lining here that is often hidden from others. When we suffer this deepest kind of pain, we can rejoice. (Romans 5:3-5, Acts 5:41, 1 Peter 4:12-13) Not because pain is fun but because we are standing firm in what our Lord has done for us.
We are refusing to conform to satanic or worldly ways even if it seems easier or more beneficial in the short run. We stand strong holding our beliefs in the face of suffering, choosing to bear the pain and follow our Lord by His grace. (Luke 9:23-26)
Unfortunately, as our Lord has said, the road will be narrow that follows Him and few will tread on it, while the path to destruction is wide and many will walk that way. (Matthew 7:13-14)
Not Alone In The Pain
But Friends! There is great news! You are not alone in the pain and there are others who have walked this road to life before you.
Job
Job was following God and lost everything because of that. He lost his wealth, his family, and even his health. (Job 1:13-22)
But while his friends sat there telling him he must be doing something wrong and his wife kept urging him to curse God and be done with it, Job, although perplexed, never lost sight of the truth of who God is.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel
The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel were sent by God to remain as His faithful witnesses in the midst of Judah’s sin and exile.
Jeremiah was under constant persecution from Judah’s leaders and false prophets. They were constantly looking for excuses to kill him and even threw him into an abandoned cistern to die because of his message. (Jeremiah 38:4-6)
But the Lord was with Him every step of the way even in his depression and angst. YHWH assured him that He had a plan for Jeremiah and had kept him safe through these persecutions. (Jeremiah 29:10-14)
Ezekiel, preaching to the same crowd only around 30 years later and now exiled to Babylon because of the people’s failure to turn from their wicked ways – which was the same thing that Jeremiah was foretelling and warning would happen. Because of this, he found himself the laughing stock of his community.
But despite this God showed him things that are almost incomprehensible to the human mind and assured him that even though Israel and Judah deserve this destruction and will receive God’s wrath, there will always be a faithful remnant to carry on their legacy and God will send a savior to bring final reconciliation between them and God. (Ezekiel 6:8)
Peter and Paul
Peter who was a fisherman and presumably grew up around the same neighborhood as Jesus, responded to the call when Jesus said “Follow Me”.
After Jesus returned to the Father, Peter was found himself with the other disciples behind closed doors in fear for their lives from the Jewish leaders and even after being given the promised gift of the Holy Spirit found himself brought before courts of Jewish leaders to be punished and thrown into jail. (Acts 12:1-5)
And Paul (which is just the Greek word for his Hebrew name Saul), was one of the leading persecutors of Jesus and His followers.
Tracking them down from city to city to be brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin, he found himself confronted by the risen Savior and immediately turned his life over to Him. (Acts 9:1-19)
After this Paul found himself continually in crisis. He was constantly beaten, once stoned, often in chains, and frequently brought before leaders of both Jewish and Gentile communities all for his faith in The Risen Messiah. (2 Corinthians 11:16-33)
Although both of these men eventually died at the hands of their persecutors, God delivered them from trouble time and time again and they used their lives until the very end as a testimony of His great love.
In fact, it’s because of them and the other apostles and disciples that the gospel made it to our own ears. If they had not pushed through in the midst of persecution and pain, the good news of God’s love would have been stopped dead in its tracks and we would have never heard of God’s love for us.
The Pattern Continues
Persecution and suffering because of what we believe is still happening in our modern world today. Quoting some of the recent news articles on The Voice of the Martyrs Canada:
- China: In the early morning of July 7th, more than 100 security personnel arrived at the Aodi Christian Church and Yinchang Christian Church in Wenzhou. They came with cranes and removed the crosses from atop the church buildings. Door locks were also broken, and some church property was destroyed. When church members tried to intervene, they were physically assaulted, resulting in several injuries. The elderly among them were not exempt from mistreatment, for a senior man in his 80s was disrespectfully pushed to the ground. Read more…
- Eritrea (a country in East Africa): Eritrean authorities continued their ongoing crackdown on unregistered religious groups when 30 guests were arrested at a wedding ceremony in late June. These Christians were arrested in the capital city of Asmara, joining 15 others who had been previously arrested in April and sent to a prison camp. Read more…
- Pakistan: A video from a Muslim cleric has gone viral in Pakistan, promoting hatred towards Christians and demanding that all of them be thrown out of the country. Referring to the followers of Jesus as “the worst infidels of the universe,” the cleric speaking in the video declares that “Christians have no right to live in this Islamic country.” Read more…
- Nigeria: A Nigerian terrorist group released a video on July 22nd showing five men lined up for execution. The group included three humanitarian aid workers who disappeared last month, along with a security guard and a state employee. Read more…
These are just some of the many news (plus the unreported ones) about persecution of Christians around the globe. Open Doors USA listed the Top 50 Countries with the highest level of Christian persecution and here are the ones that made it to the Top 5:
- North Korea
- Afghanistan
- Somalia
- Libya
- Pakistan
Our Lord Jesus Has Been There
When we are in pain because of what we believe, it helps to remember that our Lord has been there first. [find a podcast to add] (Isaiah 53) He has suffered at the hands of wicked men for doing no wrong and was put to death for following God.
But here is the encouragement that Our Lord gives to His disciples in John 16:33:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
We are not alone, Our God is our deliverer.
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If you are suffering today, I want to remind you that no matter what you are going through for your faith, brothers and sisters all around the world are going through this with you and the same God who delivers them through it can walk you through this too!
