When you feel persecuted....

By the time you go to bed tonight, an average of more than 13 Christians will have been killed for their decision to follow Jesus.  Where, almost exclusively in Communist nations, like North Korea, or Muslim nations, in Africa and the Middle East.

Every hour, a Christian is murdered for their faith. It's difficult to fathom that the persecution the early Christians faced in the New Testament is still happening today, in the twenty-first century.

Christianity is currently the most heavily persecuted religion worldwide, with nearly 400 million Christians facing persecution or violence right now.  Of the 50 countries that persecute Christianity, 48 are Muslim-majority nations; the other two are communist.  We are, without a doubt, the most persecuted, abused, and attacked religion in the world.  Jesus warned His disciples about the inevitability of persecution, emphasizing that they would face hostility similar to what He experienced. He stated that if the world hated Him, it would also hate His followers, highlighting the challenges they would encounter for their faith.  So why are we shocked?

What should our attitude be?  Peter said this: Rejoice, since ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings. —1 Peter 4:13

Many of us have all seen these priceless stained-glass images of Peter and the disciples in cathedrals and churches, but sometimes we forget that they were men and women just like you and me.   But unlike you and me, they walked and talked in the flesh with Jesus and lived lives that reflected that association; they lived like people who were witnesses to the resurrected Son of God—because, of course, they were.  I am jealous.  But don’t forget, these stained glass images often do not show the level of pain and brokenness these saints endured.  The robes they are wearing hide the scars they bore.

It’s been said that if you are really going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences, some not pleasant at all—things you wish had never happened.  During those times you wonder, “Why me?”  But I am learning that these setbacks and hurts and attacks are not meant for me at all; they are meant to make me useful in His hands, and to enable me to get a hold on the suffering that is happening in other souls.  If I will surrender and let Him have His way—if I trust that He sees what’s happening and that He still loves me and cares—if I can trust that this heartbrokenness has a purpose beyond me, I  will never be surprised at what I come across when others suffer and are looking for encouragement.  The Christian that suffers, the one who covers those wounds and scars under their robe, is able to understand and empathize with others who suffer like no one in an ivory tower ever could.

You might be tempted to say, as I did this past week, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.”  But think about that.  Can you imagine Peter, John, Paul, or Jesus saying that? God gives you and me ample opportunities to learn how to deal with difficult people—it’s not God’s fault if you tuned God out and found more pleasant things to do than learn to work through a difficult situation. (Oswald Chambers)

The suffering we’re called to endure—the sufferings of Christ— are not those of ordinary men. Jesus suffered “according to the will of God.  And if we are related to Jesus Christ, then we can understand what God is after when He allows failures or heartaches to fall upon us. Naturally, we want to hide, or evade being identified with the sufferings of Jesus Christ.  As long as the church has been established,  men have sought to carry out of God’s work by a shortcut of their own. God’s way is always the way of suffering, the way of the “long, long trail.”

Now some of us might be at our wits’ end, frustrated, defeated, etc., right now, for the wrong things. We made a stupid choice, we were lazy and put off something we should have addressed, or we’re living in disobedience.  Well, He still loves you, and He can still clean up the mess if you confess, repent, and humble yourself before Him.  But this message is not about how you’re being punished for bad choices, but just that suffering does not mean you’re suffering for Christ.  “It is not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyr.” – St. Augustine of Hippo.  It’s the “cause” that makes us into saints for Jesus Christ.

Am I a partaker of Christ’s sufferings? Am I  prepared for God to stamp my personal ambitions, prejudices and pride once and for all? Am I prepared for God to destroy by transfiguration my individual determinations? It will not mean that I know exactly why God is taking me that way; that would usher in an insufferable pride. God is not going to explain to me, or prepare me for what He is putting me through; I go through it more or less misunderstandingly; then I come to a point of illumination and say — “Why, God has guided me the whole time, though I did not know it!”  Friends, this is why that personal intimacy with Jesus is so essential!

We tend to be embarrassed when we’re struggling or facing a giant!  But Peter said in the fourth chapter, "Don’t be ashamed if you are suffering” (See I Peter 4:16, NIV) (Be ashamed if you never suffer.)  The Christians Peter was talking to were Spirit-filled, walking in line with what God wanted, yet they were still suffering.  I am certain some folks in the church were thinking, “This is happening because of some unconfessed sin, or it’s because they ignored God’s voice.”  But Peter reminds them that suffering is not a sign of God’s displeasure but rather something He allows to happen to bring glory to Himself and His Son.  (I Peter 4:19, NIV)

And so Peter proclaims: Praise God in the suffering!   (See I Peter 4:13, NIV) Yes, give Him thanks when there’s apparently no reason or explanation for why you’re going through a tough time or event—He knows what’s happening to you, and He is receiving glory in the manner in which you turn to Him and cry out, “Abba, Father! Have mercy on me!”   An indescribable joy and peace are released when we praise Him as we suffer through things that seem to have no end in sight and no meaningful purpose!  When we rejoice and praise Him, we’re telling the world, “It’s all going to work out and be okay, and even if it does not, my suffering is going to bring glory to God and is going to be used to bless His children to repentance and salvation! Let the suffering go on!”

Peter continues and says, “When suffering comes, commit yourself to God and continue to do good.”  (See I Peter 4:19, NIV) That is, do not wallow in self-pity or give up because you are hurting, or appear to be losing the fight or see no way to come out ahead… commit it all to God and keep on doing what you set out to do for Him!  This is what defined the true men and women of God and this is why we see them portrayed in stained glass windows: these folks never gave up and never gave in to self-pity.

In conclusion: Is this true or false? Are the words I quoted from scripture authentic and God breathed, or not. “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” – St. Augustine of Hippo