Persecuted in Faith

 Perhaps you have been exposed to the words of the Bible from different people and one of the expectations is that you should deny yourself. Be subject to suffering, however, how much of that suffering is self inflicted? There is a temptation and a tendency to shut oneself of from the world. To live as a monk, to seclude oneself and to attempt or try to purify yourself by keeping away from the world. In truth, there was a time I was led to believe the same. Those beliefs were self righteous, self aggrandizing and a poor reflection of the love of Christ. When I finally shed those beliefs and put them aside, what happened next was I became the next target. I found people doubted my faith in Jesus Christ, they questioned my salvation, they suspected me of conducting rituals in the night and day too. This was all pointed out and evidenced by the very same people who claimed to be self righteous, believers and well acted as though they were on a personal phone call with God.

 

 

Photo by Danilo Arenas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/grayscale-photo-of-a-man-surrounded-by-hands-14028617/ 

This is where a separation had to happen, I could no longer spend days and nights being depressed about the fact that self righteous people did not like me, support me, talk to me and would physically leave the room when I entered it. These are people who spoke all manner of words against me in my presence and in my absence. The funny thing was there was a time when such words would have deeply hurt me and when I would have tried to respond publicly or privately.  Now, it did not matter the kind of words, the faces, the expressions, the intentions whether real or perceived, I stood confidently on my faith in God and on who God is. He is never changing, His nature remains the same and I could trust in His goodness.

The reason I share this experience is to make you aware that experiencing opposition due to your faith is nothing new. It is unfortunate that there are individuals who take the message of salvation to prove that they are better than others, to remind others they are better than them and to put burdens on believers that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ never put before us. These burdens maybe through the number of hours and days spent in prayer, whether the person fasts or not, who the associates of the person are and how they generally fare on. In fact, I think if Jesus were to come and reside amongst us once more as He once did these very people would persecute Him and judge Him. 

If you are a new believer, or a believer facing persecution because you do not conform to performances, ideas and rights laid out by others who do not believe that salvation is as simple as believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and they would add practices to it to better prove their own points. Here is my advice to you:

1. Remember that your relationship with God is personal. It is not a relationship that should be rubber stamped by anyone because only God knows your heart and He believes you and loves you. 

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

2. Examine why others opinion on religion affects you so much. Inquire whether you are more worried about their opinion. There may be the foundation of where you began to place others on a pedestal with regards to your faith. The unfortunate thing is that these people we put on pedestals often become idols in our lives and even when God is giving a clear instruction, instead of heeding it, we pass it through the people we have elevated and the message or instruction becomes distorted. At times even the people around us will have us doubt whether God really spoke to us.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. 

3. Lastly and most importantly, remember who God is and stand on that and what His Word says. You have to stand firm. Read your Bible and ask God to help you know exactly who He is. He never changes. He sent His Son to save you and I from our sin and He remains Faithful.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

 

Have you experienced persecution in your faith? Leave a comment down below.

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