Happiness in Persecution

Have you ever hated someone?  Don’t be super spiritual and say, “I would never do that.”  How did that hatred make you feel?  Were you happy while you hated?  Look at Haman in the book of Esther.  He hated Mordecai and although he had it all in human terms, his hatred of Mordecai left him unhappy.  Hatred leaves unpleasant burning bile in our stomachs.  When seeing someone makes us so unhappy that we could spit nails, we know that we are not happy.  The Pharisees and Sadducees who persecuted Jesus were not happy.  Herod was not happy.  Pilate was not happy.  The only person who was filled with the calmness of God and the happiness of purpose was Jesus. 

Jesus warned us that if we follow Him we should expect the world to not like us.  He was adamant on this point.  In John 15:18-19 He said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”  That is pretty clear.  Yet Jesus also said, “Blessed (happy) are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  In the face of anger and hatred, which leaves the persecutor with no peace, the believer is to find a quiet happiness in being identified with the King of kings and having the assurance that Jesus is right there with them. 

We don’t have to be stoned by a mob to be persecuted.  Our faith can bring us into ridicule by the wicked.  It can cost us that promotion because we didn’t agree to schmooze with others that may have been engaged in some ungodly behavior.  Instead of cursing the darkness, we need to see the presence of Jesus beside us and be happy with His smile of approval.  Every time we are identified for being obedient to Christ and disliked for it, we should smile.  If we could just Jesus beside us smiling at us, wouldn’t a right response be to smile back?  Happy are the persecuted, not because they suffer but because they find themselves in good company with their Savior.  His smiling face should evoke a similar response from us. 

We will conclude our look at the Beatitudes with the final verse of Isaac Watts’ hymn, “Blessed Are the Humble Souls That See”  “Blest are the suff’rers who partake of pain and shame for Jesus’ sake; their souls shall triumph in the Lord; glory and joy are their reward.”

 

Visit my website at www.davidccraig.net for inspiring Christian books.  Coming this month is my newest book Taking Care of Joe.  This is the story of a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.  See how God adds His grace in the face of this horrible disease and how living a life of love is living a life NOT interrupted.  You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at FEBC.org.  FEBC is a vital missionary outreach to many countries that are closed to traditional missionary work.