Accept the Challenge
“Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
When persecution comes-
– don’t sit around whining about it.
Don’t waste your time feeling sorry for yourself.
Despite what you may think, that persecution hasn’t come because the devil gets his kicks out of picking on you.
It comes because you’ve become a threat to him.
It comes because you’ve put the Word in your heart, and he knows that if he doesn’t get it out, you’re going to cause him more trouble than he can handle.
So rejoice!
Heavy duty persecution means you’ve made it to the big league.
It means the devil is taking you so seriously-
– that he’s sending in his best players in an effort to get you out of the game!
The players that make it to the Superbowl don’t look for some way out of it, do they?
No!
They relish the opportunity.
“Let me at ’em,” they say. “I’ve worked all my life to get here and now I’m going to prove I’m the best!”
That’s how you should be when the devil challenges you.
You should accept that challenge with joy-
– knowing you’re going to come out a winner.
After all, your God is sufficient to see you through.
He never stops and wonders if He’s going to have enough resources to get you over your problems.
He knows He can beat anything the devil brings against you.
So, when persecution comes-
– trust Him and rejoice, knowing that you’ve made it to the big leagues now!
Accept the challenge!
Avoid self pity!!