What will I do if everyone hates me?

Joshua 2; Psalms 123–125; Isaiah 62; Matthew 10

Sometimes I feel as if God set me up. Last night my mind was on the current persecution of Christians and wondering how I would honor the Lord if that happened to me. Today’s newspaper had several stories describing the trend of hatred against God’s people even during protests over mistreatment of others. I came to my Bible with some tension in my heart.

The first thing I read was the story of Rahab hiding the Israelites who came into the land God promised them. They intended to check out the opposition. She said to these men:

“I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction . . . .” (Joshua 2:9–10)

God was in charge. He made sure that the opposition knew He protected His people; their enemies were terrified of them. His power has not diminished. If that is His will, He can do the same for His people today as we tell our stories of deliverance and victory over sin.

Next, three Psalms describe the way I’m feeling, both needy for God’s help in these days of opposition toward Christians and how we are feeling about it, particularly when we are singled out as a group that it is okay to condemn. They will riot because other minority groups are mistreated, yet Christians are blamed for that mistreatment rather than recognized for the good that God is doing in our lives. The psalmist expressed exactly how I feel:

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud. (Psalm 123:2–4)

Space limits putting all of Isaiah 62 here, yet this link shows how all twelve verses promise the triumph of God’s people. God is encouraging me. I know we have a part to play in this though. For one thing, we must not hide our faith but boldly share it.

Then I read Matthew 10 and almost wept at the amazing description Jesus gave His describes telling them how live during the persecution they will face. All of this is how I must APPLY it to my life:

10:1-15. Rely on the authority God gives and follow His directions. He will be specific. “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction . . . . These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans . . . .”

10:16-24. Jesus says persecution will come, but His people must bear witness to Him and when those who oppose us deliver us to authorities, we are “not to be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” He will be with me and enable me.

He also says some of that persecution may come from family, but even if everyone hates me because I belong to Jesus, I’m to endure and remember that “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” Persecution puts me in good company!

10:26-42. Jesus tells me not to be afraid. Instead, what He tells me in private, I’m to proclaim it in public. Never deny Him. He values me; therefore I value Him — even above life itself. He knew that people would be at odds over Him so I should not be surprised at opposition. Instead, follow Him no matter what — and in the end, I will be rewarded.

Jesus, You surprise and humble me. You knew what I was thinking and always know what to say to me. Mercy please — for I am without power and boldness, but I can trust You and Your promises. The future may be black yet You always give light in the darkest places and grace to obey You even when I cannot see anything.

 

 

Devotions are life-changing

Joshua 1; Psalms 120–122; Isaiah 61; Matthew 9

When I became a Christian, my sister told me to read the Bible until a truth stopped me, then write it down. Now, most of that writing is in digital form but I have a stack of journals filled with the results of that excellent advice. Sometimes I get carried away in the writing yet God continues to change my life. Today, I’m noting what ‘stopped’ me in the above daily reading passages.

Joshua 1. Joshua replaced Moses as leader. His name is the Hebrew form of Jesus. Moses represents the law, and Moses just died. Salvation by law-keeping did not work. Now the people needed a Savior. While Joshua was not Jesus, I read this chapter as if it were the Lord telling His Son what He must do as the leader of His people. Jesus was sent as fully man and lived here as ‘the Son of man’ so these words were appropriate. Too long to put here, but I am humbled by the reminder that while here, Jesus as fully man relied on His Father just like I need to rely on the Lord.

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:5–8)

I am to do the same as both Joshua and Jesus — focus on the will of God and obey it!

Psalms 120-121. The first psalm is a cry for deliverance as the writer is aware of living in land of liars. I feel like that. The news each day contradicts itself. The world seems to be in chaos. “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!” (Psalm 120:7). As the next psalm says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2) The next verses also answer my distress:

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:5–8)

I am also to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!” (Psalm 122:6) for there is blessing and glory to God in being concerned for peace among His people.

Isaiah 61 is a foretaste of what Christ will do for His people and a description of His love for righteousness. The author says that he greatly rejoices in the Lord because:

“He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.” (Isaiah 61:10–11)

Victory is coming. Jesus came — bringing that righteousness that all nations are experiencing. The Christian life does not make the news but that does not mean God’s people are absent or idle. Works of mercy are happening in homes, neighborhoods, hospitals, prisons. Wherever God’s people are, the example of Jesus is also.

Matthew 9. This chapter is about mercy. Mercy is doing for others what they cannot do for themselves. Jesus healed those who were paralyzed and helpless, called to Himself those hated by others, raised the dead, opened blind eyes, loosened mute tongues and sent His disciples out to have the same compassion and draw others into His kingdom.

APPLY: Being a Christian is not about following rules but about being like Jesus. His realm of ministry was a small part of a big world yet what He did changed lives and changed history and the world. Even though it will never make the news, may I be courageously obedient to what He is saying to me today. Focus, trust, pray, be merciful, do/go what and where He asks and rejoice in Him.