“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

We have all faced persecution for Christ.  It comes with the lifestyle.  We live in a pagan atmosphere within North America.  A person who is a true Christian stands out like fire in the night.  When you turn to Christ it will not be a long time before you face discrimination or persecution for your faith.

Persecution can be subtle and not so subtle.  I remember on one of my jobs I had bought a new outfit.  When I came to work one of my colleagues asked me if I was trying to be Amish because he thought I was dressed like one. The same colleague always looked down on my faith and whenever he got a chance he would say stuff like, “When I was young and immature I thought the same way.”

I expect this from non-Christians, even though it can be painful.

It is one thing to suffer at the hand of non-Christians, but what about when you are persecuted by Christians?  Shouldn’t they know better?

Maybe, but I have had Christians say all kinds of false things about me. What I have come to realize is that people are generally a fickle lot.  Even when they are in Christ they can love you one minute and hate you the next. We are given plenty of opportunities to practice forgiveness –even on a daily basis.

I have a mentor from Quebec, whom I consider my French father.  One time I was complaining to him because another man of God I knew was continuously putting me down and dishonoring me.  He said, “Darren, you will have to forgive him every day that you work with him and perhaps for the rest of your life.”

At first this thought put me off. I was thinking “Why should I have to forgive a minister I work with when he should know better?” And then the reality of the statement rang true inside of me and I realized it was not this man speaking but Holy Spirit through him.

We will likely experience bad treatment on a continuous basis from people in this life, whether they are Christian or non-Christian.  If they treat us well or from an unselfish motive this is generally the exception and not the rule.

There are many times that I have had incredible encounters with the supernatural and have tried to speak about them to other Christians.  Not only do they not want to hear them, but they will often ridicule the experience that I have had in God.

I remember speaking about a sign and wonder I saw one time and I was publicly rebuked for speaking about it.

But should we stop testifying of what God has done in our lives simply because people don’t want to hear it?

This is where the blessing of God comes to you when you are persecuted.  We must speak regardless of what people think of what we are saying.  We must tell them about our miracle-working God.  If we don’t, then many of them will never experience a miracle.  By telling them of what we have seen we are opening a new way for them to look at life.

This is the gospel message.  It is not about a religious tradition.  It is about interacting with the living God and experiencing His glory.

When I tell people what I have seen they can get angry with me, but they still have experienced the truth and my life becomes more blessed.