“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” (Psalm 138:7-8 NASB1995)
What kind of trouble?
Depending upon where in the world we live, it might determine
the kind of trouble we are being faced with, and how often. For those who live
in nations where Christianity is outlawed, or it is being attacked severely,
Christians may be being faced with much persecution and rejection. And this can
come in many forms, including in war, the taking over of nations, the burning
of buildings, the bombing of lands and houses, and the killing and raping of
innocents, and just because of their beliefs and practices, or other reasons.
Even in the USA, where I live, there is Christian
persecution, but not generally against the nominal “Christian” who speaks
nothing of Jesus and his gospel message, or who dilutes the gospel to the point
of it not being the gospel of Christ at all, and/or who is still living
according to the flesh, to please the flesh, and not to please God in all that
they do. They will generally be accepted by the world because they are still
living like the world, so there really is not a remarkable difference between
them.
But believers in Jesus Christ, who take God and his Word
seriously, in the appropriate biblical context (not out of context), who have
died with Christ to sin, who are walking daily in obedience to his commands,
and for whom sin in no longer their practice, but righteousness and godly living
are their practice, if they stand on the word of God, and if they are at all
verbal about their beliefs and practices, and with regard to what is right and
what is wrong, they might be persecuted even by other professers of faith in
Christ.
Right now in the USA, although I believe this is going to
change, claiming to be a Christian is not usually what gets you mistreated,
cast aside, rejected, falsely accused of wrong and utterly ignored. It is when
you begin to speak the truth of what the Scriptures teach on sin, repentance,
obedience to God, salvation, eternal life, godly living, “the church” (what it
is and is not), Israel (who she is and is not), and the gospel (what it is and
is not) that you get rejected even by others professing faith in Jesus; even by
some pastors.
And who are our enemies? They are all who deny that Jesus
Christ is the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, who is God, who died on a
cross to put our sins to death with him, so that by faith in him, we will die
to sin and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. And they are all who
deny the truth of the Scriptures on the biblical doctrine of salvation from sin
and eternal life with God, and of repentance and walks of obedience to our Lord
as required by God for salvation and for eternal life with God in his heavenly
kingdom.
Now, not all of them will be outrightly opposed to us and to
what we are teaching, so not all who reject Christ as their Lord and Messiah
will be our physical and/or verbal persecutors. And there may be many who
profess faith in Jesus, even some pastors, who will be our persecutors because
they do not believe and practice the gospel as taught by Jesus and by his New
Testament apostles, but they have adopted a “gospel of grace” which gives them
permission to keep living in sin and not in obedience to our Lord.
So, if we take God/Christ/The Holy Spirt seriously, and if
we take seriously the gospel message taught by Jesus and by his New Testament
apostles, and so we are living it, in practice, and we are spreading its truth,
we should not be surprised if people who once accepted us have now rejected us,
and so they have parted ways with us and no longer want anything to do with us.
Or they may be people who are strongly opposing us, too, for teaching what the
Scriptures teach in their correct context. For they believe a false gospel.
And since we are human beings who have feelings and emotions,
and who love, and who want to be loved in return, we may have days when we feel
the weight of the persecutions, the rejections, the abandonment, and the
distancing of others from ourselves who do not approve of our ways, and who do
not approve of us speaking the truth of God’s word, in love, to the people. For
they find us strange or odd or offensive because we must speak the truth which
many people do not want to hear or to accept.
And this is where we must lean on the Lord for our support,
and keep going in the strength of the Lord, even when it hurts, and even when
it brings tears to our eyes, and even when we feel the pain of people
withdrawing from us because of our stand on the truth of God’s Word. We must trust
the Lord to revive us in our spirits and in our emotions so that we do not
allow ourselves to be overtaken by sorrow or fear. And in the power of God we
must persevere in speaking the truth, for the truth is what saves lives!
[Matthew 5:10-12;
Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke
12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans
5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter
1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; James 1:2-4; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation
6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation
12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13; 2
Corinthians 1:3-11]
Pray, Pray, Pray
Based off Various Scriptures
An Original Work / September 6, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Pray that eyes may
enlightened be,
So they may know
Christ.
Pray that they may
Him better know,
Strengthened by His
pow’r.
Pray that they may
grasp
How wide and long
And high and deep
Is Christ’s love.
Pray that they may
be filled
To the fullness of
God’s love.
Pray with
thanksgiving.
Pray for an open
door for me,
So I may share
Christ.
Pray when the gospel
is proclaimed –
Shared with clarity.
Pray words are given
me so
I declare the gospel
fearlessly.
I pray for you to be
active
Sharing your faith,
too.
Pray continually.
We oft not know for
what to pray,
So we ask for help.
The Spirit
intercedes for us –
Words cannot
express.
Just keep on praying
for the saints
With all kinds of
requests to God.
Pray they may have
faith to
Please their God in
ev’ry way.
Pray with
joyfulness.
You Will Revive Me
An Original Work / June 29, 2025
Christ’s Free
Servant, Sue J Love
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