Part 2. Going back to verse 5, we are instructed to "Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”" Our posture under persecution is to be one of humility under the mighty hand of God. It is to be a time when God's love fills our hearts (Romans 5:5) and its characteristics of "joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) reflect from our lives. In the eyes of the world this is a posture of weakness and surrender, but it is one of God's greatest weapons and with it territory is being reclaimed from the powers of darkness and the church is experiencing growth.
Jesus humbled himself on the cross and purchased our salvation with his death and through our humble posture and willingness to sacrifice whatever is needed, he is building his church. Testimonies reveal suffering to be fierce and painful, but they also provide an opportunity for experiencing an intimacy with the Lord, his special blessings, especial those found in the fellowship of suffering with the Lord, and the honor of being counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus. One must study the testimonies of those under persecution to understand the power and blessing of God being released during this time. The price of standing firm with the Lord may be extremely high then, but in the end at the proper time you will stand before God in honor.
No comments:
Post a Comment