Psalm 31:24 Courage

As you begin this lesson, imagine that you live among a people of a different religion who were hostile towards Christianity. Now imagine that you are in church service or a Bible study group and you are suddenly invaded by terrorist who threaten you, beat you and maybe take you into custody. Maybe this happened at your home and now you face torturer and imprisonment if you don't deny your faith. How will you feel and what will you do?

We are gradually seeing various forms of persecution against our faith forming here in the US and I am sure it will increase in the future. If, or when, we face persecution our verse instructs us to be strong and let our heart take courage as we wait for the Lord. From my experience of bearing inflicted pain I have learned that my focus is key. If I focus on the source of pain I find it can be unbearable, but if I focus on the suffering Jesus experienced or on the suffering of my brothers and sisters being tortured and pray for them, then I find a renewal of strength and my heart is encouraged to press on. I think it is time for us to venture outside our walls of safety, security and comfort and gain some experience so that when we are called upon to stand for our faith we will not become paralyzed by fear because we will have learned that God strengthens us to embrace risks. It is time that we become informed by learning from our brothers and sisters, who are under persecution, that living as a Christian can be dangerous. Are you going to be able or willing to expose your self if called upon to do so? God instructs us to be strong and courageous and wait on him because to lose heart and turn away may result in a burden of shame that may be even worse to live with.

Prayer 

Father, I believe those who were raised under persecution have an advantage because for them that is all they know and is thus norm. For them the Lord has made such a difference in their lives that they can think of nothing less than sharing their faith, even if they suffer for it. We, on the other hand, were brought up in safety, security and comfort, find it difficult to step out and embrace the risk of sharing Christ with the lost. Lord, encourage us to learn to live outside of what we call normal for the sake of your kingdom.