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Monday, November 15, 2004
I'm thinking that I've lived a charmed life.
I mean, I grew up with parents who loved me. I had a very enjoyable childhood...one in which I have lots of fond memories with extended family. I had an upper-middle class house in an upper-middle class neighborhood. I had a good public education. I had plenty of meals. I had plenty of clothes. I went to a good university.
I got married, and was still in the middle class, just on the blue-collar side of it this time. But I still didn't miss meals. Got the wife...two kids...dogs...minivans...house. On top of that, I'm male. Beyond that, I'm in the majority when it comes to race and religion in my country.
None of that is bad...I'm just saying that my life is charmed. And because of that reality, I have difficulty relating to persecution.
And I grew up in Alabama, where, during my childhood, people were truly persecuted because of their race. Before I was born, people were oppressed in a myriad of ways simply because of their skin color. I heard about it. I saw news accounts of it. I've read books about it...but I can't really relate to it.
It's the same for the religious persecution the Jewish nation has endured, and the psalmist records this in Psalm 129, verses 1--4:
"Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up. Let Israel now say, 'Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up; yet they have not prevailed against me.' The plowers plowed upon my back; they lengthened their furrows.' The Lord is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked."
From the beginning, the Israelites have known persecution. True persecution. They'd been enslaved in Egypt. They'd had wars fought against them, in large part because they were being obedient to a Holy God who was using them to enact judgement on those who'd rejected Him. This was an active attack on those who followed God...not something as simple as ridicule for archaic beliefs.
So, how do you deal with persecution, even if it's something as simple as ridicule for archaic beliefs?
The first step is to realize that God is sovereign. Notice at the end of verse 2: They have not prevailed. The enemies of God won't, either. Whenever we're peresecuted in any form or fashion, a focus on the reality that God will ultimately "win out" is a great reminder to focus on Him rather than on the situation at hand.
Note, in verse 3, the pain inflicted on the persecuted: It was a continuous, systematic and brutal persecution. Think of the horror stories that are told from Holocaust survivors of the brutality of the Nazi regime. It was systematic. It was continuous. It was brutal.
And it could get to you if you were to focus on your reality.
Again, the key is to focus on Him. From verse 4, "The Lord is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked."
Notice that the situation isn't detailed for us. But we know that whatever the situation is, the Lord is righteous. He has "cut in two the cords" of the enemies of God. The idea is that the cords that connect the oxen's yoke to the plow, well, God has already cut them in two. The plow is now useless for plowing. It's impotent.
God, on the other hand, is omnipotent.
Frankly, it's difficult to write a devotional on dealing with persecution when I'm not sure that I can empathize with true persecution.
But what I know is that if we focus on our circumstances rather than on the faithfulness and power of God, then we'll sink. And we'll fail when we try to handle persecution. Really, I pray for the grace to do just that if I'm ever truly persecuted.
Brent 7:04 AM
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