Persecution for Righteousness: Trusting God Over Comfort

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

— Jesus, Matthew 5:10

Persecution? The truth is, there’s a part of me—my flesh—that’s fully committed to self-protection, comfort, ease, and prosperity in this world. What about you?

This flesh of ours will do just about anything to avoid persecution. I suppose there is one exception: it will willingly suffer if it calculates the payoff to be worth the persecution.

Some may think this means faith in God is ultimately just flesh working for a payoff. I admit this is a strong possibility for religious folks. There is such a thing as religious flesh—flesh that uses religion to try to manipulate God. But make no mistake: there is a vast difference between religious flesh and true faith in Father God.

Flesh is fear-based. It strives to control outcomes. God will have none of it. He will not allow us to manipulate Him for control. Leave that for works-based religions.

The persecution for righteousness Jesus speaks of is more about giving up control. It’s about entrusting our lives to the Spirit of God—for His outcomes.

Remember, Jesus tells us just a few pages later in this same book:

“Anyone who seeks to save his own life will lose it…”

— Matthew 16:24-25

Let’s pray.

Father, we long for Your Kingdom where all is made good again. Lord, we trust You to bring it, even if we must suffer for a little while. We trust Your Spirit to lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank You, Jesus, for leading the return of God’s Kingdom to our world. Amen.

Persecution for righteousness. What do you think? Y’all ready for that? I know. Me too. Come on then. Let’s go!