But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten. Jeremiah 20:11
There are times when an enemy rises up and appears to have the upper hand. Dictators and persecutors are able to torture others with no apparent consequences and no one able to stop them. During these times, the world will often lose hope and give up or turn to other means to attempt to gain the upper hand.
As Jeremiah was giving the message God told him to give, many began to persecute him, almost to the point of being overwhelmed. Jeremiah recognized that God was with him and because of that, his persecutors would stumble and not win, they would be ashamed and not prosper.
The world does not like believers in God nor God and His standards. It goes against the freedom to do what one wants in this world. As a result, the world will do what it can to stop believers from being successful. Believers will be put down and ridiculed. In some places, believers will also be physically persecuted, costing them their lives.
When persecution comes, it can cause some to fall away from God. They fear the persecutor more than they trust God. Many will lose sight as to how big God is and how He is with them.
Instead of giving in to the world, believers need to step back and see how great God is. God is the One who created the heavens and the earth. There is no one greater than He is. In knowing this, one can know that God is right there and will win in the end. The persecutors will stumble and fall when God’s judgement comes.
The more you are willing to stand for God and His ways in this world, the higher the chance of you being persecuted will be. This persecution may be just verbal abuse, but it may also include physical abuse. Either way, as soon as you take a solid stand for God, you will be persecuted, and the world will hate you.
Know that God is with you and will overcome the enemy. Do not give in to the enemy but stand in the strength and power of God and see His victory in the end.
Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will know God’s presence in your life; that God will cause your persecutors to stumble; and that you will see victory in Jesus through all of life’s struggles.
Picture by Venyamin Koretskiy on Unsplash
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