I have never been as persecuted for my faith as I have since I started writing Time-Warp Wife. People don’t take kindly to the message of a wife joyfully “serving” her family, or willfully “submitting” to her husband’s authority as commanded in Ephesians 5:22. It’s more popular to sweep that scripture under the rug than accept it as truth.
I’ve been called names, publicly insulted, ridiculed and scoffed at.
I’ve been referred to as homophobic, beaten down, fanatical, primitive, delusional, sexist, a religious extremist, and a slave. And that’s on a good week. Wait until next week, and the week after that as I continue to speak the Word of God through this blog without apologizing for the fact that God’s ways don’t always agree with the modern mindset of man.
I’m not telling you this so that you might feel sorry for me, but rather that you might rejoice with me in the suffering of Christ.
The other night I left my parents house with a word of encouragement from my dad, “Don’t just count it joy to be persecuted,” he said, “count it exceeding great joy!” And Dad’s right.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner
of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted
they the prophets which were before you.
~ Matthew 5:11-12, KJV
I received a letter of encouragement from a young woman this week who wrote:
“We don’t belong here, we aren’t meant to fit in. In John’s Gospel, Chapter 17, Jesus prayed for His disciples because the world hated them. If we are truly following and being obedient to God, we will receive them same.
Are we trying to please God or people? Are we looking to Him for our total acceptance, to be loved, to feel desired, and to be told who we are?
Often times I find I am not. I want people to accept my beliefs and see Gods truth so much that it hurts when they don’t. And they bash me personally when I try to show them. But I have to remind myself that it is not me they have a problem with, it’s God.”
Such wisdom from a young woman!
If we are looking to God for approval, and seeking our acceptance from Him, their words and opinions quickly lose power.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for
Christ’s sake: for when I am weak,
then am I strong.
~ 2 Corinthians 12:10, NIV
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene
For comments or questions, contact me at:
darlene[at]darleneschacht.net