Matthew 5:10–12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In America, persecution is minimal compared to intolerant times past and countries intolerant to Christianity. However, it still can affect your life in many ways. Consider Jesus’ words in Luke 6:22–23
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
Rejection is painful, but we must always keep in mind the promise that God makes up for every wrong, and He does so with abundance. Scripture also teaches that we pray for those who persecute and hate us, and do good to them. In Romans we are commanded to bless them, and do not curse them. It’s not an easy endeavor, so it takes a change of perspective. We are not looking at the wrong, but at the promise.
When Jesus was facing the persecution of the cross, the Bible says that He endured by focusing on the joy set before Him. The cross was painful and dreadful. If you see His prayers just before facing His enemies, you see an example for us. He worked through His hardship by shifting His focus from the cross to what lay beyond the cross, which was the defeat of sin for us, and the freedom we’d have to walk with Him without fear or condemnation. The reward was worth the suffering, so He laid down His will and set His focus above Himself.
Once Jesus set His will aside, the Bible says that an angel from Heaven strengthened Him. See Luke 22:43. Unlike Jesus, we are not carrying the weight of the world upon our shoulders, but this principle applies to us. Take to heart the words of 1 Peter 2:23, “when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”
When we are mistreated, lied about, excluded, and called evil because we are walking in faith, our first temptation is to defend ourselves and fight, but our call is to not fight for our reputation or retaliate against the wrong, but to commit ourselves to the Lord, who judges righteously. He will out-reward any loss.
What often happens is that when we are living a godly life, it intimidates those who aren’t. Back in the 1980s, Billy Graham played a round of golf with four men. One was not a Christian. After they played, the man threw down his clubs and ranted about how he was sick of Billy Graham judging him and preaching at him. This caught Graham by surprise. After the man stomped away, Billy said, “I didn’t even say anything to this man, and I wasn’t even thinking about judging him.”
The Bible says that our lives diffuse the aroma of Christ to those around us. To those in the faith, it’s the aroma of life, but to those perishing, it is the aroma of death (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). In other words, our very presence puts off the aroma of Christ, and that intimidates those who don’t want to live in the faith. It is the Spirit in us that is convicting others through the light of our life. He is drawing those around us by showing the difference between our lives and their focus on the world. Those who resist God’s call are tempted to lash out at those who they blame for their own internal conviction.
In 1998, my life drastically changed. The Lord did a work in my life that changed everything. I had a close family member that was also struggling, though at the time, I didn’t know how much they were going through. At first, they said how they wanted God to do in their life as God did in mine. However, over time, their appreciation for God’s work grew into resentment of me. I don’t know whether they were fighting God, or what was going on inside, but eventually they decided I had to be knocked down.
I was pastoring at the time. Rumors began about how secretly evil I was, hypocritical I was, and all types of things were said that not only did I not do, but never even thought about. Their imagination about what I must be thinking was treated as though it were real. Then they started telling others all kinds of things that never happened. It completely turned my life upside down. It got to the point where I started refusing to engage in a public battle. This became evidence that I was hiding something, and to this day, many still believe the rumors.
A few years prior, I had a pastor friend who went through something similar at his church. He told me, “Eddie, they are ruining my reputation.” I said, “It’s not your job to protect your reputation. Fighting publicly will only put you on the same level. Put it in God’s hands and if He allows them to remove you, then He will open a new door. Don’t take it out of God’s hands.”
A couple of years later, I was having to remember the advice I gave him, and take my own advice.
Sometimes God allows people to persecute and succeed. We may not know why at the time. We may never know on this side of life why God allows us to go through these things. However, one thing is certain. Blessed are those who are persecuted. But we must trust God instead of taking matters out of His hands. When someone says all manner of evil against us, our first reaction is, “They are slandering me and ruining my name,” but Jesus gave us another perspective. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad!” God rewards and blesses above anything that can be robbed – if we walk in faith.
In both Matthew and Mark, Jesus explains that anyone who is persecuted, and has to leave behind the things they care about – family, possessions, friendships, etc – will receive a hundredfold in return. He said this applies to this life, and the life to come. On that day, when we stand before Him, you will not mourn what you have lost. You’ll rejoice and say, “It was worth it.”
No one said walking by faith would be easy. But this path of life is paved with promises to those who trust in Him enough to endure trials and persecutions. Resist the temptation to take it out of His hands. Rest in Him and you will experience the blessed life. Rejoice, knowing that you are standing in His promise!
Eddie Snipes
August 2025