Persecution in America! Really?

It’s a scene played out in homes across America every day: kids arrive home from school, scan the kitchen shelves and refrigerator, and then yell out, “Mom! I’m starving, and there’s nothing to eat in the kitchen!” Translate this into first world language, and what he means is, “Mom, I’m hungry, and there’s nothing that looks good to me in the kitchen!”

Words mean different things in our culture than in third world cultures. In the third world, starving means life and death. We’ve seen the pictures of children so thin and ravaged with starvation that they are nothing more than a skeleton with skin.

So it is with the concept of persecution. 

In America, Christians often label battles in the values war as “persecution.” If a public school systems moves to take the closing benediction out of a high school graduation, it’s labeled persecution. If a town decides to no longer have a nativity scene in front of city hall, it’s labeled persecution. Even when the law and religion collide, such as when a court rules the tradition of a National Day of Prayer as unconstitutional (which was later overturned by a federal appeals court), these acts are often described as persecution by over zealous Christians. The truth is, in the first world, Christians may experience open discrimination, but not true persecution, especially government-sponsored persecution.

Historically, God has not spared His people from persecution. In fact, Jesus went so far as to warn his followers that persecution and tribulation should be expected (John 15:18, 19). Many of the New Testament epistles were written to encourage the early church as persecution spread throughout the Roman Empire. In Acts 8, part of our text for this week, Luke tells us that the church was “ravaged” by persecution (Acts 8:3).

Never forget, however, that God has His purposes, and that many times His ways seem to make little sense from a human perspective. In the case of the first century church, God used persecution to facilitate the spread of the gospel and accomplish His plan as outlined in Acts 1:8.

As you study this week’s Scripture, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a renewed sense of urgency as we pray for and intercede on behalf of those enduring strong persecution in the world today. Commit to be a part of the 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting, and make the persecuted church a part of your focus for the next six weeks. At the same time, recognize that the Lord uses trials to accomplish His purposes. Are you in the midst of a trial right now? Pray that God will use these trials to deepen your relationship with Him.–Chris Eller