When I began sharing about how God was speaking to me in the midst of persecution, I feared I’d lose readers, yet what I found was that people have been searching online for such articles for help. We know that we have brethren in China and other countries that suffer persecution, persecution that we do not suffer in the United States. However, since we live in a country that has rights for the people, some forms of persecution have not occurred often. Something I noticed when my children were in a private school is that there is a stark difference in the form of persecution. It was very different from what we see in public schools and in the movies.

When you are in a place that has rules and limitations on how you can treat people, the persecution becomes sly. Persecution is lead by the enemy and he has to hide the evidence of persecution in order to keep it going. Most Believers wouldn’t readily admit to have persecuted others, but we all have in one way or another. We’re all guilty of it. When we purposefully refuse to invite someone to a large gathering because we don’t accept them, when we choose not to sit by the homeless man in church, when we treat parolees as less than because they served time in prison, etc.

The persecution taking place in China is very different from here, but I believe it’s coming soon. Even in the middle of all the American Rights, persecution is still coming. Jesus told us that before he comes back the world will see so much evil, as never seen before. (Matthew 24)

Something I noticed when writing about this, is that when I point out what the different forms of persecution are, there are some that become wildly angry with me. If you’re on my Facebook friends list, you may have seen some of the flare ups on my wall from some people. I have also received some unkind comments on this blog, but they are held in moderation. I recently changed the comment settings to not allow anonymous comments anymore.

I added a poll to the right hand side bar, which will remain until December 31st, 2009. I am interested to know what kind of persecution you have suffered. Maybe you suffered at a family gathering when an aunt or cousin scoffed at you for praying before your meal. Maybe you suffered your home being vandalized because your husband is a preacher and his message may have caused a ruckus in someone’s heart. Perhaps you suffered from friends disconnecting from you for leaving a church. Whatever the case may be I want to know. I pray that the messages God teaches me, while I’m in persecution, will be of encouragement to you.

I don’t have all the answers, but He shows me more along the way. Some people think I’m full of malarkey and that I’m not really ‘suffering’ persecution. Sometimes people may not know the depths of it because you don’t share the details and sometimes they simply don’t believe its happening to you. But when they see it for themselves they will know. It’s okay if they don’t listen. Keep seeking help until you find someone who will listen. You’re not alone and you don’t have to go through it without support.

SisterLisa