Devotional: Happy Are The Troubled
In Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus makes another strange claim: Happy are the persecuted and the troubled. This seems upside down. Who wants to be insulted, scorned, and rejected? But there is a special grace that God gives to anyone that is rejected for testifying about Jesus. And we miss out on that special grace if we live as undercover Christians. Not every cause we feel strongly about is backed up by the grace of God. But when we take up the cause of Christ by testifying about Him, it activates God’s grace, transforms our value system and makes the kingdom of heaven ours. God’s reward will always supersede our struggle when we suffer for Christ.
Questions For Meditation
- Although it might be difficult in the moment, how is it a blessing to be rejected for Jesus? How are you “happy” when you are persecuted for His name?
- What has your testimony been at work, school, and the places you go? Does everyone know Who live for, or have you been an undercover Christian?
- Can people come to you for help if they don’t know you have the power of God? How does shying away from your testimony lead you to miss out on blessing others?
- Read Philemon 1:6. What does testifying about Jesus do to your own values and your own relationship with Jesus?
- Is every cause you feel strongly about in line with the Spirit and backed up by the grace of God? What cause always carries God’s grace in the moment?
- In Matthew 19:29, what does Jesus promise to everyone who is rejected because of Him?