Blessed Are The Persecuted

God of every blessing, I invite You to shape my soul with Your words and inspire my life through Your works. Teach me to walk in the way of blessing.

Pause and pray

Today I reflect on the last of the Beatitudes, those blessings that invite us to participate in the life of Jesus.

Read Matthew 5:1-10

What does it mean to be invited into Jesus’ persecution?

Have I ever been persecuted for the sake of righteousness? And could I receive it as a genuine blessing?

I don’t want to mistake mere opposition for persecution. Nor do I want to harbour a persecution complex born out of my own arrogance, rudeness, stubbornness, or self-righteousness.

The only good I can see in persecution is if it means I am joining Jesus more deeply in his righteousness.

Lord, would You show me Your righteousness, and would You show me what it will mean for me to join You in it? I ask for courage in any area where I am afraid.

Pause and pray

Lord, give courage and comfort to my sisters and brothers in faith who face persecution around the world for the sake of righteousness. I name any individuals or situations I know of where this is happening.

Pause and pray

What is this righteousness that I am invited into, that will cause persecution?

I consider the righteous life of Jesus: the way he welcomed the outcast and unwanted; the way he resisted the temptations of Satan, religious leaders, and worldly powers; the way he committed himself completely to the will of his Father, though it led him to the cross.

Father God, frightened as I may be, I want to say along with Jesus, ‘Not my will, but yours be done.’ Help me to receive the blessing of Your righteous way, even if it also means receiving the blessing of persecution.

Amen.