viewoutsidethepew

I was asked if I had chosen a journey in the theme of persecution/suffering for Lent. No, I didn’t; it was chosen for me.

It began on February 20. I won’t repeat the details here.

This morning, as I lay in bed after another night shift, my mind went over the times and places when I have experienced persecution for serving Jesus instead of religion. It overwhelmed me. I repeat what I have said before in my blog, that I am not looking for sympathy, I am not whining or even complaining. I am discovering! And I chose the risk to share this journey in my blog, praying that by it someone else may be encouraged, healed, freed, loved.

I have never been raped – sexually. I was never bullied in the traditional sense. So I would never have looked at my own life story as a journey of demonic persecution. This revelation that evil persecutes God’s people in any and every way possible, not just the socially recognized ways,  overwhelmed me.

I can get why victims want to know why God (All Powerful) didn’t rescue them. But what I say to them I say to myself, the abusers/persecutors are to blame, not God.

We live in the devil’s country. While the Realm of God is within us, the social world belongs to the devil. The end of the age marks the end of the reign of evil in this creation, which humans chose, not God.

Persecution of monks from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I cling to two things:

1. I am innocent of the slanderous accusations, charges and contempt brought against me, so when I stand before Jesus at the throne of judgment Jesus will not bring them up!

2. I remain a follower of Jesus, despite the untiring attempts by evil to force me to give up and side with the devil. Even in this journey of confusion and revelation I have a peace which I cannot explain, but in which I live.

So I will continue this journey, painful as it has become, overwhelming as it is, because “Dear children, you belong to God. So you have won the victory over these people, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. These people belong to the world. That’s why they speak the thoughts of the world, and the world listens to them. We belong to God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever doesn’t belong to God doesn’t listen to us. That’s how we can tell the Spirit of truth from the spirit of lies” (1 John 4:4-6 God’s Word ©).

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This Lent I am being led on a pilgrimage. I do not yet know if it is from persecution or to suffering or through both. Nevertheless the journey has begun.