“And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” Acts 9:4-5 (KJV).

When we think of persecution, most of the time we think of what we as the children of God are having to endure from others because of our faith. We see this here, as Saul was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. He even went to the high priest to get letters that he could bring anyone found in the way, and take them bound to Jerusalem to be punished. But when he finally met the Lord on that road to Damascus, the Lord spoke to him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest me?”

It says in Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

You may look at this as coming only from the outside, but I believe the Lord wants to show us something fresh here. Consider your relationship with the Lord for a moment. I believe when you treat others wrongly, however small the offense….. when you live your life as God’s commands are a light thing and not that important…. and when you choose not to stand your ground in faith, you are deliberately coming against Jesus and willfully persecuting Him.

He is grieved when you operate not in the Spirit but in the flesh. The Lord Jesus prays for you and fights for you daily. He never leaves you or forsakes you, SO, lets stand up on the inside for Jesus in every way and that conviction will show in your very actions towards others.

“But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God,” Acts 5:39.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
~ Celeste Dewey

Celeste Dewey