MONDAY: MY RESCUER

Oct 3, 2022
2 min read

Lord, I long for the day when I don’t feel persecuted. Guide and direct me, so I can understand how to deal with this.

2 Timothy 3:10-13

ou, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch,

Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

I shouldn’t be surprised when life is hard because Jesus said it will be. I am not alone. This passage tells me that every single person who wants to live a godly life will encounter difficulty and persecution.

Just when I thought things were going to improve, my persecutors go from bad to worse. Those who are deceivers only grow more experienced at deceiving. Nothing is off limits as they hone into their target. They are out to criticize my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance.

I can’t stop them. While I pray for them to stop persecuting me, I need to realign my thoughts to God’s will. I need to pray for them. As foreign as the thought may seem, their greatest need is salvation, so the ultimate gift would be for their heart to receive the very gift that I cherish so much.

THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS: Not every day do I have the opportunity to give a gift. The gift of a prayer is a powerful gift. If I tell those who persecute me that I forgive them and am praying for them, they won’t know how to react. Now all I have to do is to work up the courage to tell them!

If I look at the world through God’s eyes, I see people suffering in miserable lives. They have no purpose, no love, and no One to believe in. The suffering in my soul from their hurtful words can be reoriented to prayer for the suffering they encounter every day. And that very prayer for their soul will help heal the wounds left in my heart.

Every day is a new day. Every encounter, no matter how good or bad, is a new opportunity to thank the Lord for the ability to pray for the needs of someone.

Lord, I pray for the hearts of those who persecute me, for those who make fun of me, for those who laugh at me, and for those who reject my beliefs. Thank You for giving me a heart for You, so as You lift me up, You help me lift others up in prayer.

May you be blessed,

Chaplain Wayne Ruckman