By Francis Frangipane
The Enemy's Tactics for Persecution
The way Satan persecutes is described in Matthew 5:11 (MEV): "Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake."
We need to tune in to several things here. First, the Scripture says, "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12, MEV) So, it's not a matter of if you will be persecuted, but when. Maybe it will come from a family member or friend, a coworker or teammate. Wherever it comes from, it is legitimate persecution. You're trying to live holy and righteous before the Lord, and then you are persecuted for it.
Understand that the enemy has designed persecution to immobilize you. If the enemy cannot take your life, he will try to crush parts of your life that render you ineffective. He wants to steal your joy because the joy of the Lord is your strength. When criticism or other forms of persecution come, Jesus is saying,
"Rejoice and be glad." He knows the enemy's tactics, but He does not want them to stop you in your walk with God.
When the enemy persecuted me, I would park there and get depressed. Finally, the Lord spoke to my heart during a time when I was really stressed, and He said, "Rejoice and leap for joy." I knew at the time the Lord wanted me to dance to break the oppression. That spirit of heaviness would not lift until I danced before the Lord, so I did. I just leaped about. Thank goodness the drapes were closed because I probably looked crazy. But I began to leap for joy because the Lord showed me that the enemy brought on that persecution to steal my joy.
Luke says to leap for joy. That word means to bound about with joy. At times, that much joy is necessary to cast off heaviness. It's heaviness designed by the enemy to stop you in your walk with God, and the joy of the Lord is the antidote.
If you've been feeling the heaviness of persecution, leap for joy. Please don't allow it to stop you in your journey to Christlikeness. You've done much work to get to where the enemy hates you. Don't blow it now by getting depressed about it! If he persecutes you, take it as a sign that you're doing something right. Don't slow down. Begin to rejoice. Begin to leap for joy.
The next thing the enemy will try to do is cloud your credibility with suspicion and innuendo. If his first tactic didn't work, the next assault comes to silence you through faultfinding and accusation.
For example, he may have someone criticize you or talk about you behind your back. And it doesn't even have to be a lie about you. It's bad enough when people lie about you. What's worse is when they tell the truth about you! They talk about things you really did, some of which you may have repented for.
God forgets it. But who remembers it? The accuser of the brethren. He takes some of the things you did wrong, even after you've repented and received forgiveness, and uses them against you.
Revelation 12 provides an insightful picture of the accuser of the brethren coming after you as God's servant. It talks about a man-child and a dragon seeking to devour him, but verse 5 says the child "was caught up to God and to His throne." It's widely accepted that this refers to Jesus Christ.
I agree that it refers to Jesus, but I think there are applications to be made here that when you're under accusation, the only safe place from the mouth of the accuser, the mouth of the dragon who wants to swallow you up, is to get caught up to God in His throne. God's presence is the only place of peace, refuge, security, and contentment. Think of persecution as the jet fuel to get you there.
"Great is your reward" (Matt. 5:12, NIV). The reward He refers to is in verse 10, "[Yours] is the kingdom of heaven." He's saying, "The enemy's coming to distract you. He's coming to drag you off and take over your thoughts, to expend your energy. The only safe place is God's throne."
If you've done something wrong, repent of it. But when the accuser comes and you've examined your personal life and done all you can to deal with those accusations, you've got to get to God's throne and lay it at His feet. That's your place of safety.
The Path to His Presence
"But Francis," one might ask, "how do I get to His throne?" Worship is the pathway to His presence. You begin to worship, praise Him for who He is. Thank Him for His goodness and mercy and all His mighty works, then approach Him on behalf of those who persecute you, because part of being at God's throne is being there with Christ, who is ever living to make intercession for the saints. The nature of Christ is to pray for those who persecute. So, the way out of persecution is to get to the throne where God's presence surrounds you.
God never intended for us to do His will without His presence. The power to accomplish God's purpose comes from prayer and intimacy with Him. It is here, closed in with God, where we find an ever replenishing flow of spiritual virtue.
In my book The Three Battlegrounds, I put it this way:
Without true worship of God there can be no victory in warfare. For what we bleed when we are wounded by satanic assault or persecution is the true measure of our worship. You see, what comes out of our hearts during times of pressure is in us, but it's hidden during times of ease. If you are a true worshipper, your spirit will exude worship to God no matter what battle you are fighting. In warfare, worship creates a wall of fire around the soul.
I surrender, Lord! I give myself to You and enlist in Your army of worshippers. I choose to praise You and increase Your shelter around me with the worship I give to You. You are my purpose for living.