Envy

‘The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail’ Acts 5:17-18.

Over the next few days we will be discussing three major reasons why we face persecution as Christians. Let this better prepare you and help you endure. The first reason why you will face persecution is envy both from religious people and the world. People are going to be envious of you because you have chosen to walk with Jesus. If nobody is envious of you then something is wrong. In this case of the disciples, the religious people could not stomach their envy and sort to arrest them. I have seen some interesting envy even in the church. People will pick battles against you because you are prospering, growing, or even because you are submitted to the Holy Spirit. What are you going to do? The truth is that you cannot win with such battles so you just let it go. Some people will hate you because of the gifts the Holy Spirit has given you or because of the provision you are enjoying through God. And guess what, they haven’t seen anything yet because you will yet walk in your new dawn. Get used to it because it is the portion of the favored, it is standard. Everyone that became great in scripture suffered deadly bruise from envious people. ‘Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire. Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.  So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.” Dan.6:3-5. They knew that Daniel could not be tempted with stealing or bribery but only the law of his God so they set a trap for Daniel. Isaac’s prosperity caused the Philistines to begin to plug all his wells out of envy. And because of Jacob’s love for Joseph, his brothers could not speak a word of peace to him.

Prayer: Father, raise a voice to speak for me where I have none and raise helpers for me where I am helpless, in Jesus Name.