Those who are being persecuted often feel that their discomfort is part of an evil strategic plan to demolish the church and disable the gospel.  And that is true: Satan is furious because he knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12), and so he does whatever he can to incite hatred against Christ's followers by sowing lies into the minds of people who can be enticed to persecute believers.

But there is another strategy being played out, of which Peter's and Paul's dangerous vulnerable lifestyles were an example.  It was God’s plan to use persecution to bring the gospel to the attention of decision makers as well as ordinary citizens (Acts 8:1-4).  The apostles would be arrested and brought to public notice so that even kings and governors would hear the gospel (Acts 26:24-29).  That is what happened.  Most of the apostles died an untimely and violent death, but within 300 years the government of the once-pagan Roman Empire publicly believed in Jesus as the only Lord and God to be worshipped!

The expression “and so you will bear testimony to me” is a recurrent theme in the Acts of the Apostles starting with Acts 1:8.  Every public declaration of Jesus was met by hateful confrontation; and in every hateful confrontation, the apostles declared that Jesus Christ is Lord (2 Corinthians 4:1-18).  Over the centuries the church has grown best under persecution; and that is still true today.  Even those who lost their lives because of their faith in Jesus have fulfilled God's purpose: as Tertullian, an early Christian author around 200AD, said ‘the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church’.

So do not be discouraged when persecution, in its many forms, disturbs your life.  Although the devil has a malignant intention, the Lord has a remarkable way of using evil to defeat Satan's purpose (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28).  That happened on the cross, proving that God's wisdom and power are infinitely greater than the combined forces of evil (1 Corinthians 2:6-10).  But we usually cannot see God’s purpose when we are in the middle of a problem.  That is why we need the teaching of Jesus and His promise that not only will persecution come, but that God will use it to produce great witnesses.  Without the opposition, the gospel would not have had such an enormous impact. It is the same today: so stand firm for Jesus where you live and work because He wants to use your witness in difficult circumstances, for His glory and the further growth of His kingdom (2 Thessalonians 2:14-17).