All day long they twist my words and trouble my affairs; all their thoughts are against me for evil and my hurt. – Psalm 56:5, AMP

Life is full of adversity and persecution. Although many times the challenges we face are the result of our sin, many other times they are the result of our doing what is right in the eyes of God. What is right for God is considered evil by the world system, and whenever we stand for truth, those who hate righteousness target the righteous for destruction.

Why do the unrighteous rage against the righteous? Because it is natural to fight against that which causes pain. When we have a headache or catch a cold or acquire some other form of illness, what do we do? We fight to cure the ailment that is causing us discomfort. We seek to eradicate the source of the pain by taking medication or by going to therapy or by changing our habits. We engage in all out war against the disease because we hate the discomfort the disease causes, so in order to free ourselves from the pain, we seek to destroy the cause of the pain.

When we live righteously, we cause the unrighteous discomfort. When we live according to God’s precepts, we prick the consciences of those who have rejected God’s way of life, thus causing them pain. We become like a disease to those who hate God, so the unrighteous do what comes naturally; they fight the disease to remove the pain.

The wicked are always on the attack to destroy righteousness. It’s been that way since the Garden of Eden, and it’ll be that way until The Lord comes back. Don’t be surprised when you experience persecution for doing what is right. As a matter of fact, you should expect it. In return, we ought to do what David did time and time again throughout the Psalms: pray that God would deliver us from the persecution and turn our attackers’ schemes back upon themselves. At the same time, we ought to pray with the same compassion for the unrighteous that Jesus did on the cross, asking God to forgive our attackers, for they know not what they do. Who knows? Should God choose to chastise our attackers for us, His chastisement might very well be the catalyst behind winning their souls to Christ.

Shop hundreds of Christian-themed products at our new store! A portion of each purchase goes to support the work of Today’s Quote From God. To visit the Today’s Quote From God Store, please click here.