Continue with the Lord (Proverbs 23:17-18)

Out of all the things that we should be envious of, the life of the sinner should not be one of them. David, in his Psalms, often commented on how they would always seem to prosper but he would always end the psalm with acknowledgement of how the Lord looks after His children.

"Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all the day long." Proverbs 23:17, Amplified

To envy the sinner is to take a detour from our worship of the Lord. We are instructed to continue in the fear of the Lord, in other words that mindset should never cease in our lives. It is like having a GPS in the car. There is no need for the driver to turn of the path, he only needs to continue on the path set by the device. The Lord is our GPS and there is no need to turn from the path the He has set for us.

"For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward]; and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off." Proverbs 23:18, Amplified

There is a finish line, a goal, for the Christian. As we continue in our reverence and worship of the Lord, we get closer to that goal. The funny thing about that finish line, though, is that even if we discontinue with the Lord we still come closer to the finish line. It's position in our lives does not change. What does and can change in the trophy received at the end of our journey.

Finale

Thus we come to the end of the Beatitudes. Jesus has just taken us on a journey of the heart. He took us to a place of righteousness, a place of right standing with Him. How amazing is our Lord when we do have to fear disappointing Him because we do not know how to please Him. He gives us a road map through the Beatitudes and continues on throughout the rest of the Bible. Even in the Old Testament we are faced with examples of how to please our God.

Getting back to the subject at hand, the Lord ends the Beatitudes with a simple statement. It is a statement of fact, not possibility:

"Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake." Matthew 5:11 NKJV

It is a promise that we will get persecuted for our belief in Him. If we are not suffering for his name sake right now in our walk, then we must question the fact are we truly following Him? I am not talking about death our imprisonment, the suffering that I speak of is on a lower level. Are there those at work who talk about you because of your faith? Does your boss or friends threat you differently because of your faith. This is far from persecution, however, it does take us one step closer to that point of tolerance. If we cannot handle the discomfort of our daily lives how will we stand in that day against the forces of darkness for our King? If we cannot make a stand with those around us whom we know and have built a relationship with, how then can we say that we will stand against the devil? The truth is that persecution is coming, it will be coming very fast and swift. Plant your feet on the Rock, make Him your foundation.

But there is another promise:

"Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:12 NKJV

Who are we to think that we are above the patriarchs of our faith? No one of us have been through the trials of Job, no one of us has seen the persecutions of Daniel, no one of us have had a mission field that bore no fruit like Jeremiah. No one of us.

Continue to pray for the strength to stand in that day. Pray for the opportunity that your life might shine forth Jesus. Pray that you demeanor is so that no one can bring any ill repute against you save your faith in the Lord. Because of that life of faith, we have a reward in heaven. Our Lord promises us rest in Him, when that time comes. The Lord has equipped us with the knowledge. We will be persecuted, we will reap reward, we will live eternally.