So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Acts 5:41

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12

Jesus said “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.” He told us that we are to, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad” when persecuted. And that is exactly what the believers did when they were commanded not to speak in Jesus name and were beaten to reinforce that command.

Only those who are thoroughly convinced of the truth of the gospel, deeply committed to the person of Christ, and supernaturally filled with the Holy Spirit of God, have any hope of “rejoicing and being exceedingly glad” to be persecuted. Only such people would actually consider themselves blessed to be “counted worthy to suffer for His name.”

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who suffer for His name.
And let us pray that we too are thoroughly convinced of the truth of the gospel, deeply committed to the person of Christ, and supernaturally filled with the Holy Spirit of God.