"What are you? Some kind of Bible-thumping Jesus freak?" Mckenzie laughed and scoffed. Kelsey sighed and just kept walking, thoughts on her next class. She tried her best to ignore the taunts that came her way, but there were times that they got under her skin and she just wanted to disappear. "Aren't you going to say something? Or are you being 'Christ-like' with the whole 'silent like a lamb before slaughter' crap?" Mckenzie went on. "You're no better than anyone else, so stop pretending."
"But I wasn't-"
"You think you're so high and mighty just because you believe in God! Well guess what? Only idiots believe in God. You're just being ignorant and ignoring all the evidence that proves God doesn't exist." Mckenzie spat. Kelsey stopped. "Why even believe in God? What, does it make you feel better knowing that the only person that would ever be your friend is Jesus and His weak followers because He told them to? God, you're such a loser!" Kelsey's jaw dropped, her throat tightening. She forced her feet to keep moving and to hurry faster, wanting to escape the situation as quick as she could. God has to be real! She thought. So what if I haven't looked at the evidence? It's all probably lies anyways!
As the day went on, Kelsey couldn't shake the horrible memory. Does it make you feel better knowing the only person that would be your friend is Jesus? Why even believe in God? You're just ignoring the evidence that proves God doesn't exist. Kelsey sat against her bed room wall, heart aching with the thoughts. What if she's right? She wondered. Vision becoming blurry with tears, she weeped. Why don't I just give up? This has been going on for weeks now! I'm so tired of it! What is it even worth? She thought about what life would be like if she did give up on faith. She imagined herself cursing and laughing at others, gossiping and slandering. It wasn't a pretty picture. But then, she wondered how it would feel to be without God. She wouldn't have anyone to go to and plead for the best to. She wouldn't have anyone to comfort her when she needed Him. She would have to totally forget Him. But how could she when she couldn't go a day without thinking about Him? I won't give up, she decided. He never gave up on me, so I'll never give up on Him!
I'm going to leave this open for the Spirit to speak to each of you individually through this. There's a lot you can take from it.
Message to the guest reviewer who requested this lesson:
Hello there! I was so moved by your request and there's so much I'd like to tell you about this topic. I haven't experienced much with being persecuted, myself, but there have been times when I've been made fun of for it or judged for being Christian. I'm hear to pray for you and I'm also hear to give you some good news. Whenever persecution arises, don't take it as a bad thing or a sign that you're doing something wrong because it is the exact opposite. When persecution arises, it is the devil fighting back with all he's got because you've moved on the offensive. Don't ever give up the fight. The devil is going to throw all he's got at you, but you hold strong and show him he can't touch you because you have God on your side. I've dealt with a lot more doubt than I have with persecution, but one thing that keeps me going is knowing that perseverance produces great fruit and that God never gave up on me. I hope this has helped you in some way and I'd love if you could get back to me and update me if the situation changes. For now, you're in my prayers. God bless!
Disclaimer: I don't mean to stereotype or slander unbelievers by Mckenzie's behavior. It was only for the purpose of the story and unbelievers can be very kind as well!
