37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them.
This is the kind of faith that most of us in the West don’t want, and yet millions of Jesus-followers around the world are facing this kind of experience even today. People who keep their faith, even when experiencing the worst kinds of persecutions, are worthy of another place, heaven. That is exactly what this verse says. This world does not deserve their presence; they are more comfortable as residents of God’s presence than human presence. That is because they keep their faith even in the face of death. They have learned to experience God’s presence in their everyday lives. They learned it long before they faced their times of persecutions. They learned to keep in touch with God’s presence in the moment by moment of life. They tuned in to God’s frequency as they went about their work, play and family life. And because they learned to hear the voice of God in those every day moments, when persecution and death came, they were able to hear His voice in the middle of all that chaos and confusion. His voice was the one thing that remained constant no matter what was going on around them. Because we are so comfortable here in the West, we do not normally experience this kind of desperation. I see this kind of desperation in my office daily. Relationship disasters like adultery, abuse or death can reach this core of our being. The ravages of war fought again and again in the mind. The intense pain and longing that these can bring can cause a person to dig deeply for answers, to cry out as they have never cried out before. It is right after those moments that God’s whisper is often heard. In the silence that follows the emptying God’s voice rings true. That is where we can be God’s voice, not trying to fix the situation, but offering real hope, the hope of a relationship that will last through eternity. Do you know someone who is on the path toward this kind of disaster? If you do, now is the time to move in closer, listening for God’s voice and timing. Remember, silence in necessary before they can hear the whisper of God.
The Arnold Journey 