(Rom. 1:16)
If you are not ashamed of the gospel, God will vindicate you. If you will take a stand for what is right, for what the Lord has told you to do, and obey His voice, your day of vindication will come. To vindicate means "to clear of suspicion, accusation, or doubt."
There are situations where people have done wrong. I'm not speaking about failure or shortcomings. I am speaking about persecution against Christians simply because they believe the truth about Jesus Christ.
There are many Bible examples of people being persecuted. Joseph, for example, was sold into slavery by his brothers because of their jealousy of him. Joseph was purchased by Potiphar and his wife later slandered him, which resulted in his imprisonment, even though he was innocent of the charges.
That's not the end of the story. Even while Joseph was in prison, Scripture says, "The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper" (Gen. 39:23).
The story does not end here either. God had given Joseph the ability to interpret dreams. When no one else in the land was able to interpret Pharaoh's dream, Joseph was called upon. He told Pharaoh the meaning of a dream and was catapulted from a lowly prisoner to the second in command of Egypt. "And Pharaoh said to Joseph 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt'" (Gen. 41:41).
What God did for Joseph, He will do for you as well. God doesn't have any favorites. If you will trust the Lord and obey His commands, regardless of persecution and opposition you experience, you will be vindicated.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Billy Joe Daugherty was founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was also the founder of Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute and Victory World Missions Training Center.
