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Who says you need to have a persecution complex?

=)

I'm kidding.

It's a great question because we, people living in the US and some other countries, live in religious freedom, where we do not face persecution for our beliefs. (This leads to other problems, just as people of Israel lived among people of other cultures and religions. They ended up merging their beliefs with that of other religions, just as many "Christians" in the US and other countries are doing).

Let's start with your verse. You have the correct understanding of Romans 8:31. As believers of Christ, we have nothing to worry about-ever!

Now, what about persecution? Well, as children of God, we will face troubles (see Psalms 34:19, John 16:33, Mark 10:30, and Luke 21:12). God may allow some challenges in our lives to grow our faith (to see examples, read the stories of Abraham, Moses, David, and many others listed in Hebrews 11). One of those challenges may actually be "persecutions" because of our faith (yikes! Perhaps, it may not be as evident today, but can it happen in the future? It's possible). The question through all that is, do you believe in God even in hard circumstances?

Abraham could have turned back on God and say, "I'm going back to my comfortable wealth," or Moses could have said, "Let's go back to Egypt where there was some certainty!" Yet, the reason why they persisted is that they believed in God. (Technically, their faith in God was small at first, but they grew in their faith along the way).

So, this is the same question for all Christians, including you and me. As Christians experience increasingly more significant "troubles," will they continue to believe in God? Then, when they are persecuted, families are taken away, and everything goes wrong, will they still believe in God? (Take a look at the book of Job for a more prominent example of this).

Throughout the Bible, that same question is asked repeatedly, will you still believe in God? Luke 18:8 comes to mind—look it up.

So to answer your question, God said to look forward to the persecutions and other troubles ahead, but we don't need to worry as you said.

Try to frame this to your life's circumstances today. What are some challenges you experience today? Then, ask yourself, despite ______________ (all your experiences today), do you believe that God is good and is for you? What if you face persecution in the future, where the government and even people you trusted are after your life? Would you still believe that God is for you and there is nothing about which you need to worry? That firm faith is what God is looking for from you.

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