Let’s face it, discrimination is alive and well on the planet earth.  However we often think it will never happen to us as children of God.  It’s easy to assume that acceptance is a given when we stay prayed up and read our Bibles but it’s just the opposite.  The Bible tells us that we are sent as sheep among wolves and this world is not our home.  We are only visiting here while our permanent home is being specially prepared by Christ Himself.  What do we do with the feelings of rejection and the genuine emotional pain of discrimination?

Jesus said He will never leave nor forsake us so we are always a team and never alone.  Placing focus on Him and how to pray for the ones who treat us wrong is always the right thing to do.  Praying for others facing the same hurts as we are help to place our hearts along with them to create a spiritual team.  We may not know these people or will ever meet them but we know for a fact that others are going through the exact same things as us.

Some examples of where to place our focus are as follows:  There is an odd number of children and half the children will play on one sports team and the other half on the opposing team.  When all people are picked except us they choose to close the teams because each team has the exact same number.  There we stand wondering what to do.  Each team captain argues with the other saying they don’t want us.  To make matters worse we get a bad mark on our report card saying we do not get along with others and our parents will not come to defend us.  Wow, that’s a hard one and it leaves emotional pain that lasts a lifetime.  One thing to remember is that there are other children who do not have the privilege of a school.  Placing our focus on the ones who do not have a school to attend is a way to bring God into the situation and He will ultimately take care of us.

What about Christians who are misunderstood, laughed at and run over by large corporations or heads of countries.  How do we keep going when the going is very tough and we feel so all alone?  One thing to remember is that the apostles and Jesus faced far more than many of us.  While we are being overlooked here many of our Jewish brothers and sisters are avoiding missiles in other countries.

Sometimes our name gets overlooked at an appointment.  Somehow our page got turned over and the person checking in patients thinks we have long been called.  When we approach them saying we were forgotten we get a load of lame excuses and a retort saying we were not forgotten.  It’s very obvious some of the excuses handed to us are things made up.  It’s hard not to get irate over the lies on top of being overlooked but it’s an exercise in self control on our part.  It’s also an opportunity to ponder the numerous veterans who do not get treatment at all.

The list is long of acts of discrimination but the list is twice as long of the acts of kindness shown to us by God that we can pass on to others.  One thing to remember which may be harsh, is that the devil has to get permission each time from God to throw obstacles our way.  God is not to blame but it gives us reason to acknowledge Him in all things and allow Him to work in our lives.  There is no situation that is too hard for God and in all situations He will shine His light for us to see.  As He grows us, He will also tend to all things that pertain to us.

1 John 3:1 New International Version (NIV)

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.