Life's not fair, right? How many times did I hear that growing up! 

Yet we want it to be. Sometimes we just want it fair for us, maybe for our friends when we're feeling generous, and fair for everybody when we're at our best. Because that's the life Jesus calls us to. To bring the good news to the poor and the outcast. To have something hopeful to share with the people who need to hear it the most. I think that we often remember that "gospel" means "good news" but we forget that "good news" isn't just a synonym for or the literal translation of "gospel," that it means reporting something real and holy and tangibly good for those people needing to hold on to something. It's a hot meal and conversation for the lonely widow who doesn't have the mobility to cook for herself. It's the pro bono lawyer helping you navigate immigration law in your new home after fleeing a war-torn country. It's the church that creates a space for prisoners and their families to worship each week. 

Jesus calls us to make life more fair, especially for those whom are struggling. Unfortunately, this can come at a high cost. Stephen was stoned to death for it. Jesus tells his followers in Matthew 10 that the people in power aren't going to like this, that they will drag you through whatever political process they can to bring you down. 

So what do you do? Jesus says not to worry, because you will be given the words to say as you are persecuted. Jesus warns that people will hurt one another in the worst ways possible, but that enduring is worth it, that the Spirit – the Spirit of God – will save you.  

Now, I can think of many, many counterexamples: times where I put my foot in my mouth, said the wrong thing, only thought of something clever hours or days later, or embarrassed myself to the point where thinking about it years after still made me cringe. So it doesn't feel like we always have the right words in our back pocket. But when it does happen, when we open ourselves to the Spirit, even in the midst of difficulty, and we say or do the right thing, it is a powerful experience.  

An example that comes to mind right now isn't one of persecution, but one of possible danger. When I was probably 12 years old, in the middle of the night, our doorbell started ringing loudly. Someone was at the front door, repeatedly hitting it hard. I awoke with a start, rushed down the stairs to the front door. At this point you would expect me to panic or wake up enough to think rationally and not open the door. Yet, I had an immediate sense that I should open the door, that it would be okay. That it was what I needed to do. I felt completely calm and opened the door. And my 8-year-old brother was at the door. He had slept-walked home from his friend's sleepover and needed let in. I was given the gift of what to do and say in that situation. 

The stronger your relationship with God is, the more scripture you are familiar with, the more open you are to the movement of the Spirit, the easier it is to hear the Word of God put upon your lips. I like to call it "being in the zone" with God. Like athletes train to reach a state where they are hyper-aware and hyper-focused without being cognitively controlling – in a flow state – we can train to have that same level of existence with God, so that when the challenges come, we will receive the message God is sending us.