"Courage is fear that has said its prayers."
Those words were said to me by a friend in a conversation a little over 10 years ago. Something about these words resonated with me.
My friend wasn't saying that the fear had to go away for courage to exist. Rather, they were saying that courage can exist right alongside fear.
What it all comes down to, is how we handle the fear.
Are we going to allow fear to hold us back from doing something?
Or are we going to do it anyways - even if we still have fear?
I'm not talking about fear that keeps us safe, or keeps us from doing something stupid. That's a healthy and needed fear. The fear I'm talking about is the fear that often keeps us from doing what God is asking us to do. The fear that keeps us from stepping into an opportunity God is providing for us.
The kind of feat holds us back from what God has in store for us. It causes us to miss out on what God may be wanting to do in and through us.
This is what we sometimes have to choose to do something despite the fear. When we choose courage, and in the process, allow God to be shown in and through us.
We only develop this kind of courage when we've taken the time to develop our relationship with God. When we know Him well enough that we can admit our fear about what He's asking of us and declare our trust in Him for the outcome, even in the midst of fear.
"Courage is fear that has said its prayers."
Where do you need courage today?
How if fear holding you back?
Have you talked to God about it?
Will you choose to trust God and move forward anyways?
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The Victory is Already Ours
If we already have victory, why are we so often living in defeat?
If we already have victory, why does it seem so hard to live that way?
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you, is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
The use of the word "them" when it talks about overcoming has always seemed a bit strange to me. But, when I was reading this verse in the larger context recently, it made more sense to me.
We often use this verse when we talk about being able to defeat Satan in our lives. And that is true and powerful. But, I think this verse paints a broader picture too. In 1 John 4:1-6, John is talking about antichrists who have come to deceive people. They are trying to get us off course.
1 John 4:4 is then talking about the power we have in the spiritual world over all of Satan's forces. It's not just about the ultimate defeat of Satan, but also about the day-to-day defeat of evil spirits who attach us with their deceptions and lies.
So, if this is true, then why do we so often live in defeat?
Why aren't we living in the victory that this passage and so many others say we can?
I think John goes on to answer this in 1 John 5:5 where he says:
"Who is it that overcomes to world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
It all comes down to what we believe. Not what we say we believe, but what we actually believe. It's our actions that reveal this.
Far too often we're actually believing the lies of the enemy and his demons over the truth from God. Oh, we might say we believe God and we can probably recite truth from our heads, but we don't really believe it. Our actions reveal what we're truely believing. They show where we're believing lies.
We act on what we truely believe. In fact, that's what belief truely is - putting your life on it, living it out. We can way whatever we want about what we believe, but our actions will show what we're actually believing.
What are you believing? What do your actions say you believe?
Are you willing to let God point out to you the lies you believe, so He can show you the truth? Are you willing to ask Him to help you to live out the truth instead of the lies you've been believing?
It has to translate into our actions and how we live for it to actually be changed. We need to be willing to act on what we say we believe if it's actually going to make a difference and live in the victory Scripture tells us we can have.
If we already have victory, why does it seem so hard to live that way?
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you, is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
The use of the word "them" when it talks about overcoming has always seemed a bit strange to me. But, when I was reading this verse in the larger context recently, it made more sense to me.
We often use this verse when we talk about being able to defeat Satan in our lives. And that is true and powerful. But, I think this verse paints a broader picture too. In 1 John 4:1-6, John is talking about antichrists who have come to deceive people. They are trying to get us off course.
1 John 4:4 is then talking about the power we have in the spiritual world over all of Satan's forces. It's not just about the ultimate defeat of Satan, but also about the day-to-day defeat of evil spirits who attach us with their deceptions and lies.
So, if this is true, then why do we so often live in defeat?
Why aren't we living in the victory that this passage and so many others say we can?
I think John goes on to answer this in 1 John 5:5 where he says:
"Who is it that overcomes to world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
It all comes down to what we believe. Not what we say we believe, but what we actually believe. It's our actions that reveal this.
Far too often we're actually believing the lies of the enemy and his demons over the truth from God. Oh, we might say we believe God and we can probably recite truth from our heads, but we don't really believe it. Our actions reveal what we're truely believing. They show where we're believing lies.
We act on what we truely believe. In fact, that's what belief truely is - putting your life on it, living it out. We can way whatever we want about what we believe, but our actions will show what we're actually believing.
What are you believing? What do your actions say you believe?
Are you willing to let God point out to you the lies you believe, so He can show you the truth? Are you willing to ask Him to help you to live out the truth instead of the lies you've been believing?
It has to translate into our actions and how we live for it to actually be changed. We need to be willing to act on what we say we believe if it's actually going to make a difference and live in the victory Scripture tells us we can have.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Done With Pretending
I was looking back over some of my posts here, and was reminded again of the importance of being who we are with people, of not pretending we have it all together, as I reread a post I wrote in April 2016.
As I read it, I realized that the idea of being done with pretending to be perfect is one of the reasons I've written some of the posts I've written in the last few months. When we live trying to hide things, it's tiring. We live with the "fear of being found out." It's exhausting to live with that.
When we learn to be honest about our struggles and our joys, it changes everything for us. I don't think we need to lay out all of the detail for every person we know or meet. But, we need to have people we're being completely honest with. That frees us from trying to be perfect for everyone we meet. We have people who know and still love us, so we can be free from the concern of trying to tell the whole world we have it all together.
I think the post I wrote that prompted these thoughts is worth posting again, so here it is:
Rain cascaded off the edge of the umbrella forming a stream around her as it soaked the ground. She stood un-moving as she debated stepping out from under the protection. Knowing she would be drenched the moment she did so, she wondered if it was worth it to step out.
Memories of the joy of running and playing in the rain as a little child filled her mind. The times she was unafraid to get a little messy and experience the joy of not worrying what she looked like to others.
When had she become do concerned with looking right to others? With people seeing her as someone who had it all together?
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how tired she was from the work it required. Hiding anything that might be even the slightest bit messy from the world around her took a lot of work. She always had to be paying careful attention, making sure there was no crack for what was underneath to show through for even a brief moment.
Who was she really trying to impress? Was it really worth the energy and the time?
She collapsed the umbrella and let the rain our down on her. Eventually she began to walk, then run, then dance. Laughter echoing with the raindrops hitting the ground.
She'd forgotten the freedom of it until now. Worries about looking right and impressing others vanished from her mind. Cares that had been holding her back released their hold. For those moments she was free to be who she was underneath the masks she usually wore.
I wonder if we're more like this than we really want to admit. Even as I wrote it, I realized how often that struggle is mine.
But, I also know there is freedom that comes with dropping the masks and letting what's underneath be seen. There's freedom in stepping into God's cleansing rain in our lives. In letting it wash away our perfectly manicured and presented selves, to show the broken and the mess we've hidden behind it.
Because when we allow God to wash away the facade we've put up, He can reveal a masterpiece that He has built behind. Out of the broken and the mess of our lives God creates something far more beautiful than our pretend perfection ever was.
Will you step out from under the umbrella? Will you allow the rain to wash away your pretend perfection to reveal God's beautiful work?
As I read it, I realized that the idea of being done with pretending to be perfect is one of the reasons I've written some of the posts I've written in the last few months. When we live trying to hide things, it's tiring. We live with the "fear of being found out." It's exhausting to live with that.
When we learn to be honest about our struggles and our joys, it changes everything for us. I don't think we need to lay out all of the detail for every person we know or meet. But, we need to have people we're being completely honest with. That frees us from trying to be perfect for everyone we meet. We have people who know and still love us, so we can be free from the concern of trying to tell the whole world we have it all together.
I think the post I wrote that prompted these thoughts is worth posting again, so here it is:
Rain cascaded off the edge of the umbrella forming a stream around her as it soaked the ground. She stood un-moving as she debated stepping out from under the protection. Knowing she would be drenched the moment she did so, she wondered if it was worth it to step out.
Memories of the joy of running and playing in the rain as a little child filled her mind. The times she was unafraid to get a little messy and experience the joy of not worrying what she looked like to others.
When had she become do concerned with looking right to others? With people seeing her as someone who had it all together?
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how tired she was from the work it required. Hiding anything that might be even the slightest bit messy from the world around her took a lot of work. She always had to be paying careful attention, making sure there was no crack for what was underneath to show through for even a brief moment.
Who was she really trying to impress? Was it really worth the energy and the time?
She collapsed the umbrella and let the rain our down on her. Eventually she began to walk, then run, then dance. Laughter echoing with the raindrops hitting the ground.
She'd forgotten the freedom of it until now. Worries about looking right and impressing others vanished from her mind. Cares that had been holding her back released their hold. For those moments she was free to be who she was underneath the masks she usually wore.
I wonder if we're more like this than we really want to admit. Even as I wrote it, I realized how often that struggle is mine.
But, I also know there is freedom that comes with dropping the masks and letting what's underneath be seen. There's freedom in stepping into God's cleansing rain in our lives. In letting it wash away our perfectly manicured and presented selves, to show the broken and the mess we've hidden behind it.
Because when we allow God to wash away the facade we've put up, He can reveal a masterpiece that He has built behind. Out of the broken and the mess of our lives God creates something far more beautiful than our pretend perfection ever was.
Will you step out from under the umbrella? Will you allow the rain to wash away your pretend perfection to reveal God's beautiful work?
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
The Name of Jesus
In our society today the Name of Jesus has become offensive to many. It's tempting to stop using it and look for less offensive names to use, because we don't want to offend people. But, avoiding the Name of Jesus is dangerous for us as Christians. When we shy away from the very Name that has been our identity for close to 2,000 years, we choose to give up the power and authority we've been given.
Jesus told us to expect this to happen. In John 15:18-25, He tells us that the world will hate us because it hated Him first, and we are claiming His Name as Christians. John 15:21 says, "They will treat you this way because of My Name, for they do not know the One who sent Me." Jesus was preparing His followers for how they would be treated in the days to come.
The early church experienced persecution because of the Name of Jesus. They knew the reality of Jesus' words of warning. The book of Acts records many examples of the persecution they faced because of the Name of Jesus.
But, they also knew that was where all their power and authority came from. They didn't allow the persecution to stop them from calling on the Name of Jesus or acting in the Name of Jesus. Even when it cost them, they continued to claim the Name of Jesus.
Church history is filled with examples of people who continued to claim the Name of Jesus, even at great personal cost. One needs only to read some of the accounts of the martyrs of our faith to see that in action.
So, why are we choosing to stop using the Name of Jesus out of fear of offending people? Why are we shying away from it, when the cost is not yet (for us in the West) as high as it has been for people in our history?
I think for many of us, it's been pretty easy to claim the Name of Jesus in our society, until recently. Whether people agreed with our beliefs or not, they were generally respectful of ours and left us alone. But, that is changing. People now find the Name of Jesus to be offensive and we're not used to that, so we don't know how to respond.
Our response cannot be to stop using the Name of Jesus. Jesus warned us to expect this to come. Even if it becomes costly to claim the Name of Jesus, we must continue to do so, because that is where our power and authority comes from. We call on the Name of Jesus and we do all that we do in the Name of Jesus.
I'm not saying we should go out and look for how we can offend people with the Name of Jesus. That defeats the message of the gospel. But, our love for people and desire for them to understand the truth must be stronger than our fear of offending people with the Name of Jesus.
The Name of Jesus is offensive to some because of the power and authority it has - something they know deep inside because of the image of God in them. The Name of Jesus should never be offensive because of our words or actions.
The good news for us is that we don't have to live this way in our own strength. We have the Holy Spirit in us to help us live this way. The Holy Spirit in us empowers us to live our lives in the Name of Jesus.
Jesus told us to expect this to happen. In John 15:18-25, He tells us that the world will hate us because it hated Him first, and we are claiming His Name as Christians. John 15:21 says, "They will treat you this way because of My Name, for they do not know the One who sent Me." Jesus was preparing His followers for how they would be treated in the days to come.
The early church experienced persecution because of the Name of Jesus. They knew the reality of Jesus' words of warning. The book of Acts records many examples of the persecution they faced because of the Name of Jesus.
But, they also knew that was where all their power and authority came from. They didn't allow the persecution to stop them from calling on the Name of Jesus or acting in the Name of Jesus. Even when it cost them, they continued to claim the Name of Jesus.
Church history is filled with examples of people who continued to claim the Name of Jesus, even at great personal cost. One needs only to read some of the accounts of the martyrs of our faith to see that in action.
So, why are we choosing to stop using the Name of Jesus out of fear of offending people? Why are we shying away from it, when the cost is not yet (for us in the West) as high as it has been for people in our history?
I think for many of us, it's been pretty easy to claim the Name of Jesus in our society, until recently. Whether people agreed with our beliefs or not, they were generally respectful of ours and left us alone. But, that is changing. People now find the Name of Jesus to be offensive and we're not used to that, so we don't know how to respond.
Our response cannot be to stop using the Name of Jesus. Jesus warned us to expect this to come. Even if it becomes costly to claim the Name of Jesus, we must continue to do so, because that is where our power and authority comes from. We call on the Name of Jesus and we do all that we do in the Name of Jesus.
I'm not saying we should go out and look for how we can offend people with the Name of Jesus. That defeats the message of the gospel. But, our love for people and desire for them to understand the truth must be stronger than our fear of offending people with the Name of Jesus.
The Name of Jesus is offensive to some because of the power and authority it has - something they know deep inside because of the image of God in them. The Name of Jesus should never be offensive because of our words or actions.
The good news for us is that we don't have to live this way in our own strength. We have the Holy Spirit in us to help us live this way. The Holy Spirit in us empowers us to live our lives in the Name of Jesus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)