daily IMPACT by selahV today

When Threatened By the World

It's time to be bold. Courageous. We need not fear. We're not alone.

Be it enemies, government, and those who ridicule Christians, we have Someone to turn to for help.  We have Someone who understands our angst, confusion, fear and frustration. We have Someone who knows the depth of our inadequacies to deal with what we see on the horizons for our children and grandchildren--One who sees our feelings of helplessness.

We have Someone who empathizes with our inability to change what we see happening-- the destruction, the manipulation, the injustice.  He knows we are weak and he knows we need Him.  He knows the threats are real and not imagined.  He knows we are not exaggerating the threats against our freedom, our faith, our liberty.  He knows.

All we need do is turn to Him and say:

"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." Acts 4:29

Just "consider" them, Lord-- the threats of the world or our adversaries. Then give us, "your servants", words to write, words to say and then the courage to say them with boldness.  Some are already following You and relying upon You.  Help us all to do likewise.

Need encouragement for a bolder spirit? So did I... it helped to read Acts 4 now...here at BibleHub.com.

Related articles

Beyond Comprehension: Persecution of Christians

I Know What I Believe, Do You? by hariette petersen

Revive Our Hearts Women's Ministry - Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

 

When Lions Roar and Life Seems Threatening

...we wonder what to do, or we cower in shadows--the thought of doing anything seems futile.  Our hearts stop.  We panic.  Then we feel the rush of fear, and hear the rapid beating of our hearts as they take off in response to an imaginary starter gun's blast.  We may feel paralyzed, and want to hide in our world of safety, behind the walls of difficulty and pressing problems. Even one step seems useless.  I know.  I've been there.  So have many of my fellow saints in the LORD.  Yet, Scripture gives us a promise:

"Be of good courage, and HE shall strengthen your heart, all ye who hope in the LORD." Psalm 31:24

"good" as opposed to "bad" courage-- courage based on self-reliance, self-aggrandizement. Our courage should be wrapped in, soaked in, and saturated with the blood of Christ. He is our defense and our shield and refuge. He stilled the mouthes of lions. He walked in the fire with His faithful. He calmed the raging seas and used them as "stepping stones"* to His frightened disciples. AND it is HE who "shall strengthen your heart" each and every person who places their "hope in the LORD"...not in self, not in others, not in whether this guy or that guy comes through for us...but if GOD wants it and wills it, then we have no fear. NONE.

As I thought about yesterday's failings and today's prospects, I felt saddened.  I wondered where my world was headed.  I wondered if all was as bad as I thought.  My troubled and discouraged mind would have me look at the impossibilities of life.  Then I saw a friend's message of a similar fear.  Then I saw another friend's message of even greater fears.  So when I searched for encouragement in the LORD...my eyes came to rest on the scripture above.  I thought about it awhile.  I hope you think upon it, too.  May God give you the hope and courage to face this day as He has given me.  selahV

*["stepping stones"--quote from Dr. Harold Hunter on how Jesus used the same water which frightened and threatened to kill His disciples, as "stepping stones" to walk toward them in the midst of raging waves.]*

Related articles

It Never Ceases To Amaze Me...

The First Greeting of the Day

When terror fills your heart

The bear cub rolled playfully in the sunshine of the mountain meadow.  Life was good.  In the distance a mountain lion lurked.  It licked its face in anticipation of breakfast; its jaws opened, wide.  A warning growl alerted the cub of the lion's presence.  The cub jumped up and ran frantically. The lion chased the frightened cub.  Across the boulder-strewn meadow, the cub raced to the edge of a cliff and onto a fallen tree stretched out over a roaring river.  Undeterred, the lion followed.  The terrified cub clung to the tip of the tree till his weight broke the end of the branch.  In the white rifts of water, the cub struggled to find solid ground.  When he did, the lion pounced to the cub's side.  The giant cat extended his claws and drew blood from the cub's nose.  The cub stood tall and began to roar.  The lion backed down and stopped slapping the cub.  Standing behind the roaring cub, a few yards away, a huge mother bear's roar joins her cub's wails.  The lion ran away.

We may relate well to that cub.  We do not live in a perfect world.  Troubles abound.  Threats are real.  Life roars and hearts race wildly with fear.  Circumstances so grip us, we run for exits, seek safety nets, or cower in corners.  Perhaps you've been there.  Maybe you are there now.  You feel helpless; but running is not an option.  There is no where to run.  What should you do?

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Joshua faced many fears in his lifetime.  He stood firm.  When he did, he found he was not alone.  Threats are nothing to God.  He stands behind us and joins us in our battles--wherever we go.  He commands us to be strong and courageous.  Of course we will have fears as a result of threats to our well-being.  But God tells us not to be terrified, and don't be discouraged.  God is with us.  In darkness, in storms, in unseen threats, and visible enemies.  Courage stands up like the cub in the face of his fear.  It stops running, it stands and roars in the strength of God protection and watchcare.  selahV

WHEN CONFRONTED

  There are times you are confronted by people who do not agree with you.  They may oppose your ideas, your faith, your views.  They may simply not like you because you stand steadfast to principles.  As a leader this can be disheartening.  At times this opposition threatens your job and your peace of mind.  Most often an adversary waits till you are most vulnerable.

"They confronted and came upon me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay and my support." Psalm 18:18

I have some gorgeous 6-foot Hollyhocks in my backyard.  Their pink, burgandy and magenta blossoms surround large thick stems.  Even though those stems are sturdy, they are subject to destruction in days of windy Oklahoma storms.  I stake the ground near them with old shovels, and fallen limbs to support them during the days of their "calamity".

To Christians, the Lord is our stay and support.  He holds us up in the midst of all the opposition we face.  He undergirds and is our sure foundation.  Nothing can harm us with God as our stay.  Our day of calamity will pass.  We will wake to new days of joy and peace.  And He sets our feet on solid ground as we walk in the ways of His righteousness.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

WHAT DOES NOT FADE

I didn't plant the Cosmos in the middle of the lawn.  Yet, there they are.  Before my husband mowed the lawn, I decided to dig up the little seedlings and transplant them in the flowerbeds.  It amazes me that even though I had prepared the beds that these seeds from last year weren't coming up in the beds, but were sprinkled here and there in densely growing bermuda grass. 

"The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely all the people are like grass.  The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." Isaiah 40:7,8.

Some things I just can't control.  I cannot control when the grass grows, when it withers.  I cannot control when the flower blooms or when it fades away.  I cannot even control which seed will burst forth from its shell and come to life.  All I can do is plant the seeds and leave the rest to God.

I can prepare the way in the wilderness by tilling the soil and taking out all the weeds, and uprooting all the grass to make way for plants to grow.  But even that will not ensure the fruit for which I hope.

"Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him?" Isaiah 40:13.

Only God can bring forth life from my toil.  Only He gives breath to my efforts.  Only His Word stands forever and all else is nothing in comparison to Him and His might.  Life is but a wisp in the wind--a seed carried from one place to another.  Jesus and He magnified will stand.  Jesus--the Word is all that matters.  Everything is "nothing" in comparison to our God.  He is the rewarder and the supplier.  We are but instruments in His hands.  May we yield to His will and "get up to the high mountain".  May we lift up our voice with strength, lift it up and not be afraid.  May we shout it, Behold Your God! (Isaiah 40:9)  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

NONE CAN DRIVE ME AWAY

There are times when folks do not want Christians in their midst. They cannot handle the Light in their darkness. Worse than that, there are times some Christians do not want fellow Christians in their midst. Their words are as arrows aimed at humiliating. They come with intentions to destroy rather than mend. To separate, rather than unite. They use sarcasm to ridicule because they do not want to meet face to face to spew their inflammatory thoughts and statements. They hide behind cloaks of anonymity.

When confronted with their baseless accusations, they treat others with condescending attitudes and pride-filled reproof. And I am reminded of the psalmists words:

“Transgression [like an oracle] speaks to the wicked deep in his heart.  There is no fear or dread of God before his eyes.” Psalm 36:1.

Indeed, this type of individual sees no wrong in himself.  His heart is calloused to the Spirit’s conviction of sin. “For he flatters and deceives himself in his own eyes that his iniquity will not be found out and be hated. The words of his mouth are wrong and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. He plans wrongdoing on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject or despise evil.” Ps. 36:2.

We should avoid this kind of person at all costs. We should ignore them when we pass them along our pathways. We should not speak to them or address their complaints or accusations, lest we fall prey to their folly and join them in their iniquity. And more importantly than any other reason to ignore and avoid them, is that any participation with them by seeking to communicate would be futile. And it would bring grief to our Lord and the Holy Spirit within us. We cannot let our pride trip us up and tempt us to retaliate in kind. Although, Jesus is in us and we are in Jesus, we are not Jesus. Yet, we must take heed by remembering that though He was reviled, spat upon, beaten and humiliated, He spoke not a word. This was not weakness or cowering or shrinking from His enemies–this was strength. Jesus never wavered. He stood fast in the midst of His accusers and endured. He did not run from the guards, nor did He call down a legion of angels. Nor should we.

“Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the workers of iniquity fall and lie prostrate; they are thrust down and shall not be able to rise.” Ps. 36:11, 12.

“O continue Your loving-kindness to those who know You, Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.” Ps. 36:10.

Our God is our defender. Our God is our refuge. In Him there is no hiding, only safety and power to overcome those who seek to belittle and count us insignificant in the world. We have no fear of any. I have no fear of any. None can drive me away. selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]

REPROACH IS NOT ON ME

Ever had someone treat you unfairly?  Ever feel as though you’ve been rendered an unjust judgment?  I have.  There have been times I have defended myself and argued my case.  And I’ve felt defeated for my efforts.  Other times I have left my circumstances to the Lord and let His will be done.  These times have been the most satisfying.  I’ve actually watched God bring about good many years later in my life for something which I surrendered to Him.  My justification is not of this world.

The reproach of man–no matter what it brings upon me–is not my concern.

”For Christ did not please Himself [gave no thought to His own interests]; but, as it is written, The reproaches and abuses of those who reproached you fell on Me.” Romans 15:3

Everything that could possibly harm me, Jesus bore on Calvary.  I do not need to battle and wage war against someone who tries to do me harm.  If I am cheated, Jesus is cheated.  If I am abused, Jesus is abused.    I do not own myself.  I am Christ’s.  And He not only takes on my reproaches, but He rectifies and levels the playing field in His way, in His time.  So I can rest in Him when the world offers turmoil, trials and tribulations.
The times in which I am tempted to stand up for my rights, I am reminded I have no rights–they belong to my Lord.  He will defend them if need be.  I do not need to seek retribution, He will avenge me if needed.  And if not, I am at peace that He will keep me in whatever situation that befalls me.  My God is that big.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]