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Does the world seem crazy?
Have your values and views as a Christian caused you to lose friends?
Have you been hesitant to speak the truth to others because of the possibility of rejection or persecution?
If anyone is willing to bravely declare, all the above I am right there with you. You are my people. It’s important we recognize the pressures the world places on us to comply with their narrative or else suffer the consequences. I don’t know about you, but my flesh tends to be suffering adverse, I am not likely to walk into persecution for the fun of it, or make my children targets of hate as a bonding exercise. My flesh is weak.
If you have ever sat through a worship service with me you know I stand, you might even have heard me say I have to stand or I feel like my butt is on fire. This isn’t an exaggeration it truly feels like it is on fire.
I spent years attending another church where I didn’t stand, I sat there with everyone else feeling every muscle in my body twitch. I was willing to suffer to fit in, even when I started attending my current church, I didn’t stand at first for worship. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, I didn’t want to be the weird lady in the front when 99.9% of the rest of the congregation was sitting. I wanted to belong, I wanted to fit in, blend in and not stand out. I WANTED.
But what did God want?
Why do I stand to worship? Because I stopped fighting the will of God on that issue in my life.
I gave up the battle of I WANT, and ignored the self-serving voices that churned in my head that told me I was going to be the weird lady and that people were going to think differently of me. I just did what I felt called to do. Even this small issue was a legitimate struggle for me to overcome and although I don’t want to stand out, to be different I also have accepted that people can and will judge that is on them, I want to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
I share this story because we live in a world that judges harshly, especially if your beliefs go against the mainstream narratives. Standing up to speak or worship in church surrounded by fellow Christians is far less adversity than combatting the “live your truth” and “just do what feels good” slant of society.
Here is the truth, you either stand on the Word of God or you stand on the Word of man. Each of us gets to choose our worldview. That worldview is the foundation for your life, the lens from which you make decisions. A Biblical worldview isn’t popular but that very book that shapes our worldview tells us to expect persecution, scratch that welcome persecution.
- Lot wasn’t popular
- Daniel was thrown into a pit of hungry lions
- John the Baptist lost his head
I could go on and on…
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you
Matthew 5:10-12 NIV
In a world that flaunts sin, and glorifies immorality, stand strong. A Biblical worldview doesn’t need an NC17 disclaimer, it is the WORD of GOD. It might be unpopular as it was in every city thought human history on one level or another, but it is still the Word of God.
It’s unchanging, reliable, and true. The Word of God is the bedrock of our faith, and we can and should confidently proclaim the truth even when it’s unpopular. Even when we lose friends, are persecuted, and are rejected.
Trust the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in your life, trust that when you do not have the words He does. Life is not a popularity contest, it’s a spiritual battle against principalities of darkness and I want to save souls.
I do not want to shy away from a difficult conversation to preserve myself when I can boldly proclaim the saving power of the Word of God!
Do you?
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach, he got on a boat and headed in the opposite direction, willfully disobeying God. On that boat, during Jonah’s willful disobedience countless sailors came to know God. God can and will still powerfully move even when we are not on the course, but we can skip the consequences which in Jonah’s case was 3 days and nights in a gigantic fish if we bend our will and follow the will of God.
What is the Lord putting on your heart?
What is your Nineveh?
Who needs to hear your testimony?
Who needs your prayers?
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28: 19-20
What is the tiny battle your flesh clings to, the equivalent of my standing to worship that keeps you from moving powerfully for Jesus?
Ask the Holy Spirit right now, to illuminate that one issue and then push your weak flesh out of the way and serve your King because He is always with you.