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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Learning To Take a Step of Faith in Spite of My Fear

In review of Acts 4:29, it says, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (GNT).

Today’s verse is Acts 4:29, in it the disciples are praying and ask the Lord, to take note of their threats and to help enable them to speak the word with complete confidence.

What I’m learning is that boldness is not the same as reckless impulsiveness. Boldness requires me to have the courage to press on through my fears and to do what I know is right. To be more bold, I can follow the example of the disciples, I can (1) pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to give me courage, (2) look for opportunities in my family and neighborhood to talk about Christ, (3) realize that rejection, social discomfort, and embarrassment are not necessarily persecution, and (4) start where I am by being bolder in smaller ways

Everyone has fears. Too often, though, we let them rule over our lives and stop us from taking a stand for what we know God wants us to do.

Like Daniel in the lion’s den, I face people and situations that threaten to destroy me and my witness for Christ. But the choice is mine. Will I succumb to my fears, or will I stand up for God in spite of those fears?

If I want to overcome fears that drag me down, I need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. Most importantly, I need to see that doing what God wants me to do is a clear victory over the fear in my life.

Because fear grows. Every time I give in to fear, it becomes more intense.

Fear grows every time I refuse to do what God wants me to do. Eventually, I’ll feel cornered.

So what do I do? Follow the lead of early Christians. I’m certainly not the first generation of Christ followers to face fear. Early believers faced all kinds of persecution. The book of Acts shows me a bit about how they stood up to this fear. As Peter and John proclaimed Jesus boldly in Acts 4, they came up against fierce opposition.

So they prayed, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness” (Acts 4:29 GNT).

The answer to my fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly in spite of it. I stand up to the fear. Fear doesn’t respond to logic, so my only chance to get rid of the fear is to trust God and face it.

Never forget: God won’t part the water in front of me until I take my first step (reference how God did this for Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:8). I take a step of faith, and then God shows me the path. That won’t happen if I stand wrapped up in my fear. I should take a step in faith today, and watch my fear crumble in the process as God guides my steps.

In summary pray for confidence and move forward with boldness. Boldness requires me to have courage to press on through my fears and to do what I know is  right. Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit, look for opportunities, realize that rejection, social discomfort, and embarrassment are not persecution. Start where I am by being bolder in smaller ways. Understand the benefits of choosing to stand up for what God wants. See that doing what he wants me to do is a clear victory over the fear in my life. Fear become more intense every time I give into it. The answer to my fear isn't to give in to it. It's to move forward boldly in spite of it. Also I need to take the first step, as God won't part the water until I take it. When I do, he will show me the path. 

Fear is something I face all the time. I keep holding back, waiting for the right conditions. I need to take small bold steps each day to push beyond fear. You have promised if I do, you will show me the next step. With this, I pray this morning for me be bold when I face any kind of fear today. I ask for your wisdom and guidance in my work, my leadership and my interaction with others. I pray this in your Son Jesus name, amen.

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