I was recently involved in a discussion on a topic I feel really strongly about. While the majority of those involved in the discussion felt one way, my convictions were leading me in another direction.
But I never spoke up.
And I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to speak up, but I suppressed it and beat myself up about it after the discussion was over.
Why?
Because they may look at me crazy for saying how I felt. I didn’t feel like the extra attention.
Before this incident, I and a group of other young people were supposed to have prayer for the violence that is occurring in Philly. However, my supervisor had scheduled that I visit one of my clients prior to consulting me. I knew this visit had the potential to run longer than necessary, possibly causing me to be unavailable for a commitment I had already agreed to. But I decided to go on the visit anyway…
So tell me why I was surprised when I got lost on my way there?
I mean sense of direction was all off!
And this client lives near several of my other clients. Honestly, I didn’t really want to go on the visit. I really did want to go to the prayer meeting… but I was arguing and fussing with God the whole car ride because I wanted to make the visit? My reason being, “God I told my supervisor I was leaving the office to go on a visit. I don’t want her to think…”
But God was instructing me to go have prayer.
“But God I don’t want them to think I’m being dishonest! You know they…”
“Do it tomorrow.”
And I continued to drive around searching for this house. I had even considered not going t
o the meeting. By this time I was already late for the visit, so when I actually found the house the prayer meeting would be out of the question. Still driving, I get a phone call from one of the members of the group reminding me about the meeting( for God speaks again and again!). When I was finally frustrated enough with being lost with the realization that I was wasting my own gas (yes, gas in Philly is now almost $3.70 a gallon) I pulled over. I continued to pray, “God you know people already think…I don’t want them…”
The Lord then said, “Go to your destination.”
“What? But it looks like…”
“Go have prayer.”
Finally, I listened. I gave up on finding the house still shook that I would catch it later from my supervisor. I parked my car and began to prepare myself for the meeting, opened my Bible and it automatically fell open to Isaiah 51.
“I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator, the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?-Isaiah 51:12-13.
“Listen to me, you who know right from wrong you who cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people’s scorn, nor fear their insults. For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing. The worm will eat at them as it eats wool. But my righteousness will last forever. My salvation will continue from generation to generation.” -Isaiah 51:7-8
Mind you these verses were already highlighted.
Meaning that me and God had been over this before.
But I was still shook because I didn’t want my boss and co-workers to think I was being dishonest. So I continued to pray and read and was led to Isaiah 8.
” The Lord has said to me in the strongest terms, “Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else. He will keep you safe.”-Isaiah 8:11-14.
Yet again, another highlighted verse.
Combine this with family issues that added more worry to the menu, and you have an issue that God has been dealing with in me for some time. I just didn’t realize how deep it was.
Fear.
Over the past weekend, this issue haunted me and I hated it. I usually considered myself to be a rebel when it came to living in defiance of the opinions of others.Especially growing up in an environment where the opinions and hang-ups of said others governed what I could do or say. Hearing statements like, “Now when we get in this store you betta not embarrass me in front of all these people”, and “Stop talkin’ so loud! You don’t want all the neighbors to know all ya business!” So for it to be an issue now that I’m grown was not cool at all. For it to be an issue to God made it even worse.
The Bible gives us several accounts of the servants of God being admonished to, “Do not be afraid.” The Lord called Jeremiah to be a mighty prophet, but Jeremiah tried to argue that he was too young for God to use him.
The Lord gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”-Jeremiah 1:4-8.
God called Ezekiel to deliver difficult messages of destruction to the hard-hearted people of Israel.
“Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.” The Spirit came into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet. I listened carefully to his words. “Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them. “Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels. You must give them my messages whether they listen or not-Ezekiel 2:1-7.
Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.”-Ezekiel 3:4-9
Moses argued with God for a minute on why he wasn’t good enough to do what God called him to do.
When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” -Exodus 3:4-7,10-14.
We can’t forget God’s call to young Joshua, ya’ll.
“Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you-from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.”Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:1-9.
Poor Elijah almost lost his mind when Jezebel tried to pump fear in his heart after being obedient to the Lord’s instruction!
When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”-I Kings 19:1-4.
And you can’t forget Paul’s fan club.
For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” -II Corinthians 10:10.
Reading this, we realize that anytime God gave instruction to one of his chosen servants, 
there was a feeling of fear or inadequacy that rose within them. But it never changed God’s mind about their calling or how they were to fulfill it. The Lord constantly reminded them he would be with them and would make them adequate in their inadequacies. Since the Word clearly tells us that God does not change, the same provision and protection stands for us today.
So if God is calling you to do something; if he has called you to preach or teach; if he is leading you to speak up or speak out; if he is telling you to “go here or “stay there:” if he is telling you to let go…
Do it.
Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine-Isaiah 43:2.
You cannot allow people, places or things to block your purpose.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind– II Timothy 1:7.
At the end of the day, you will be the one held responsible. And although I’m still not fully aware of why God led me away from doing that visit, I’m so glad I listened! Who knows what I could have been protected from! He may have just purposed it so I could learn this lesson, but for whatever reason, obedience is so much better than sacrifice. God has not called his children to walk in fear.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love-I John 4:18-19
Bottom line?
Your heart cannot pump Kool-Aid in the Kingdom.
Give up the wishbone and grow a backbone.
Don’t let evil stares steal your praise.
Don’t let the hang-ups and criticisms of others determine whether or not you will be obedient to the One who created you.
Fear no man but God. In the end, he is the only one with a countable opinion.
Give him glory.
Become an “Unpunkable Praiser” today.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling-even the LORD, who is my refuge- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent-Psalm 91: 1,5-10.
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