3.20.25 ~ Pray for Boldness, Not Escape
Good morning!
Yesterday, we learned some essential truths about how to 'be still and know that He is God (Psa. 46:10). Today, I want to ask you a different question based on life's ability to throw a wide variety of circumstances at us! One of the most difficult situations is when we are threatened by someone or some circumstance.
Have you ever been threatened? Oh, maybe no one came up to you with a gun, or shouted at you with malice, or told you that you were going to be tortured or punished. Maybe all the threat you ever had was the innuendo of rejection, or the social snub or something much less violent than jail time. But my guess is that if you are traveling the road with Yeshua, living a Torah lifestyle, you know what it means to be threatened.
Every time the circumstances of your life look as though they are about to cave in, you are threatened. It might not be a threat from a physical enemy, then again...but we all know that in one form or another the battle includes principalities and powers not visible to the naked eye (Eph. 6:10-16); hence we are to put on the armour of light, which is the hope of salvation (Rom. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:8). Threats are part of what it means to be a follower. (By the way, if they aren’t part of your experience, you might want to take a hard look at how willing you are to really stand for Yeshua).
The disciples of Yeshua knew threats – real, physical, ominous ones! “Don’t speak any more about this man, Yeshua, or you will be severely punished.” Now, that’s a threat we don't hear much in the Western world. How did they respond to that threat? 'Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that your bond servants may speak/paressia Your Word with all boldness (Acts 4:29).
If your experience is like mine, you’d agree that this is quite a bit different than the kind of response we see in society today. The disciples do not ask The Lord to remove the threat. They ask Him to give them courage and confidence to go right on doing what He wants them to do in spite of the opposition. They don’t ask God to “fix-it.” They ask Him to make them even bolder. They are willing to walk right into the lion’s den as long as He is with them...more on lions tomorrow :-) They know no matter how deep the water, how hot the fire, that Yahweh Elohim, The Lord God, will be right there with them (Isa. 43:2; Deut. 31:6,8; Psa. 66:12)
It seems, to the visible eye, that few take this approach; but the trend is changing :-) For many, we can hear their prayers: “Lord, lift us out of this mess. Lord, take away these terrible people who threaten us. Lord, protect us from this disaster. Lord, make things better for us.” We pray with the good God syndrome in mind. God wants us to be happy, right?
Anything that comes between personal happiness and us must be from the devil, so please fix it, God. Give us back our peaceful, tranquil lives of enjoyment and prosperity. That idea might fit the ole English term 'poppycock.' When did God declare an end to the hostilities with the world (John 15:18)? Fortunately, yet unfortunately, not until Yeshua returns. Until then, pray for boldness, not escape! In that prayer, God will be glorified with His magnificent presence and miraculous deliverance through the gobbledygook!
What did the disciples expect to come from the Lord? They wanted the ability to speak the truth with boldness whatever and whenever regardless of the circumstances. On the side of wickedness, we see this demonstrated daily with the LGBTQia, BLM, leftist groups, political mainstream, etc, where they maximize their freedom of speech...and thanks to the boldness of some supporting the political right and the spiritual correct, more and more people are gaining the boldness to speak up for truth. And, when they speak up people are listening. I'm fearful (to a degree) that if we, as believers, don't start living boldly all our freedoms are going to be shut down, because they don't mean much to us :-(. Don't let your 'sleepy' community keep you from 'sounding the alarm'! It's time to wake up, not 'woke' up (Rom. 13:11-14).
The disciples pray that they will not encounter any lack of courage in speaking the truth. Nor do they pray that they will be spared the consequences! This is real freedom of speech – to speak the truth of God regardless of the outcome. Is that what you want? Do you want to speak God’s will no matter what happens? Or are you praying for protection for the ole snagglepuss exit stage left?
The days for necessary boldness are approaching...pray for an appropriate boldness to speak as we should (Eph. 6:20)! As the Torah portion from this week teaches us, God uses those with a willing heart (Ex. 35). Boy, oh boy, were those disciples willing!
Give us the heart, wisdom, courage and the mouths of the disciples (Rak Chazak Amats)!
Happy 5th day of the week!
Shalom
Have you ever been threatened? Oh, maybe no one came up to you with a gun, or shouted at you with malice, or told you that you were going to be tortured or punished. Maybe all the threat you ever had was the innuendo of rejection, or the social snub or something much less violent than jail time. But my guess is that if you are traveling the road with Yeshua, living a Torah lifestyle, you know what it means to be threatened.
Every time the circumstances of your life look as though they are about to cave in, you are threatened. It might not be a threat from a physical enemy, then again...but we all know that in one form or another the battle includes principalities and powers not visible to the naked eye (Eph. 6:10-16); hence we are to put on the armour of light, which is the hope of salvation (Rom. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:8). Threats are part of what it means to be a follower. (By the way, if they aren’t part of your experience, you might want to take a hard look at how willing you are to really stand for Yeshua).
The disciples of Yeshua knew threats – real, physical, ominous ones! “Don’t speak any more about this man, Yeshua, or you will be severely punished.” Now, that’s a threat we don't hear much in the Western world. How did they respond to that threat? 'Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that your bond servants may speak/paressia Your Word with all boldness (Acts 4:29).
If your experience is like mine, you’d agree that this is quite a bit different than the kind of response we see in society today. The disciples do not ask The Lord to remove the threat. They ask Him to give them courage and confidence to go right on doing what He wants them to do in spite of the opposition. They don’t ask God to “fix-it.” They ask Him to make them even bolder. They are willing to walk right into the lion’s den as long as He is with them...more on lions tomorrow :-) They know no matter how deep the water, how hot the fire, that Yahweh Elohim, The Lord God, will be right there with them (Isa. 43:2; Deut. 31:6,8; Psa. 66:12)
It seems, to the visible eye, that few take this approach; but the trend is changing :-) For many, we can hear their prayers: “Lord, lift us out of this mess. Lord, take away these terrible people who threaten us. Lord, protect us from this disaster. Lord, make things better for us.” We pray with the good God syndrome in mind. God wants us to be happy, right?
Anything that comes between personal happiness and us must be from the devil, so please fix it, God. Give us back our peaceful, tranquil lives of enjoyment and prosperity. That idea might fit the ole English term 'poppycock.' When did God declare an end to the hostilities with the world (John 15:18)? Fortunately, yet unfortunately, not until Yeshua returns. Until then, pray for boldness, not escape! In that prayer, God will be glorified with His magnificent presence and miraculous deliverance through the gobbledygook!
What did the disciples expect to come from the Lord? They wanted the ability to speak the truth with boldness whatever and whenever regardless of the circumstances. On the side of wickedness, we see this demonstrated daily with the LGBTQia, BLM, leftist groups, political mainstream, etc, where they maximize their freedom of speech...and thanks to the boldness of some supporting the political right and the spiritual correct, more and more people are gaining the boldness to speak up for truth. And, when they speak up people are listening. I'm fearful (to a degree) that if we, as believers, don't start living boldly all our freedoms are going to be shut down, because they don't mean much to us :-(. Don't let your 'sleepy' community keep you from 'sounding the alarm'! It's time to wake up, not 'woke' up (Rom. 13:11-14).
The disciples pray that they will not encounter any lack of courage in speaking the truth. Nor do they pray that they will be spared the consequences! This is real freedom of speech – to speak the truth of God regardless of the outcome. Is that what you want? Do you want to speak God’s will no matter what happens? Or are you praying for protection for the ole snagglepuss exit stage left?
The days for necessary boldness are approaching...pray for an appropriate boldness to speak as we should (Eph. 6:20)! As the Torah portion from this week teaches us, God uses those with a willing heart (Ex. 35). Boy, oh boy, were those disciples willing!
Give us the heart, wisdom, courage and the mouths of the disciples (Rak Chazak Amats)!
Happy 5th day of the week!
Shalom
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