Courage
Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they immediately began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the Lord. They did this each morning and evening." Ezra 3:3
At some point in our lives, most of us have experienced the grief of bullying either personally or through the eyes of someone we love. Bullying is an egregious attempt on someone's part to elevate themselves or their agenda at the expense of someone else's dignity or efforts. It is horrible through and through. As a grade school kid, I was pretty excited when the local paper boy said that he would pay me to deliver the paper route for him from time to time. I honored my half of the bargain only to discover later that he had no intention of honoring his. He was quite a bit older and bigger than me and I was afraid of him. I had a choice to make. I could either keep being used or I could stand up to him and tell him that I wasn't going to deliver the papers anymore.
The people of Israel were in a similar situation as they returned to Jerusalem from exile. All the foreigners who had taken up residence in Israel were not happy to see the Jewish people returning and undoubtedly made that very clear. It was certainly an intimidating position for God's people which caused them to live in fear. They had a choice to make. Would they move forward in the face of fear or would they collapse under its weight? Courageously, they chose to move forward in spite of their fear. Consider this famous quote, "Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the willingness to move forward in the face of it."
The question today is not, "Are we afraid of something?" -- rejection, failure, ridicule, and the like. That's a given. The question is, "Will we do the right thing even though we are afraid?" Time and time again in a relationship with God, he will ask us to trust him to step forward even when our knees are knocking. What courageous move is God asking you to take today? Is it to turn away from something you know is wrong? Is it to take a step of faith in a direction that you cannot fully explain? Is it to speak up and say, "Enough is enough?" Is it to wait? It is an incredibly rich and adventurous life when we decide to trust God and not be boxed in by fear.
Grace and Peace,
Tom
At some point in our lives, most of us have experienced the grief of bullying either personally or through the eyes of someone we love. Bullying is an egregious attempt on someone's part to elevate themselves or their agenda at the expense of someone else's dignity or efforts. It is horrible through and through. As a grade school kid, I was pretty excited when the local paper boy said that he would pay me to deliver the paper route for him from time to time. I honored my half of the bargain only to discover later that he had no intention of honoring his. He was quite a bit older and bigger than me and I was afraid of him. I had a choice to make. I could either keep being used or I could stand up to him and tell him that I wasn't going to deliver the papers anymore.
The people of Israel were in a similar situation as they returned to Jerusalem from exile. All the foreigners who had taken up residence in Israel were not happy to see the Jewish people returning and undoubtedly made that very clear. It was certainly an intimidating position for God's people which caused them to live in fear. They had a choice to make. Would they move forward in the face of fear or would they collapse under its weight? Courageously, they chose to move forward in spite of their fear. Consider this famous quote, "Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the willingness to move forward in the face of it."
The question today is not, "Are we afraid of something?" -- rejection, failure, ridicule, and the like. That's a given. The question is, "Will we do the right thing even though we are afraid?" Time and time again in a relationship with God, he will ask us to trust him to step forward even when our knees are knocking. What courageous move is God asking you to take today? Is it to turn away from something you know is wrong? Is it to take a step of faith in a direction that you cannot fully explain? Is it to speak up and say, "Enough is enough?" Is it to wait? It is an incredibly rich and adventurous life when we decide to trust God and not be boxed in by fear.
Grace and Peace,
Tom
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