Last week, I wrote this journal entry:
"How can people be so horrible? This past week, ISIS killed 10 adults and a 12-year-old boy in Syria because they wouldn't denounce their [beliefs]. How can someone have faith like that? These people were beheaded and crucified -- in 2016. I've always wanted to be someone who would stick to my faith if I was in a situation like that, but I don't know if I would be able to honestly. The idea of true, physical persecution has always terrified me. I can't imagine living somewhere where you're fearing for your life because you simply believe in something different then the government. It says in the Bible that perfect love casts out all fear, but sometimes the fear is so crippling and debilitating you can't focus on anything else."
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I sat weeping at my desk for well over half an hour while I wrote this, mourning the lives of people whom I had never met. Even now, as I write this article a week later, I feel sick to my stomach and I can feel the fear rushing back into my body. So the question is: why would something stick with something that could get them killed -- even in the face of death itself? I've heard it said before that no one would lay their life down for a lie. When you've experienced the overwhelming power and peace and love of the Holy Spirit, it enables you to do crazy things you never would have been able to do on your own. That's what Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 2:19 when he says, "I will boast in my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me." Every human weakness we possess - in this case fear - is overcome when Christ lives in us. Now this doesn't mean we'll never deal with doubt, fear, loss, pain, anger, envy, or depression ever again. It means that because Christ defeated death in His resurrection, He's able to transform us, and when someone sees us forgive, act with patience, or say a kind word to someone who is mean to us, we can attest to the fact that the moment of goodness was Christ shining through us, and we wouldn't have changed without Him. At church a couple of months ago, a line from the message caught my attention: "So many people tell me, 'Oh, you only use your faith as a crutch.' Ha! You don't know the whole of it! Christ isn't a crutch, He's the whole stretcher!"
It wasn't the Syrian preacher's love for these extremists that took over him as his 12-year-old's fingertips were cut off and he was executed. It wasn't Cassie Bernall's pride in the fact that she was a Christian that allowed her to confirm her faith in God to the gunman who killed her a few seconds later. Both of these instances were Christ and His Holy Spirit exemplified. I can remember specific moments when I wanted to share the Gospel or act in the way I knew Jesus would, but feared ridicule, embarrassment, or being teased for my "innocence." I should be ashamed of myself. How truly blessed I am that all I have at stake is friendships.
I hope the world comes to see that what we all need is Jesus. I hope there is a revival that comes soon and sweeps across the whole nation. I hope The Lord tears down my pride, laziness, and fear so that I can stop getting in the way of whatever He has for me. In these insane times we are living in, Jesus is still Lord and we can trust Him because He is the One who makes us brave.
Great songs to listen to if you're feeling afraid:
- No Longer Slaves by Bethel Music
- You Make Me Brave by Bethel Music
- You Carry Me by Moriah Peters
- Death Was Arrested by North Point InsideOut
Great Bible verses to read if you're feeling afraid:
- Joshua 1:9
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 94:19
- Romans 8:38-39
- Psalm 27:1
- 1 Peter 5:7
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Psalm 56:3-4
