Prayer
Before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 119:97
Oh, how I love your law, Lord!
I will meditate on it all day long.
Amen.
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your awareness to the voice of God, coming to you through His Word.
Reading
Still speaking to His apostles on the eve of their mission, Jesus described a future situation where His followers would be persecuted and betrayed, even by their own families.
While we here in South Africa are far less likely to face this kind of outright familial persecution, there are certainly some of us who have paid a steep price for following Jesus. Some reading this devotional may in fact have been mocked, rejected our even ostracised by family members and friends for your faith in Jesus.
In situations like these, Jesus has two commands for us: He commands us not to be afraid of them (v.26), and also to stand firm to the end (v.22).
Again, it is not so much that we will not feel afraid. We cannot stop the instinctive and God-given reaction of fear in the face of danger. Whether we are in danger of physical, emotional, mental or relational harm, fear is a natural response. Jesus’ command is more about not allowing our very natural fear to control us, because then we will have stopped merely feeling afraid and have started being afraid.
Would you pause and contemplate that for a moment? We can feel afraid, without letting fear define who we are and how we act. It’s the difference between, “I feel afraid” and “I am afraid.” Let’s not allow our fear of persecution or rejection to define us. Let us face down our fears and choose to be courageously faithful, even if it needs to be in the face of persecution. As Nelson Mandela once wrote,
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear myself more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ~ Nelson Mandela from Long Walk to Freedom, 1994
Very simply put, Jesus commands us, His disciples, to stand firm and continue to be faithful, even in the face of our fears.
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will not let my fears define me;
- I will stay faithful and stand firm in my allegiance to Jesus.
Lord Jesus, I trust in You! Grant me such victory over my fears, that I will stand firmly and courageously faithful to You despite them. Amen.
P.S. If you found value in praying for our Christian Family in Iran yesterday, here is a helpful “prayercast” video of a prayer for Iran by an Iranian believer.
Dave's Diary 
Leave a comment