Rise Up

 There is no shame in feeling frustrated with how people are treating you. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is stand up for what you believe in, especially when it feels as if the whole world is against you and your beliefs. Let me tell you something, the only person we should be trying to impress is Jesus. Let Him win over the hearts of others through us and see what kind of change He can lead us to. It may be terrifying, trust me, but God reminds us over and over again that there is nothing to fear. We have the Angels on our sides. 

The hardest part of getting out there is overcoming the fear and shame that comes with being your broken self. You know that the way you became a Christian is messy and imperfect. It is the most difficult thing to put your guard down and allow someone else to see your broken part. But that is the biggest problem. People are only seeing the shallow Christian these days, and that is why we are persecuted so much. Everyone sees us as these people who seem too put together and too perfect for the "real world". That is what is making it so hard to share the good news of Jesus. We must first allow them to see us. Not our glamourous false persona we throw on every time we face others. The more broken, fragile, and human we look, the more we make others see that this faith doesn't make us perfect. We are far from that. But this faith is based on the fact that because we were broken, God came to save us, and because of that, we are made whole again.

Fear is hard to conquer, it might all well and right to quote a bunch of verses about fear and preach on not being afraid, but the truth is, everyone, deals with the fear of speaking out. Whether it's because they are afraid of losing friends or family, or whether it's because they fear the loss of their lives. Fear is a very real, very reasonable thing to have. The truth of the matter is not trying to overcome the fear, but working through it, knowing that in the end, God is in control. Only He can give you His spirit of courage to stand up to that friend who insists on no God, or on that family who believes their goodness will get them to heaven. Once you receive the mighty hand of the spirit, even if you are still afraid, you are suddenly bold-hearted. In the end, if you lose a friend, then it wasn't meant to be, if you lose your family, then God will provide you with a new one in the church, if you lose your life, you will gain access to heaven where your heavenly father awaits your arrival with a big smile on His face ready to claim "Well done good and faithful servant!" 

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