Faith is Courageous and BOLD || Part 4d of 4
Faith is Courageous and BOLD
What is the first thing you think about when pondering that faith is Courageous & Bold? Is there a person that comes to mind?
For me, I think I have allowed this to become distorted. I think of people who are well put together. Have a lot of confidence. Speak eloquently. Have a degree in Theology and Biblical Studies. They’ve got their stuff together. They’ve got credentials to back up what they are speaking and/or saying. They’re the big authors or a big apologists, big theologians. They’re bold and courageous in their faith because that’s their job.
However, I have to pull my mind back to what courageous and bold faith looks like in scripture and how God over and over and over again chose to use ordinary, regular, typical, broken people to do EXTRAORDINARY things. And even the John Piper’s, Ann Graham Lotz’s, and the Francis Chan’s would say, “We’re just ordinary people… Ordinary, messed up people just like you…”
There are things that God will call you to do for Him. Things that might paralyze you in thinking? “Me?! - Why me?!” I know that’s how I felt when I was asked to speak for this retreat.
Then the enemy starts to whisper doubt: “Yeah - you can’t. You’re not capable.” And the enemy, the devil would like you to stay right where you are. Frozen. If he can keep you paralyzed, he wins.
But the moment you take that step in bold courageous faith KNOWING that God is calling you to something BIG, the power of hell can’t hold you back. And what an incredible thing that is!
When God called Jerry and me to adopt, I knew that it was ONLY because of Him. We had gone back and forth for four years on whether or not to adopt. And I finally said to Jerry, “I would hate to be on my deathbed regretting that we never tried.”
Adoption took our faith to a whole new level. It became bold. Courageous. At times I felt like I was looking the enemy in the face and saying, “GET - OUT - OF - MY - WAY. God’s got this!” And other times I had to be reminded to be bold, be courageous, that nothing can stand in the way of God’s good work. The enemy will try and trip you up. He’ll try and throw a curve-ball. But there will be NOTHING that will get in the way of what God is wanting to do through you.
Hebrews 11 goes into a list of ordinary and broken people who did extraordinary things for God. These were people who didn’t feel adequate, good enough, or weren’t the “image” of what a heroic person should be like. Moses had a stutter… Joseph was a bragger… Rahab was a prostitute… David was small the smallest of his brothers… and yet God made him King.
And all of these people, by faith, moved mountains.
Why do we then doubt that God can use us too? The broken. The imperfect.
What is He calling you to, to take courageous and bold steps IN FAITH for Him?
Fierce, Courageous and Bold Faith takes us out of our comfort zones. It confronts sin. Stands for truth when the world around us creates its own form of truth. It isn’t afraid to speak up in love. It proclaims the name of Jesus. It doesn’t conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but is transformed by the renewing of our minds, as it says in Romans 12:2. Because then, THEN we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Over and over God has given us example after example of bold fierce faith of those who have placed their trust in Him.
Bold, courageous, and fierce faith is willing to look like a fool to the rest of the world.
Look at Noah! Noah IN FAITH built a boat in the MIDDLE of the desert! People mocked him, ridiculed him. Made fun of his family for making this monstrous boat. But when the flood came… They weren’t laughing anymore.
Choosing to adopt might look like an admirable thing to the rest of the world. A feel good story that makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside. Walking it out for us took shear faith. There were times my doubt was trying to scream louder than truth. Many times I worried. Many times fear would creep in. Whispers of doubts that the impossible couldn’t happen. But God constantly brought me back to reality. His reality. His truths. And like my friend Janay said, “you will look back and see God’s amazing hand over the journey and wonder why you ever doubted.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 says
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. “
When I was pondering courageous and bold faith, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel, came to mind.
Maybe it is just me, but too often I have looked at these people, these stories in the Bible as just that, stories. Fictional characters that aren’t real, just created. But they aren’t. These were real people with real lives. The only difference is their story was written as an example to us in the Bible and not streamed on Netflix.
Did a lot of them mess up? Ha! Yes! The difference between them and us is that their stories have been told and retold for thousands of years.
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel along many other men, were called to serve in Nebuchadnezzar's palace. In the book of Daniel it says these men were young men without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. (Daniel 1:4) But these four men set themselves apart from the rest. They chose to not defile themselves by eating the royal food and wine because it had first been offered to idols. And God also gave them knowledge and understanding of all kinds.
Setting ourselves apart from the tide can be difficult. We’re in a world that says, “Conform! Think like we do or you are shunned! We will chastise you and spit on you. Call you names and ridicule you.” But Jesus isn’t calling us to conform. He is calling us to step outside of the herd and go a different direction. He is calling us to go against the tide.
Later on in the Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar builds a statue out of gold that is 9 feet wide and 90 feet high. Can you picture it? This thing was huge. And he declared that everyone must worship it. And anyone who didn’t bow would be thrown into a blazing furnace. However a few individuals refused. They wouldn’t bow.
When King Neb heard of these men who wouldn’t bow down - he became furious.
Daniel 3:16-18 says
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Faith is Bold and Courageous. This will look different for everyone. But our commonality is that God is calling us to stand out. In verse 28b it says they trusted in God and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. The one true living God.
How is God calling you to be Bold and Courageous in your faith for Him? I cannot answer that question for you. But if you ask Him, He will give you the answer. Maybe it will come about in a conversation with a friend, or a school situation, or a workplace atmosphere, or watching other people’s kids.
Bold and Courageous Faith doesn’t sit idly buy waiting for someone else to do something. Bold and courageous faith steps out - even if the world around you, the cultural norms, and voices cast stones. And don’t worry if men hate you because you are choosing to stand apart from the crowd. Yes, this is easier said than often done, but remember these words of Jesus in John 15:18
If the world hates you, keep in mind, it hated me first.
God is calling us to live a bold, courageous, and have a fierce faith rooted in Him. And it starts with a firm foundation in His Truth. A firm foundation in His word. A firm foundation in knowing Him. To Know God is to Seek Him. Daily. To press on even when our flesh says, “Nah - not today.”
I pray this series from my retreat talk has ignited a passion in you to continue seeking, continue learning, to press into a much richer knowledge of who God is and how He has called ALL of us to have a fierce faith. A faith called to stand out, stand tall, and stand firm in Him. And to live it out in ACTION.
This is the final installment of the Fierce Faith posts previously shared. Please visit the following first installments of this series here:
Bookshelf Faith || What Faith Is Part 3 of 4
Faith Pushes Boundaries || Part 4a of 4d
Faith & Comfort Don’t Mix || Part 4b of 4d
