Don’t Shrink Back

Hey You. How are you? How’s your heart right now? I know I obviously can’t hear your response but like many questions the Lord asks us, it’s for you. Those are questions for our awareness so we don’t get stuck going through the motions without feeling ourselves out. I pray you’re in a good place but regardless of present state, the first step to better is an identification of where you are now. This has absolutely nothing to do with today’s post but it’s imperative that we do self check-ins, it’s in that space that we invite the Lord to work with us for healing, redirection and refuelling. So if needed, pause your read, sit with yourself and with the Lord, and lay those burdens at His feet then watch Him move on your behalf. Okay, (say it with me), let’s get into it!

This past week I was faced with a situation that tempted me to shrink back simply because I did not want to come on too strong or ruffle any feathers. For context, I was having a conversation with someone I recently met and some minutes in, we were on one of the sometimes sensitive subjects for Christians. She (a fellow Christian) spoke about premarital sex and you could tell she had no qualms or reservations about it. Considering this was someone I just met, in all honesty, I was tempted to disregard my thoughts on the matter and just listen as opposed to asserting my stance. Not necessarily agree with it but just, you know, nod and focus solely on the point she was trying to make… and show no resistance cause well, it wouldn’t have to be a whole thing and my opinion wasn’t exactly asked for. However, we were getting to know each other and deep down, I knew silence would have signalled compliance whether or not I meant it, so I felt compelled to speak up.

Now, if you haven’t noticed, premarital sex(like many other sins) is something that is normalized, encouraged even, in today’s culture. No surprise there.. after all as Christians, we are to abide by principles of a different kingdom. Sidebar but let me just say this: these days, I have a heightened awareness that literally everything in the world (or better said “of” the world) is rebelling against God’s order. You and I see it in the movies we watch, some books we might have read, the reels we come across, the posts we see , random conversations around us…. pretty much everywhere. Unless you are living under some sort of rock or have managed to keep yourself in a bubble, you know exactly what I’m saying. As much as we do our best to curate what we consume, the conversations we engage in and the content we feed on, we’re not oblivious to what is going on around us. Nor should we be…. after all, we are to be in the world yet not of it.

Now this post is really not about premarital sex… I promise it isn’t, but to elaborate on my point, permit me to wear out this scenario a bit more. The norm as portrayed by media typically goes this way : In a heterosexual set up – Boy meets girl, boy likes girl and girl likes boy, they bond over superficial surface and temporal things usually with no regard for the spiritual, they kiss, they have sex, then live happily ever after LOL. We all wish it was that easy. Most of the movies don’t even make it to the wedding anymore which, more often than not, follows intercourse. And the few that make it to the wedding don’t actually delve into marriage. With this being the theme that is paraded on our screens, in our romance novels, in society, etc, it’s no wonder that a person going against the grain with that is seen as weird and is often in the minority. The spiritual significance of marriage, which is God’s institution by the way, is often disregarded. This, my friend, is a recipe for disaster. It’s one thing to truly be unaware, but to willfully dismiss it is like choosing to walk right into fire( bruh, as if the spiritual warfare on a daily is not enough ).

Anyways, more to my point, when the topic came up in conversation with this girl, just like many of us non-confrontational people have the tendency to do at times, I was tempted to just not respond. I was tempted to settle for an illusion of peace by avoiding any contention that may come with disagreeing whilst being fully aware of the inner conflict that would be left unresolved. This is really what I want to delve into today – stating your stance and boldly defying culture.

A while ago, I was reading a passage in the Bible that made me chuckle a bit. Jesus was so uncompromising with the truth and it many times shocked the people on the receiving end. Lets take a look at Luke 11:45-52

⁴³ “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”⁴⁵ “Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.”⁴⁶ “Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. ⁴⁷ What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.”

What really got me was Jesus’s response to the expert in religious law. He started out addressing the pharisees but when the religious expert interjected, Jesus did not relent from stating their error. He was so blunt and truth be told, I can now see how loving this was because He was bold in stating what needed to be heard in order to save their lives! Offence for a life is honestly a small price to pay. I just imagined being that religious expert and I’m like E shock me (lol… slang for I didn’t see that coming). Now if many of us were Jesus, when the religious expert stated he felt insulted, we would likely apologize and then try to water down our convictions with the intention of not hurting him. Let me be very very clear, I am not advocating for rude and non-accommodating utterance of the truth, the Bible tells us to speak the truth in Love. Jesus is Love. I think the issue is that many of us have a false definition of what love really is. Love is not watering down the truth. Love is not avoiding offence at the expense of holiness. Love is not hiding your light while watching people stumble in darkness. Based on the cultural definition of love, I think it is safe to say that Jesus’s response wasn’t very loving lol…except that is literally impossible because Love is who He is. So then, I think Jesus demonstrates what it looks like to boldly assert the truth and not shrink back when it comes to standing boldly for kingdom principles.

Love is not watering down the truth.
Love is not avoiding offence at the expense of holiness.
Love is not hiding your light while watching people stumble in darkness.

Being a Christian means having solid stances on things that don’t necessarily agree with the majority. A certain boldness and resolve must be had to walk that road. Since the word “Christian” was used to refer to those who are Christ-like, it’s not only about accepting Jesus as our Savior, but also as Lord which in turn means the way you live your life is now submitted to His rule. Reading the scriptures, we know for a fact that controversy and contention was part and parcel of walking with God through the life of Jesus Himself. I’m certain that a lot of people can relate to being in situations where they chose not to speak up in spaces where sin was being glorified for various reasons like discomfort, not wanting to come across judgemental or not wanting to come on too strong etc. I’d say this is an issue that is mostly a struggle for people that are conflict-averse or conflict-avoidant. While I don’t necessarily feel like we need to go around publicly disagreeing with everything, I do believe that we need to be quick to yield to the Holy Spirit’s prompting when He says to speak up regardless of the cost. Essentially, not being obedient to that prompting is quenching the Spirit. One can get so used to quieting that tug on the inside for comfort and convenience when the Lord is requiring us to act.

Here’s the point – When the Holy Spirit is prompting you to speak up and defend your principles, don’t shrink back for acceptance. Pray for God to help you honor Him first.
Don’t shrink back to avoid conflict. Pray that the Lord softens their heart.
Don’t shrink back in the name of “peace”. Pray for wisdom on how to speak.
Yes, we must be uncompromising in our pursuit of peace but I’m coming to understand that true peace has a context.

We know that Jesus was a man of peace, He is our Prince of Peace. Our God is a God of peace. Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit YET Jesus said he did not come to bring peace to the earth but a sword. The context of this verse is Jesus speaking on public acknowledgement vs denial of Him. He says “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” [Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭32‬-‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬]. Jesus was speaking about how His word and rule could be divisive as there will be some that will rebel against the truth. Peace is not at the expense of truth. True peace is IN truth and just like Jesus, we ought to be ready to wield our swords(the Word of God) when needed.

Peace is not at the expense of truth.
True peace is IN truth.

Please don’t agree with a lie in the name of “peace”.
Don’t cheapen your value for acceptance, the right people will pay the price and step up.
Guard your values. Stand by your principles.
Listen, I know you may not want to deal with confrontation but you and I have a responsibility to the truth. Spiritual indifference, complacency and passivity are not representative of the Christ we claim to follow. In times where you choose silence( and this is needed too), let your silence be guided by wisdom and not fear. Be sensitive, be tactful, be considerate but DON’T SHRINK BACK. I pray that the Lord will give us the boldness and courage to stand up for Him in a world that so desperately rebells against His rule. Just like Paul, we ought also to pray, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.” [Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬]

Let your silence be guided by wisdom, not fear.
DON’T SHRINK BACK!

The next time you sense the Lord tell you to speak up, I pray you remember this and choose to pick up your cross and obey. What ultimately matters at the end of the day is that God is pleased.
Love you all and God loves you more 💕

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