"I will speak of your statutes before kings and I will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them." Psalm 119:46
What courage! Fearlessly speaking God's word, even before kings!! I love this verse for that very reason. I desperately want to fearlessly speak God's word to EVERYONE. I want to be like the disciples of Acts: bold, courageous, selfless, and passionately allowing the Spirit to lead them.
For months I have found comfort in this verse because it says "and i will not be put to shame." My thought was, "awesome! God won't let me be put to shame because I'll be speaking His word! What do I have to worry of acceptance or ridicule? He's got me!"
And he certainly does have me. But what if the shame he is talking of here is not shame from people, but from him?? Because wasn't even Jesus shamed by people, even to the point of being put to death on a cross? But God said of him, "This is my son, who I love."
Maybe I will be put to shame in others' eyes when I speak of his statutes before kings, maybe I won't. But if I am listening and obeying the Spirit, I am confident I will not be shamed in God's eyes. Whose but God's opinion do I really need to care about anyways?
The last person I want to be like is Eve, who disobeyed and was ashamed. (Genesis 3) No, I want to be like Paul, who spoke boldly of God before King Agrippa (Acts 26). Because this life isn't about me or my comfort, it's about God's glory.
So I will obey you, O Lord. I will speak of your statutes before kings. And I may be tortured, mocked, flogged, chained and imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, or killed by the sword. I may walk about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, an mistreated (Hebrews 11:36-37). But in your eyes, I pray I will not be put to shame.
This is what God and I talked about this morning. I prayed that what I posted above would truly be my heart and desire; not just empty words. I prayed about oppertunities, strength, and a courage to obey him.
ReplyDeleteThis afternoon, my siblings saw people going door to door in our neighborhood. I prayed that this may be an oppertunity to live out what I had learned this morning. So I made myself available, and prayed that if it was God's will, he would provide the oppertunity and words for me to speak.
I'd like to say that they came to our door, I answered and proceeded to share the gospel with them... But I guess that wasn't what God had planned. They never came to our door. However, it did cement in what he was teaching me this morning. He was testing my heart.
I just want to encourage you, that even if things don't pan out the way you thought they would, keep listening to God. He does everything for a reason. :)