“A little competition never hurt anyone,” so the saying goes. Charlie would tell you otherwise on the day he challenged our 17-year old daughter to a short sprint contest. Not wanting anything to impede him, he pulled off his sunglasses and sweatshirt, did a couple of stretches and boasted to our daughter that he would be leaving her in the dust. He was hoping to stir fear into his young opponent.
And dust there was, but it was my daughter who left Charlie in the dust. With a pulled hamstring within five seconds of the race, he limped across the finish line. This “little competition” hurt more than he would like to admit.
Fierce competition
While we might not find ourselves competing in a race, we do find our hearts in a fierce competition each day with the world around us. Even as I write this, you may find your own heart overwhelmed with information about covid-19, cancel culture, conspiracy and politics. It’s quite easy to succumb to the flood of information and find our hearts anxious. It’s a daily battle to respond in faith and not become fearful by what we hear and see around us.
There is a similar pattern to look at in Joshua 14. Caleb is described as a man who “wholly followed the Lord.” This intrigues me because he along with eleven other men were hand-picked to spy out the Promised Land and give a report to the people. Yet, it was only he and Joshua who rose to the occasion and responded in faith. Everyone else responded in fear by what they saw and heard about the people and the land. Furthermore, these same people encouraged others to fear rather than to walk in faith. Listen to Caleb’s words, “But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God.” Joshua 14:8. This is both a sad picture of Israel forgetting their Great King and a powerful testimony of two men choosing to declare their faith in God.
Words of faith or fear?
How about you beloved? How are you doing with the news of our day and time? Are you using your voice to strengthen hope in God or stir up fear? A good test to see where are hearts lean is to evaluate our recent conversations. Think back to those conversations with your girlfriends, your family or neighbors. Do you boast about the greatness of God or lend a voice to magnifying the wicked things of the world? Let us be like Caleb and Joshua who were fully aware of the reality they faced but confessed with their mouths that God was indeed greater! Psalm 34:1
Pattern of sound words
Lastly, remember your call as a gospel witness. The word shows us Paul’s charge to a young Timothy being commissioned for gospel work, “Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” 2 Timothy 1:13-14. We too can follow this pattern of “sound words.” Paul was all about the gospel message of Jesus. He used his words consistently to boast about God’s salvation and the riches of Christ whether he was in a prison cell, shipwrecked, beaten or separated from fellow believers because of persecution. He was not willing to let anything deter him from proclaiming the supremacy of Christ.
So, let us be women of this generation who stir up faith, not fear, in response to all that we hear and see.
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