Stand Up and Speak Up

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions. – Esther 4:15-17

We all have those “such a time as this” moments when we have to on-the- spot decide if we are going to keep our seat or stand up. Are we going to go with the crowd, go with the flow, do as the Romans do, or do the right thing even if we have to do it alone, stand up even if we have to stand alone and take the right path even if we have to take it alone?

At that moment, courage will always be asking you, not what is the easiest thing to do, or what is the popular thing to do, but what is the right thing to do? Someone has said that courage is not the absence of fear; it is the mastery of it. The Bible adds a very important element to courage and that is trust in God. You see, this is what courage is – courage is willing to do what you know God wants you to do when the consequences are unseen and unknown.

Nothing will measure you or mature you like those times when life puts you on the spot, you’ve got to make the call, choose the path, and make the decision. You know there is a right way and a wrong way. There is a right door and a wrong door. A right call and a wrong call. The choice that you make will make you for the rest of your life.

The cost of courage is great, but the cost of cowardliness and compromise is even greater. So, teach your kids and model for them a life that shows up when the rest of the world is hiding, stands up with the rest of the world is sitting, and speaks up when the rest of the world is listening. Go big and go bold.

Dear Lord, I pray that you would give me the courage, the boldness, and the fearlessness to stand up and speak up when the time comes for me to do so. Help me not to shy away, but to walk boldly in the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within me. In Jesus’ name, amen.