Walking in Freedom || A Bible Devotional ||

Let. It. Out.

Let it out.

Let. It. Out.

Has your inmost self ever screamed those words "LET. IT. OUT."? If you're like me, you supress that simple, three-letter command. But is that how God wants us to live? Does He really want us to keep quiet about our faith?

Of course not! Then why do we do this? Why do we supress what we, as devout Christians, have experienced as our joy, our hope, our help, and our reason for living? 

It's because we are fearful. Fearful of the future. Fearful of hurt. Fearful of losing relationships. One of the devil's favorite way to attack Christ-followers is to put fear and trembling in our hearts. And it is NOT the godly respect for our Lord and Savior. It is fear for what the world and society will do. What their actions will be.

As Christians, we are called by Jesus to witness to those around us. The Oxford Dictionary defines "call" as:

call 

v.  to cry out, to attract attention to something

If we use that definition, Jesus cries out to us to witness His saving Gospel to the world. He does not whisper, or subtly make it known. He shouts and yells to us "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15). 

Now, you may be saying "I am too young; too old; too broken; too shy; too weak." To these God says:

1.   ""Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord."" (Jeremiah 1:7-8)

2.  "Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah... [but]Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. " (Genesis 18:11, 21:2) 

3.  "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."(Isaiah 61:1)

4.  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16)

5.  "To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." (1 Corinithians 9:22)

Isn't God remarkable in how He always has an answer to our problems? The Bible can sometimes feel like it was meant for a different time, but once we start piecing it together as OUR history, OUR church's history, it becomes fresh and new and relevant.

I just recently read the book Nothing to Prove: Why We Can Stop Trying So Hard by Jennie Allen, and it really struck me how much I myself believe that I need to have a standard to achieve. The constant thing that Mrs. Allen points out is this: "God knew we would never be enough. So He became enough for us. Jesus us our enough." (p 67) Jesus came to die on that cross, to live in this world, so that we wouldn't have to prove anything. He could just gift us with his enoughness.

I am not enough; You are not enough... JESUS IS! God says "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made PERFECT through weakness" (2 Corinithians 12:9). We think that our witnessing will never be enough... And you know what? It isn't! It is Jesus working through our lips to open the hearts of those hearing it that is ENOUGH.

Moses, in essence, said to God "You want me to do what? Go back to the land where I committed manslaughter/murder and tell Pharaoh to let your people go from his slavery? I can't do that; I am not a good speaker; I am NOT the one you want. Pick someone else."

God replied, "Who was the One who made your mouth anyway? Me! I want YOU to do this." (Please read Exodus 17 for the exact words!)

God continually cries out to his people to proclaim the Gospel to wherever they live. Not just Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Paul... YOU!

So, what should I, you, we do when we hear the Holy Spirit say "Let. It. Out.?" We should all say, "You, God, are so enough and so sufficient. Help me, Lord, to do just as you want!"

Sources

The Oxford English Dictionary. <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/call>, accessed June 23, 2017.

English Standard Version Bible. (For all verses). Accessed June 23, 2017.

Allen, Jennie. Nothing to Prove: Why We Can Stop Trying So Hard. New York, NY: Waterbrook Publishing, 2017.