EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE
We who are Christ followers have a very difficult time watching others who claim to follow Jesus camouflage themselves. Believers who hide their faith out of fear become something they are not just so they fit in. Take heart, sisters; God has given us His Holy Spirit to overcome our fears and be bold witnesses in our world.
Jesus knew His disciples were fearful and timid, wanting to hide themselves and just fit in. He taught them at every opportunity He could. He even rebuked the disciples in the middle of a storm: “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”
The disciples were fearful because they thought Jesus couldn’t handle things that came upon them. They thought they were on their own until they saw what God could do!
In fear, of course, we never want to step out on our own or talk about sins outright, not ours or anyone else’s. So, we try to hide it. “Sin might turn people off,” or that’s what we say to ourselves. So, we blend ourselves in with others, do what they do, and just remain quiet.
Unfortunately many of us don’t allow other people to see any depth to us inside. They just show what the outward shell reveals. They fit in and camouflage and hide who they are in Christ.
If you don’t reveal your heart –or your love – or your love for your Savior, who will? Some may feel it’s too personal and too great a risk for themselves. And so we just stay camouflaged and, therefore, remain safe!
“For God has NOT given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” ( 2 Timothy 1:7) but unfortunately we become timid rather than being bold, lacking in courage or self-confidence, and we become fearful. The fear builds and changes into other emotions, and before it’s known, self-sabotage happens.
Hiding in the shadows of our camouflaged appearances is weak. Have we been bullied by the enemy feeling that we must sneak around as cowards to not cause any attention in a godly matter that we are much different than the world thinks?
Jesus NEVER used camouflage methods, and neither did any of His followers. They became different as they followed Jesus- very obviously different, boldly different. They were NOT controlled by fear.
We need to remember that the power of God’s Spirit is in us. We don’t need to camouflage who or Who we are. Did Jesus’s disciples realize that with one word, Jesus could calm the storm? I doubt it in the beginning, or it would not have become a teachable lesson to us. There are many stories in scripture to learn from and we don’t need to just fit in like everyone else. The Word of God alone has the power to touch the hearts of people and can be a voice for us. Let His Word speak through us. We might think that people aren’t going to listen or respond to it. Unfortunately, many of us will still camouflage our voices, too.
THE WORD, which is like a hammer, crushes a rock. It breaks man’s heart. It also opens the eyes and brings forward a healing. It’s the Gospel! Speak it, don’t hide it. Be bold, courageous and stand out. Be a living example of Christ who stood out in a crowd with love for everyone, and in every place He went.