Speak up {writing prompt}

Have you ever heard it said that "If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything"?  I can remember how much that quote resonated with me as a new believer.  I could look back over my life to that point and see that there was much that I had fallen for.  It's like that when the supposed truth only goes as far as your opinions.  You see, I had things that I stood for, but I didn't have an unchanging rock to cling to when the winds of change would blow my understanding of the world around me right out of the water.

I would pick and choose what suited me.  In one circumstance, something might seem very wrong but in a different circumstance...maybe not so much.  It was all up to me and what I thought about it at the time.  That is how it is when you answer to no one but yourself.  You can adjust the boundaries as you see fit and fool yourself into thinking you are doing just fine because you fit between the lines of your own making.

It became quite a different thing when I turned to Christ for salvation.  But not just that...you see, sometimes people stop there.  They think "Great, I'm going to heaven, now let me get back to 'my life'."  But that kind of thinking fails to acknowledge that Christ is Lord.

Lord...King...Master...Ruler of all.  He who is willing and able to save our souls from perishing apart from him forever deserves our allegiance.  If we have truly turned to him that means that we have realized that we have a problem with sin and the holy Lamb of God has the only remedy.

There is a definite change in our lives when we align ourselves with the truth.  No longer is it easy to just blend in, be silent and go with the flow of what others are doing and saying.  No longer should the boundaries be moved in order to suit our own comforts and desires.  No, all of that changes when Christ is Lord.  We then become a citizen of a new kingdom.  We live for him.  The way that we live will be different now that we have his spirit within us and his truth to guide us.  Those who have not yet pledged their allegiance will not understand our devotion and surrender.

And there will be times when many around us will sit in comfortable complacency and if we truly believe what God has spoken in his Word we will have to take a stand.  There will be times when silence is something we cannot afford to keep.  Times when we must be clear about what God has said because Satan has been very active in muddying the waters.  And the sobering truth compels us because we realize that if we don't stand up many will fall.

Take courage.  He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  Be a willing vessel for the truth of God to shine.  Your surroundings may be dark but that is where the light of his Word will shine the brightest...if you are willing to take a stand.


Linking up for the writing prompt here: http://www.ellenstumbo.com/speak-up/