It Takes Courage To Bring Glory To God In This World.
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:20 NIV)
The apostle Paul encountered severe opposition and persecution while spreading the Gospel. He had to demonstrate unwavering and extraordinary bravery in the face of threats to his well-being. Many of us would have been utterly overwhelmed and paralyzed by some of the hardships Paul endured as he faithfully followed his life's calling.
Paul required every ounce of courage because he knew his work would entail tremendous suffering. He once stated, “The Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me” (Acts 20:23).
Such a revelation from the Lord would cause us to tremble in fear!
When Paul's integrity was questioned, he composed the following response to the Corinthian believers, outlining some of the hardships he endured for God's glory:
“I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door time after time. I’ve been flogged five times with the Jews’ thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I’ve been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that’s not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to ‘brag’ about myself, I’ll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I’m not lying. Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-33 MSG)
It appears that Paul truly embodied the essence of our central message, as he fearlessly let Christ be exalted and glorified through his actions. He exemplified the very advice he gave to his listeners, encouraging them to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God for His glory:
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (Romans 12:1 NLT)
According to tradition, since Paul's eventual fate was not recorded in the Bible, he was believed to have been martyred for his work. Paul is a prime example of a New Testament believer who wholeheartedly brought glory to the Lord through his courageous and sacrificial life. He saw himself as an imitator of Jesus, who, in glorifying His Heavenly Father, obediently endured even death on the cross at Calvary.
We must recognize that our Christian journey demands significant courage as we faithfully obey God, often going against the prevailing culture. Jesus had already warned us that following Him would entail carrying our crosses daily and dying to ourselves to glorify God:
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?’ “ (Matthew 16:24-26 NLT)
Are you ready to embrace the same commitment Jesus demanded and that Paul demonstrated throughout his life? This will undoubtedly demand great courage, but when you seek God for that courage, He will abundantly fill you, just as He did for the early church in Acts chapter 4.
My prayer is that when the time comes for you to stand before His throne, you will not be ashamed but radiant, having lived on earth with great courage as an accurate representation of God.
Action Steps
1. Pray to the Lord, asking Him to fill you with tremendous courage, enabling you to share the Gospel with miraculous signs that point to God's glorious Kingdom manifesting in our world.
2. Expect the Lord's mighty power to upend your life and enable you to overcome the intimidation the enemy and his human agents have placed on you.
3. Seek from the Lord an opportunity to join a community of believers who passionately represent God in their generation.
4. If anything or anyone continues to intimidate you, remind yourself of Paul's encouraging words in the Book of Romans: “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NLT)
If you have enjoyed this article, please share it with a friend. Thank you for reading!