Faithful Friday - "Against the Tide"

It's Friday again already! That means it's time for Faithful Fridays. If you have something to share about your Christian Walk, we'd love to hear about it. We, as Christians, really should be encouraging one another! If you have a post for Faithful Fridays, please visit Joy's blog, grab her button, and leave her a comment letting her know you are participating, so we can visit you too!

In today’s society, going with the flow or the normal (according to our culture) seems to be the easiest and safest thing to do, but God tells us, His children:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

That means we’re supposed to BE different, THINK different.

But, He doesn’t expect us to stand up – stand out – or “go against the tide”, so to speak, on our own. And actually if we attempt to do so, we most certainly will fail. But He promises He will never leave us:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

As I was thinking on this, immediately three different examples straight from the Bible came to mind and in each one of these situations, they dared to go against the tide and step out – stand up – and be different and not conform to what others were saying and doing. They didn’t let circumstances dictate their actions, but they stood strong, trusted God, and stood up.

First of all, there was David, the shepherd boy. He dared to stand up and face the giant, Goliath, with only a slingshot. Everyone doubted and laughed. BUT GOD was with David. And well, I think we all know what happened to the giant. The giant was big, but God was bigger. And armed with the power of God and a little slingshot, David defeated Goliath. David trusted in God and didn’t conform to the thinking around him, and God took care of the situation.

Another one that came to mind was Daniel. Daniel refused to pray to the king, but only to God. He didn’t do it secretly, hiding away in a closet either, but opened his windows, so all could see. Daniel was thrown into the den of lions, BUT GOD shut the mouths of the lions. Daniel was brought out of the lions’ den, safe and unharmed.

Then there was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Remember them? They were ordered by King Nebuchadnezzar to bow down before a golden image and worship it. The result of not doing so was to be thrown into a blazing furnace. I love their response. They replied to the king that their God they served was able to save them from it and He would rescue them, but even if He didn't, they wanted the king to know that they still would not serve any other gods or worship the image of gold. And they didn’t. So they were thrown into the furnace and it was even ordered to be turned up hotter than usual. BUT GOD stepped in and saved them. And I love this part: When they were brought out, the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them!

And what God did then, He does now. For us, His children:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

So today, I’d like to encourage you in your walk with the Lord in the world we live in, to dare to be different and stand up and stand out. We cannot stand in our own strength, but remember the enormous God we have backing us. He will fill us with the courage to face the giants, the lions, and the fiery furnaces in our lives. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us.


Thank you for stopping by! Have a great weekend! Be blessed!