...for such a time as this

So often, we look around the world and what's happening today and get overwhelmed. It's easy to see the bad things happening and feel powerless. Especially right now, when it seems like anyone speaking the truth is silenced. There's something every day that makes me shake my head and ask, "How can this be happening? How can people be so blind?"

We are told that as Christians we shouldn't make waves. As Voddie Baucham has said, we act like the 11th commandment is "Thou Shalt Be Nice" and we focus on it while ignoring the 10. We are encouraged to stay quiet in an effort to keep the peace. According to many, we should just keep quiet when we don't agree. We should make every effort not to rock the boat.

I'll admit, that life is much easier. It's a lot easier to decide to sit quietly in the background. It's a lot easier to decide to go with the flow. It's a lot easier to fly under the radar.

The thing is, we aren't called to a life of ease. In fact, Jesus promised exactly the opposite. He lived exactly the opposite. Jesus didn't fly under the radar. He didn't temper His words so that He wouldn't offend people. Honestly, people either loved Him or hated Him. We are called to follow Him, even when it's hard. We are called to live a life where nothing matters more than Him--a life we are willing to give up, if need be.

The early followers of Christ were seen as rebels and troublemakers. When Paul and Silas were preaching in Thessalonica, the accusation the mob threw at them was, "These people—they’re political agitators turning the world upside down!" (Acts 17:6) As tradition holds, all the disciples except John were killed for their faith. Hebrews 11, what we call the "Faith Hall of Fame," has a few verses that we usually overlook:
"³⁵ I could speak of faith bringing women their loved ones back from death and how the faithful accepted torture instead of earthly deliverance because they believed they would obtain a better life in the resurrection. ³⁶ Others suffered mockery and whippings; they were placed in chains and in prisons. ³⁷ The faithful were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword, clothed only in sheepskins and goatskins; they were penniless, afflicted, and tormented. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of these saints. They wandered across deserts, crossed mountains, and lived in the caves, cracks, and crevasses of the earth."

If you are alive today, reading this right now, you are right where and when God intended you to be. We're told in Deuteronomy and again in Acts that God determined when and where each of us should live. He chose you for this time and place so that you would fulfill His purpose--the things He planned long ago for you to do. He knew the darkness you would be facing today, and He created you as someone who would reflect His light in the midst of it. Like Mordecai reminded Esther, perhaps you are where you are

Don't be silenced. Don't give in to the temptation to fade into the darkness around you just because it's easier than standing up. Don't back down because you don't want to offend someone or hurt their feelings. "Be nice" isn't a commandment. Instead, we are told to speak the truth because when people know the truth of God, they are set free from the chains of sin. We are told to stand up for what is right, to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves. Instead of being told not to rock the boat, we're told to step out of the boat into the storm and to know that the Savior will hold onto us.