Boldness

Reminiscing about what Sarah taught me about courage (yesterday’s blog) reminded me of the courage and the boldness of the apostles in Acts 5. The apostles were arrested and thrown into prison for doing good works and preaching “the good news.” While they were in prison, an angel of the LORD came and miraculously set them free. After they were released, they went back out into a public place and continued to preach and teach. When their former captors found out that the apostles had “escaped,” they brought them back and demanded that the apostles not preach in Jesus’ name. The apostles boldly responded, “We must obey God rather than men!”

The apostle’s declaration made me think about my own convictions. I wondered how many times in my life I was doing something good, something just, or something right only to be confronted by a strong opposition. I wondered how many times I backed down when I saw trouble brewing. I wondered how many times I didn’t back down and found myself in a whole heap of trouble. I wondered how many times I was “miraculously” saved from a bad situation. I wondered how many times I walked away unscathed from a conflict and kept my mouth shut because I thought my “rescue” was the goal of heaven.

When the apostles declared “We must obey God rather than men” it would seem that they were bold because they heard the voice of God (4:20) and prayed accordingly (4:29). I wonder how many times I silence the voice of heaven and live helplessly in life because I have not acted on what I have heard…