Ask Peter when he denied Jesus three times in a row and wept bitterly (Luke 22:62), and then ask him when he was beaten for obeying God (Acts 5:40) which he thought was better? What would we have done?
When all of the world is coming against us, it’s best not to cave in under the influence. But sometimes, like Peter, we fail. And it’s in our failures that we can have that take-a-way moment and correct ourselves. So we come out standing on top of our mistakes and not being weighed down by them. Victors. Not victims.
We must stand on God and His Word and say as Peter did in Acts 5, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Ridicule, threatening’s, persecutions, becoming an outcast, being looked down upon, losing friends, maybe even brethren casting us out, imprisonment and beatings is all possible. But when the Holy Spirit is not quenched within us, we would rather go away rejoicing that we were counted “worthy to suffer shame for His name”, than to suffer shame because we didn’t stand.
Are we in it to win it? Then there’s no room to compromise or deny because God’s Spirit is with us. Yes, God’s Spirit is with us! And like Peter we can say, “We are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Don’t listen to the world, listen to God. Stand!
Blessings!
Elder Steve Smith