What Are We Afraid Of?

A few years ago I bought the movie Joan of Arc about the Maid of Loraine. Every time I watch it I cry! But, just this week I saw it in a new light. I know it is because of the message I am preparing for Tehillah. While I was watching the movie I began to realize that if Joan of Arc didn't do what she did, I may not be alive today. I am French. Every time before when I had watched the movie, that thought never came into my mind. But, it hit me this week. In Hebrews 11, which is known as the faith chapter, there is a list of men and women who lived by faith. They did what God told them to do and yet verses 39-40 say "All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. This was because God had something better in store for us. And he did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us." WOW!!! "Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God." (Heb. 11:1-2) Joan of Arc was just a peasant girl who was given specific instructions. She obeyed God and in the end was burned at the stake for being a HERETIC!!! It wasn't until 700 yrs. later that her verdict was recanted and she became known as a saint. She was just a young girl!!! Yet, she changed the course of history by being obedient. Even as she was being burned at the stake, eye witnesses said that she repeatedly called out the name of Jesus. She never got to see what she died for. It was years later before all of France was united. She had true faith. In the face of all the odds, she could have stayed home and never fought for her country. But, she believed in the words of an angel of the Lord and obeyed. And we are afraid of telling our coworkers about Christ?! Hebrews 39-40 says that all those people died without ever seeing what they had been promised. Yet our slogan still stands "We Have To See It To Believe It!!!" We are not left out of history!! Why do we continue to think that we cannot make an affect on history!! Yesterday is history. What did you do yesterday? COME ON!!! Get real! God is the same God in the Old Testament. He can still part seas, send plagues and fire down from heaven, raise the dead, and heal the sick! We have to have faith. Unless we believe without seeing, we will never be the true history makers God has called us to be. History Makers, cheesy word? NO! The day we get up out of the pews and take a step in the direction we have been called is the day "Think Outside The Box" will become a dim comparison to "Anything Is Possible." Anything IS possible for those who believe! But, this is not a 'one man show'. This is going to take all of us! We have to start believing in God and stop getting caught up in the ability of man. The ability of man is limited, but God is NOT limited. God is moving and shaking, are you going to be a part of it or hide away and pretend it isn't happening?