Be Courageous to Do What’s Right
by Yulia Kariuki
Have you ever found yourself in a situation when things and circumstances around you were getting darker and more difficult for you to handle?
I know when people mistreat me, judge me, or say something that really hurts, all within me wants to defend and fight back. But then a quiet voice tells me to stick to the truth I know, and not to fight back, even if it may look like I’m being defeated.
As I was reading our text for today, I was deeply touched by the revelation Jesus had about Himself, at that time, on the earth. He knew God had put everything into His hands. He knew that He had power over all. He also knew that He came from God, and was returning to Him.
His identity was deeply rooted in God Himself. He didn’t need any confirmation and approval from others in what He did. He knew who He was, what was He doing and where was He going to. I believe this knowledge was essential for Jesus in His ministry on the earth.
As we read further in John, Chapter 13, we have the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. Peter questioned why Jesus, being the Lord, would want to do such a thing. But Jesus, knowing the real reason for washing the disciples’ feet, answered Peter’s questions and washed his feet. With human reasoning it looked as if Jesus was doing a very ‘humbling’ thing, something that wasn’t fitting with His status. But He knew it was His Father’s will, at that particular moment, for Him to do it.
I believe that doing what’s right, in spite of what others might think, and having a revelation of how to act in a godly way in difficult circumstances, starts from knowing who we are in Christ, and why we do what we do.
Not cursing back, or paying back evil with evil, doesn’t spring out of good intentions towards people, but from the teaching of the Lord to ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’ (Mark 12:31), ‘overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21), and ‘love one another’ (John 13:34).
It's not just human encouragement we need to help us to do what’s right, we need a revelation from the Lord, teaching us His ways. Let’s ask the Lord to show us our true identity in Him, so we may act out of His truth and will, and not out of our ‘good’ intentions.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for calling me Your child and being my heavenly Father. I pray that You’ll reveal to me my true identity in You, so I can act in accordance with Your will, and be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yulia Kariuki was born in Russia and studied translation and interpretation as her profession. She joined Ellel Ministries in 2009, after graduating from university. The same year she met her husband and Bernard and Yulia served on team for many years both in Scotland and at Ellel Grange.
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