The progression from fear to courage is not conceptual and limited to a feeling. As we are empowered to face and defeat the fear in our lives, it exhibits itself in action. We move from a place of hiding and fear to courage and action.
As the disciples gathered in the Upper Room after Jesus’ ascension, they were still unsure of everything that was happening. Their experience at the ascension left them paralyzed as “they were looking intently up into the sky as he was going” and two men dressed in white said to them, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11).
They were given instructions to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the gift the Father had promised. We don’t have a lot of information about those ten days between ascension and Pentecost. We know they chose another disciple to replace Judas Iscariot, and we are certain they were joined together in the rhythm of daily prayers and fellowship.
When the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, their fear was no longer in control. Peter stood and spoke with courage and confidence. People were able to hear, understand, and respond to the Gospel message. New life was coming forth and 3,000 were added to their number that day, those being saved. They were filled with courage to go spread the Good News. E. Stanley Jones writes in his book The Christ of Every Road: A Study in Pentecost, “After Pentecost there was a quality and power in their witness that had never been there before, but their mighty witness at Pentecost and in the subsequent days was the result of a deeper fact. The witness was a by-product. The witness they gave was the result of the witness they received, that is a sense of God in immediate experience” (49).
The disciples experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The witness they proclaimed was empowered as they shared their experience of Jesus. They had walked with Jesus and been taught by Jesus. They were with him as he spoke about the imminent struggle and death. They witnessed the empty tomb. Now, through the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives, the witness flowed out through the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives.
At times, we try to mechanize the way we witness to our faith. We seek programs, books, and trainings. We try to witness from our own strength. Yet, the program does not provide the courage or power we need to be an effective witness. The program may give us a good framework, but it is the power of the Holy Spirit giving us the courage to proclaim the truth of our own experience of Jesus that creates the environment for transformation through the Holy Spirit at work in the life of those who hear our witness.
Do you have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life giving you the courage you need to proclaim the Good News of God’s transforming love active in your life? It may be difficult at times to speak up and witness to our faith because of our fear of how we might be received. Yet, through the Holy Spirit’s courage, we can speak with confidence, trusting the Lord to use our words to bring about change.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Holy Spirit at work in me. Give me the courage to witness to others about the transformation you bring into my life. Don’t allow fear to control me. I want your courage alive in me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.