Acts 4:13 in the Bible (KJV):
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
I have always been fascinated with life verses: how did people choose them, how could one verse capture their whole life, why didn’t I have one?
Today the above verse struck me. I present as timid, my hand shakes when I am nervous, my voice shakes as well. Yet, out of obedience to Jesus, I have risked my job, my family’s income, saying I would not work with ads that promoted pornography, abortion or the occult. I have been filled with the Holy Spirit explaining to upper management why these things are wrong, how they hurt all the people involved with them.
At another job I pointed out to the Executive Director that the self-care we were teaching our clients, we ourselves were being forced to ignore for ourselves because we were being forced to work 60 hours a week (for 40 hours pay). Their initial stated reaction to my email was appreciation for what I had “uncovered.” After a few months they turned on me and I quit before they could fire me.
In another situation, a group I was a part of were deciding if they should use their influence to encourage a family to stop life-support, and let someone die because if they lived it would dramatically change everyone’s life for the “worse.” (this last part was unstated by our group). I firmly dissented to stopping life-support because I believed in the long run they would recover. I was the only one that dissented. The person died. The family now regrets their decision and wishes they could choose over again. The group has never acknowledged their wrong.
I have no courage to do these things; but Jesus does. He fills me with his courage, courage to do the right thing and let God the Father handle what comes next. I may appear to others to be a “reed shaking in the wind.”
But some see that I have “been with Jesus.”
I AM for You! 