The Courage to Speak!

"So the king asked me, why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart. I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, May the King live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried are in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" (Nehemiah 2:2-3).

Do we speak freely and share how we feel? It seems that it is popular to share the politically correct positions and to not bring up one's true feelings. No one wants to confront the real issues in life, so we live in a state of repression and frustration. This state of repression is attributed to many of the physical ills that people feel because it creates the stress which contributes to the hypertension, heart disease and the like.

When I do not speak up we assume a position of weakness in our lives, that we are powerless and our voice does not matter. Moreover, we place our selves in the role of the victim and we marginalize our lives.

Paul Tillich defined courage as the ability to stand in spite of. In the context of having a voice it would be, the ability to speak up for oneself and others in spite of. It takes courage to speak our mind and to have a voice within this society.

Nehemiah was challenge with having to speak his mind to the King. Think about it, the policies which attributed to the destruction of Jerusalem was a directive from his administration. Nehemiah's boss was the chief reason that his people were exiled and the city destroyed and left to the other governors of the area. This was a delicate matter to say the least, for Nehemiah to speak it could have meant his life.

Notice in the text that Nehemiah was scared. The feelings of fear and being afraid are not a sign of weakness. Fear is a normal feeling, but what do we do with your fears is the question? Nehemiah did not allow his fear to rule his life and to not allow him to speak. It takes courage to deal with our fears and to take action in spite of. It takes courage to make our voice be heard in this world.

Most of us mute ourselves because we never take the courage to speak. Our voice could be making the difference but we never share our hearts and passion with others. If Nehemiah would have remained silent this would have been the end of the story, but because he spoke up he was able to change the destiny of a nation.

Living with Faith and Power and Creating a Phenomenal Life!

Bishop Keith Russell Lee
Hoffman Estates, IL and Los Angeles, CA

Spiritual Prayer Treatment

Father, May I walk in the courage to
allow my voice to be heard. May my voice
be your voice.
In the Name of Jesus and Through His Power!
Amen! And So It Is!