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"Send me. I'll go Lord!" This is so easy to say when the faces that look back at you, as you venture off on an assignment for the Lord, are friendly. But what about when "they" say that you are crazy or "they" don't welcome the words of life you bring. I think everyone who accepts a calling from the Lord to work in His vineyard faces a time when the faces that are before can strike fear. These are testing times.

In times of testing, we have two choices: to be fearful and shrink back or to be courageous and move forward. But how to make the choice to be courageous and move forward? Jeremiah 1:8 provides an answer. Instead of looking at "them"; look to the Lord. Too many times we stall out in ministry, because we are too afraid of "them" and what "they" may say. "Them" and "They" may be strangers, your best friend, your spouse, your kids, or members of your church. "Them" and "They" are sometimes well meaning and sometimes they are out to destroy. No matter what their intention, when we face "Them" and "They", we still have to make a choice to either be fearful or to be courageous. Being courageous means knowing and trusting that the Lord is with us and will deliverer us.

There is no way to escape the times of testing, after all this is how we find out what we are really made of. My prayer is that when the times of testing come you will be courageous. No Fear!