Peer Pressure

March 21, 2021

Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.

The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

~Isaiah 8:12-13~

I am sure growing up we have all been told not to "follow the crowd," not to give into peer pressure of one who says "do this or that with me" or have been instructed to "be our own person". This verse today can make us realize that even God uses the word "conspiracy." Yet here we see He is telling us not to call all things this way how others do. If there is anyone who knows about being labeled as "unseen" or a "conspiracy," it is God. We cannot always follow the crowd and label people "insane" just for believing in a warning that may even come directly from the Lord Himself. In the Old Testament many prophets may have been labeled this way, however they feared God more then men. Life was not easy for them, yet they obeyed what God commanded them to say.

Although some do not; "for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."

(John 12:43)

When we are so focused on gaining praise of men we become lost in the grips of our own flesh. We slip and wonder why God remains so quiet within us. When we focus on only the praise of God we are exalting Him above all just as we ought to; "The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!" (II Samuel 22:47)

There are many different theories in todays society of what is to be or not to be. There are many who may hear from the Lord and many who claim to but do not. If we are not confirming what we hear in prayer to Jesus, we may get caught up in a trap of false prophecy. If we are going to God, pulling down all hinderance from satan and our flesh before prayer time we can begin addressing what we hear and see, asking Him if this is right or wrong. He is faithful to meet us where we are and confirm for us in our hearts. The dangers of joining the "crowd of men," are simply going against the fear of the Lord and the dread of not being prepared for His warnings. Jeremiah knew the importance of trusting God's warning call even as the people turned against him. In a sense calling Jeremiah a "conspiracy theorist," I'm sure. " “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them." (Jeremiah 1:17)

The unfortunate side effect to the lack of understanding or labeling Jeremiah to be crazy of some sort resulted in much death and lamenting. Had they believed Jeremiah, more may have been saved from destruction. "Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” Says the Lord God of hosts."

(Jeremiah 2:19)

The fear of men in which they carried was an act of peer pressure in itself. Following eachother and casting aside the one who tried to truely help them. Doesn't this sound familiar? Our own King Jesus dealt with this. He witnessed as His own disciples gave into the peer pressure of society doubting Jesus' teachings. The Pharisees questioned Him and even called Him crazy too. "Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”(John 10:19‭-‬20)

Do we wish to follow the Pharisees of this day in age or follow Jesus who just wants to give us understanding and preparation. It is a vicious circle when some actual crazy theories get looped together with real warnings from God. In the end they all get labeled crazy and God gets ignored in the midst of it all. Do we really think that God will react any different then He did to all the others who rejected Him in this same way? Let us test the spirits before we judge our neighbors with what they say; "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

(I John 4:1)

This however does not mean all are false. We must be careful and get closer to Jesus so we may be able to discern the truth. Let us fear Him more then men when they reject what we believe the Lord is telling us. Whether others listen or not, trying to warn is better then holding on to information and watching others perish. When others threaten us or call us "crazy," we can smile and know Jesus sees us and so long as He has spoken it and we have repeated, we have officially done all that we can do. The rest is up to God, just as it was with Jeremiah. Our part is to continue to pray for the ears of the deaf to be unstopped. We have that ability to do so as long as we can. God hears us. "Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer." (Psalms 4:1)

If we fear society and give into peer pressure to do as men are telling us to do, we may end up on the complete opposite spectrum of where Jesus needs us. Let us lean into Him more, pray against the devil's distractions and ask for a genuine understanding of what is truth and what is error. Let us not be so quick to judge as the ones who shout, "Conspiracy!" Let us love and walk in love. We would be suprised what actually is truth and what is not when we do.

Prayer:

Almighty Adonai, thank you for your patience with all of us as we continously go back and forth with what is to be and what is not. Thank you for giving warnings to those who will listen, for preparation in a time where disaster may occur. Lord give me understanding. I bind all distractions and hinderance from the devil and I accept only the voice of God as I pray. Please open the ears of the ones who remain deaf and unsure of Your guidance. Help them to take truth to heart. I praise You for allowing us to hear from You and be ready for things ahead and I fear You more then men. I know You have me and I know You will keep me through the fire. May all honor be given to You and may the ones of the wicked be turned towards You as the Day approaches. Thank you Jesus for loving us so much even when we didn't love You. In Your Name I receive wisdom from heaven, may it glorify You, Jesus Christ. Amen.