The Voice You've Been Avoiding: How Truth Makes You Brave
Hiding shrinks you. The voice you have been avoiding is not the one that condemns; it is the one that frees. What happens when you stop running and finally listen?
A daily doxa series for the UK church: What They Gave Up, What They Gained - Day 11
Scripture says we "overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony." In plain speech: we win because of what Jesus has already done for us, and because we keep telling the truth about it. That's how courage spreads when the crowd gets loud.
Prophetic courage isn't volume; it's obedience born from love. Grace first. Overflow, not effort.
Today's trade
This series traces a simple pattern we call the trade: someone lays down what they already have (reputation, safety, position, comfort, control), and God gives something better (clarity, freedom, courage, fruit) as they obey.
Today we're looking at Mary Magdalene, the Man Born Blind, the Samaritan Woman, Joseph of Arimathea & Nicodemus, and Mary of Bethany, who gave up reputation and image-control and gained authority, joy, and a truer name.
Gave up: respectability, anonymity, the right to curate the story.Gained: credible witness, contagious joy, and a voice God trusts.
There is always fire on acceptable sacrifice.
Mary Magdalene , "I have seen the Lord" (John 20:11, 18; cf. Luke 8:2)
Context & date: Jerusalem, early morning after Passover, c. AD 30, 33. Mary of Magdala had been freed by Jesus from seven demons.
Scene: a garden still damp with dew; a stone rolled back; a name spoken in the quiet.
Gave up: the safer script of private grief and her fragile credibility in a culture that discounted a woman's testimony.
Courageous act/words: She ran to the disciples and said plainly, "I have seen the Lord."
How it likely felt: tears to fire; heart pounding; bracing for disbelief.
Felt cost: dismissal as "idle talk" (cf. Luke 24:11); risk of being written off.
Gained: the honour of first witness to the resurrection; a commissioning from Jesus Himself.
Fire on the sacrifice: one unedited sentence became the seed of a world-changing announcement.
The Man Born Blind , "One thing I know" (John 9)
Context & date: Jerusalem during a feast season, c. AD 30, 33. A man blind from birth receives sight after Jesus sends him to wash in Siloam.
Scene: dust in the street; faces he's never seen before; a courtroom of questions.
Gave up: synagogue membership and the safety of silence.
Courageous act/words: He stood before religious leaders and said, "One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see."
How it likely felt: new sight, old pressure; learning to look people in the eye while they doubt you.
Felt cost: expulsion from the synagogue; social loss.
Gained: a clear testimony and a personal meeting with Jesus.
Fire on the sacrifice: simple truth outlasted complicated intimidation.
The Samaritan Woman , "Come, see a man..." (John 4:4, 30, 39, 42)
Context & date: Sychar in Samaria, c. AD 30, 33. Jews and Samaritans are divided; her own story is complicated.
Scene: noon heat at Jacob's well; a water jar left behind in a hurry.
Gave up: privacy and the thin cover of avoiding people.
Courageous act/words: She ran into town and said, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did."
How it likely felt: exposed and oddly free; choosing invitation over hiding.
Felt cost: whispers in familiar streets; old labels stirred up.
Gained: a town leaning toward Jesus; many believed because of her word.
Fire on the sacrifice: a vulnerable sentence turned a village into a congregation.
Joseph of Arimathea & Nicodemus , from secret to public (John 19:38, 42)
Context & date: Jerusalem, c. AD 30, 33. Two respected council members who had followed Jesus quietly step forward after the crucifixion.Scene: late afternoon shadows; spices carried through narrow streets; a borrowed tomb.Gave up: secrecy, status-protection, and distance from a condemned man.Courageous act/words: Joseph asked Pilate for Jesus' body; Nicodemus brought costly myrrh and aloes; they buried Jesus openly.How it likely felt: fear giving way to resolve; accepting that colleagues would notice.Felt cost: reputational hit in elite circles; potential exclusion from influence.Gained: the honour of serving the Lord in His death; their names written into the story forever.Fire on the sacrifice: hidden faith became public courage at the most dangerous moment.
Mary of Bethany , "Why this waste?" or worship? (John 12:1, 8; Mark 14:3, 9)
Context & date: Bethany near Jerusalem, c. AD 30, 33, during the week before Passover.Scene: a home filled with the scent of nard; startled looks; a woman at Jesus' feet.Gave up: a year's wages and her reputation with people who preferred tidy budgets to untidy love.Courageous act/words: She broke the jar and anointed Jesus for burial; she let the room talk.How it likely felt: trembling certainty; criticism landing like stones.Felt cost: being scolded for "waste"; misunderstood devotion.Gained: Jesus' public defence, "She has done a beautiful thing", and a promise that her act would be told wherever the gospel is preached.Fire on the sacrifice: the scent outlasted the sneers; worship rewrote the headline.
Reputation Management Is a Small King
These witnesses laid it down and found a better name, the one Jesus speaks. Their stories remind us: tell the truth about what God has done, even if some roll their eyes.
Joy travels on honest words, and God is with the brave.
Tomorrow: Safety Can't Save You , Esther, Peter, Daniel, and friends. The trade: giving up comfort to gain God's nearness and doors no fear could open.
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