And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the LORD. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” ’ ” (Jeremiah 45:5)

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. “One word of truth outweighs the world.-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

For those depressed and weary—those that have lost hope: Be still and wait on the Lord. Either He is who He says He is, or He isn’t.

If He is (and I think that’s the case) He’s got you covered in ways that you can’t even begin to comprehend. This doesn’t mean we won’t suffer or face hardship, but it does mean that you will be equipped to deal with both.

Start small. Tell the truth always, even if it hurts you short term. The long term consequences of evading truth telling will result in you being a shadow of your true self. Keep your head up. Look people in the eye. Stop craving security and safety as chief goals. Start pushing boundaries. Find fellowship with other truth tellers. Meet in person. Be encouraged and encourage others. Hug your spouse. Tell your kids how much you love them. But tell the truth ALWAYS. betmatik

I may lose material comforts, pseudo friends, physical health, and perhaps standing with (self) “important” people, but I won’t compromise my integrity by feeding the public’s delusion that we are entitled to a risk free life.―Prof. David Clements

“I shall most certainly assemble all of you, O Jacob;
I shall surely gather the remnant of Israel.
I shall bring them together like sheep in the fold [multiplying the nation];
Like a flock in the midst of its pasture.
The place will swarm with many people and hum loudly with noise.
 
“The breaker [the Messiah, who opens the way] shall go up before them [liberating them].
They will break out, pass through the gate and go out;
So their King goes on before them,
The Lord at their head.” (Micah 2:12-13, AMP)

And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. (Ezekiel 34:23-24)

A despairing man is in despair over something. So it seems for an instant, but only for an instant; that same instant the true despair manifests itself, or despair manifests itself in its true character. For in the fact that he despaired of something, he really despaired of himself, and now would be rid of himself. Thus when the ambitious man whose watchword was “Either Caesar or nothing” does not become Caesar, he is in despair thereat. But this signifies something else, namely, that precisely because he did not become Caesar he now cannot endure to be himself. So properly he is not in despair over the fact that he did not become Caesar, but he is in despair over himself for the fact that he did not become Caesar. This self which, had he become Caesar, would have been to him a sheer delight (though in another sense equally in despair), this self is now absolutely intolerable to him. In a profounder sense it is not the fact that he did not become Caesar which is intolerable to him, but the self which did not become Caesar is the thing that is intolerable; or, more correctly, what is intolerable to him is that he cannot get rid of himself. If he had become Caesar he would have been rid of himself in desperation, but now that he did not become Caesar he cannot in desperation get rid of himself. Essentially he is equally in despair in either case, for he does not possess himself, he is not himself. By becoming Caesar he would not after all have become himself but have got rid of himself, and by not becoming Caesar he falls into despair over the fact that he cannot get rid of himself. Hence it is a superficial view (which presumably has never seen a person in despair, not even one’s own self) when it is said of a man in despair, “He is consuming himself.” For precisely this it is he despairs of, and to his torment it is precisely this he cannot do, since by despair fire has entered into something that cannot burn, or cannot burn up, that is, into the self.

(Soren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, pp.16-17)