This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 NLT
We tend to believe that courage and bravery are characteristics bold warrior types are just born with. They come out of the womb ready to take on life. They never back down, never give up, and know how to look fear and disappointment in the teeth. For sure, that’s one face of courage. But it’s not the only one.
Being strong and courageous is a choice we who don’t seem to be born brave are also urged to make. It’s a choice to move past fear and discouragement, believing that despite what feels like evidence to the contrary, God is with us. You are making this deliberate choice when nothing about your life seems to make sense, when your disappointment with your situation and the fact that God allowed it is in peak season.
Sometimes what “feels” brave and looks courageous is anything but. In our disappointment and struggle we can decide to take things in our own hands. We can feel like a warrior and decide to charge through, giving our own best efforts to make life look more like we imagined in our plans and dreams. This generally does not turn out well. True courage is choosing to trust that God is with you, wherever you are and whatever life looks like. True bravery is taking your hands off and waiting on God to act on your behalf, in His timing and in His way. Sometimes bravery is getting out of bed in the morning, trusting God and letting “it” alone, then doing the next right thing.
God IS with you. God loves you so much that He WANTS you to have what is best. God is so wise that He KNOWS what is best. God is so powerful that He can PROVIDE what is best. You
can choose the courage to believe that and see increasingly more of His faithfulness. This is what it means to walk by faith. You can’t walk by faith while fixating on a certain outcome right now. Walking by faith is trusting even when life doesn’t look like you planned or want. God has not abandoned you. He is with you wherever you go.
That’s what Jesus promised: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 NLT
And He brings a gift you can get nowhere else: “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 NLT
- Courage to trust will always lead to peace. “Courage, dear heart!” – Aslan, Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis