What does it mean to be brave?
I’m not talking about heroes and fairytales. I’m talking about everyday life. I feel the term has exclusively been used to describe people in wars and movies. Very rarely do we see the word being used in our everyday vernacular. Yet when we follow God, the adventure demands bravery.
As I boarded the plane to leave for Sweden I texted my best friend and said, “I don’t feel very brave.” It might have been the most vulnerable text I’ve ever sent. He replied, “Big steps require big faith and big faith requires big steps.” It was encouraging and challenging all in one.
I realized that bravery is less of a feeling and more of an action.
I believe most people are looking for the feeling of bravery before committing to the action of being brave. I’ve heard it said that emotions are good servants but terrible masters. If we’re waiting for the opportunity to feel brave, we may never get there –– wherever your “there” is.
Many times we’re only brave when we’re forced to be. I had never been more terrified then my first day of high school. Thoughts plagued me about all the insufficiencies I had. I was overweight, didn’t have many friends, and felt out of place. As it turns out, high school was some of the greatest years of my life. That’s common though. Walking by faith and trusting God into the unknown always pays off. I’ve never once regretted being brave or making the hard decision.
God offered this encouragement to Joshua after he was commissioned to take the promise land.
”be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT
The character of our Father is that He’s always ahead of us and will never take us to place where His grace can’t sustain us.
What hard decision is God challenging you to make? Go ahead, be brave.
