What Does Courage Look Like Today?
Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. —Joshua 1:9 (NKJV)
I was looking forward to a relaxing evening when I opened my email and found a message from my church production team. My name had been brought to their attention and they were asking to film me as part of an upcoming sermon series. Convinced they had contacted the wrong person, I kindly thanked them for reaching out and explained that I was not the right candidate for this opportunity. I then shut down my computer for the night and headed upstairs to bed.
The following morning, after making a cup of coffee, I sat down to answer a few emails. I was a little surprised to see another message from the production team. I expected to read something along the lines of, “We’re sorry for the inconvenience; we made a mistake. Please disregard the previous message.” But it read quite the opposite. The sweet lady who sent the message was encouraging me to pray about the opportunity.
Honestly, I didn’t want to pray about it, because I didn’t feel comfortable doing it. I wrestled with it for days, and eventually felt God gently convicting me to do this uncomfortable and unfamiliar thing.
So, a month later, in a beautiful greenhouse of lush plants and flowers, I was looking into the lens of a video camera and blubbering through a description of how I experience God in my everyday life.
Part of following God is saying yes to doing hard things, uncomfortable and unfamiliar things. (Looking back, I’m glad I said yes to God.) Our brothers and sisters whose stories are told in the Bible said yes to doing hard things for God’s glory. David fought and killed a giant. Moses confronted Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and led the Israelites out of bondage. Daniel refused to stop praying and worshiping God and was thrown into a lion’s den. Esther spoke up to save her people, risking her own life in the process. Peter stepped out into rough and choppy waters because Jesus asked him to. Mary risked everything to carry the Messiah. And let us not forget about our most courageous example of all: Jesus. He laid down His life to save us from eternal death.
Each of these people allowed God to use their yes, even though it was scary, uncomfortable, and costly. God used their obedience to do great things, and He also wants to use our willing and obedient hearts.
What does courage look like today? It looks like trusting God, in all things, even when it doesn’t make sense or when the next step is unseen. It looks like standing in faith that God has good plans for us, plans to prosper us, not to harm us, but to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11; NIV).
As we surrender and obey God, He promises to equip, empower, and enable us with the courage we need to walk forward into what He is calling us to do. I pray that today you will be encouraged to say yes to God in whatever way He is speaking to you. Be strong and courageous, and do not be afraid; God will be with you.