Originally published Friday, 16 September 2011.
I am sitting here staring at this blank blog post, begging God to put into words the impressing on my heart.
It has been a trying week.
I feel stretched, I feel discouraged, I feel encouraged, I feel sad, I feel happy ... I feel a slew of emotions [I am a woman, I have this right ;)].
But as I pause this morning and I think of a word God is impressing on me more than others, it is this ... courage.
I can be a bit of a word-nerd, so I looked up "courage" on dictionary.com:
cour·age: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
Reading the definition of courage, there was something that struck me ...
"The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty ..."
Being brave is a label that we [as a society] tend to give to people like the military, doctors, nurses, EMTs and police officers. Seems like professions like these require courage.
Perhaps as everyday followers of Christ we have believed the lie that courage is not a daily requirement for us. But God [in His great love] is messing with me -- in the best way -- about this.
I need more courage. Therefore, I need more Jesus.
I have been more fearful to offend rather than to speak God's Truth. I've been afraid to open my heart to what it really means to be Jesus to someone.
No more. There's to much at stake. I fear God more.
If you want God to do great things in you and through you courage isn't an option, it is a requirement. There is a daily prompting on my soul to ask God for His courage.
Courage [in Jesus] give us the strength to extend grace, despite our pain.
Courage [in Jesus] gives us the desire to speak Truth no matter what.
Courage [in Jesus] moves us to do more than sit behind a computer and type out seemingly profound statements -- that we will never actually do ourselves.
Courage [in Jesus] gives us the strength to walk away from relationships and circumstances that are not healthy for us.
Courage [in Jesus] is where we are enabled to begin and finish a great work of God in our lives.
Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.
Every day is a day of courage ...
Today I want to know, what do you need more courage [in Jesus] to do? Leave a comment and share what it is and I will begin praying that for you.
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