"Courage is fear that has said its prayers."
Those words were said to me by a friend in a conversation a little over 10 years ago. Something about these words resonated with me.
My friend wasn't saying that the fear had to go away for courage to exist. Rather, they were saying that courage can exist right alongside fear.
What it all comes down to, is how we handle the fear.
Are we going to allow fear to hold us back from doing something?
Or are we going to do it anyways - even if we still have fear?
I'm not talking about fear that keeps us safe, or keeps us from doing something stupid. That's a healthy and needed fear. The fear I'm talking about is the fear that often keeps us from doing what God is asking us to do. The fear that keeps us from stepping into an opportunity God is providing for us.
The kind of feat holds us back from what God has in store for us. It causes us to miss out on what God may be wanting to do in and through us.
This is what we sometimes have to choose to do something despite the fear. When we choose courage, and in the process, allow God to be shown in and through us.
We only develop this kind of courage when we've taken the time to develop our relationship with God. When we know Him well enough that we can admit our fear about what He's asking of us and declare our trust in Him for the outcome, even in the midst of fear.
"Courage is fear that has said its prayers."
Where do you need courage today?
How if fear holding you back?
Have you talked to God about it?
Will you choose to trust God and move forward anyways?
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The Victory is Already Ours
If we already have victory, why are we so often living in defeat?
If we already have victory, why does it seem so hard to live that way?
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you, is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
The use of the word "them" when it talks about overcoming has always seemed a bit strange to me. But, when I was reading this verse in the larger context recently, it made more sense to me.
We often use this verse when we talk about being able to defeat Satan in our lives. And that is true and powerful. But, I think this verse paints a broader picture too. In 1 John 4:1-6, John is talking about antichrists who have come to deceive people. They are trying to get us off course.
1 John 4:4 is then talking about the power we have in the spiritual world over all of Satan's forces. It's not just about the ultimate defeat of Satan, but also about the day-to-day defeat of evil spirits who attach us with their deceptions and lies.
So, if this is true, then why do we so often live in defeat?
Why aren't we living in the victory that this passage and so many others say we can?
I think John goes on to answer this in 1 John 5:5 where he says:
"Who is it that overcomes to world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
It all comes down to what we believe. Not what we say we believe, but what we actually believe. It's our actions that reveal this.
Far too often we're actually believing the lies of the enemy and his demons over the truth from God. Oh, we might say we believe God and we can probably recite truth from our heads, but we don't really believe it. Our actions reveal what we're truely believing. They show where we're believing lies.
We act on what we truely believe. In fact, that's what belief truely is - putting your life on it, living it out. We can way whatever we want about what we believe, but our actions will show what we're actually believing.
What are you believing? What do your actions say you believe?
Are you willing to let God point out to you the lies you believe, so He can show you the truth? Are you willing to ask Him to help you to live out the truth instead of the lies you've been believing?
It has to translate into our actions and how we live for it to actually be changed. We need to be willing to act on what we say we believe if it's actually going to make a difference and live in the victory Scripture tells us we can have.
If we already have victory, why does it seem so hard to live that way?
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you, is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
The use of the word "them" when it talks about overcoming has always seemed a bit strange to me. But, when I was reading this verse in the larger context recently, it made more sense to me.
We often use this verse when we talk about being able to defeat Satan in our lives. And that is true and powerful. But, I think this verse paints a broader picture too. In 1 John 4:1-6, John is talking about antichrists who have come to deceive people. They are trying to get us off course.
1 John 4:4 is then talking about the power we have in the spiritual world over all of Satan's forces. It's not just about the ultimate defeat of Satan, but also about the day-to-day defeat of evil spirits who attach us with their deceptions and lies.
So, if this is true, then why do we so often live in defeat?
Why aren't we living in the victory that this passage and so many others say we can?
I think John goes on to answer this in 1 John 5:5 where he says:
"Who is it that overcomes to world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
It all comes down to what we believe. Not what we say we believe, but what we actually believe. It's our actions that reveal this.
Far too often we're actually believing the lies of the enemy and his demons over the truth from God. Oh, we might say we believe God and we can probably recite truth from our heads, but we don't really believe it. Our actions reveal what we're truely believing. They show where we're believing lies.
We act on what we truely believe. In fact, that's what belief truely is - putting your life on it, living it out. We can way whatever we want about what we believe, but our actions will show what we're actually believing.
What are you believing? What do your actions say you believe?
Are you willing to let God point out to you the lies you believe, so He can show you the truth? Are you willing to ask Him to help you to live out the truth instead of the lies you've been believing?
It has to translate into our actions and how we live for it to actually be changed. We need to be willing to act on what we say we believe if it's actually going to make a difference and live in the victory Scripture tells us we can have.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Done With Pretending
I was looking back over some of my posts here, and was reminded again of the importance of being who we are with people, of not pretending we have it all together, as I reread a post I wrote in April 2016.
As I read it, I realized that the idea of being done with pretending to be perfect is one of the reasons I've written some of the posts I've written in the last few months. When we live trying to hide things, it's tiring. We live with the "fear of being found out." It's exhausting to live with that.
When we learn to be honest about our struggles and our joys, it changes everything for us. I don't think we need to lay out all of the detail for every person we know or meet. But, we need to have people we're being completely honest with. That frees us from trying to be perfect for everyone we meet. We have people who know and still love us, so we can be free from the concern of trying to tell the whole world we have it all together.
I think the post I wrote that prompted these thoughts is worth posting again, so here it is:
Rain cascaded off the edge of the umbrella forming a stream around her as it soaked the ground. She stood un-moving as she debated stepping out from under the protection. Knowing she would be drenched the moment she did so, she wondered if it was worth it to step out.
Memories of the joy of running and playing in the rain as a little child filled her mind. The times she was unafraid to get a little messy and experience the joy of not worrying what she looked like to others.
When had she become do concerned with looking right to others? With people seeing her as someone who had it all together?
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how tired she was from the work it required. Hiding anything that might be even the slightest bit messy from the world around her took a lot of work. She always had to be paying careful attention, making sure there was no crack for what was underneath to show through for even a brief moment.
Who was she really trying to impress? Was it really worth the energy and the time?
She collapsed the umbrella and let the rain our down on her. Eventually she began to walk, then run, then dance. Laughter echoing with the raindrops hitting the ground.
She'd forgotten the freedom of it until now. Worries about looking right and impressing others vanished from her mind. Cares that had been holding her back released their hold. For those moments she was free to be who she was underneath the masks she usually wore.
I wonder if we're more like this than we really want to admit. Even as I wrote it, I realized how often that struggle is mine.
But, I also know there is freedom that comes with dropping the masks and letting what's underneath be seen. There's freedom in stepping into God's cleansing rain in our lives. In letting it wash away our perfectly manicured and presented selves, to show the broken and the mess we've hidden behind it.
Because when we allow God to wash away the facade we've put up, He can reveal a masterpiece that He has built behind. Out of the broken and the mess of our lives God creates something far more beautiful than our pretend perfection ever was.
Will you step out from under the umbrella? Will you allow the rain to wash away your pretend perfection to reveal God's beautiful work?
As I read it, I realized that the idea of being done with pretending to be perfect is one of the reasons I've written some of the posts I've written in the last few months. When we live trying to hide things, it's tiring. We live with the "fear of being found out." It's exhausting to live with that.
When we learn to be honest about our struggles and our joys, it changes everything for us. I don't think we need to lay out all of the detail for every person we know or meet. But, we need to have people we're being completely honest with. That frees us from trying to be perfect for everyone we meet. We have people who know and still love us, so we can be free from the concern of trying to tell the whole world we have it all together.
I think the post I wrote that prompted these thoughts is worth posting again, so here it is:
Rain cascaded off the edge of the umbrella forming a stream around her as it soaked the ground. She stood un-moving as she debated stepping out from under the protection. Knowing she would be drenched the moment she did so, she wondered if it was worth it to step out.
Memories of the joy of running and playing in the rain as a little child filled her mind. The times she was unafraid to get a little messy and experience the joy of not worrying what she looked like to others.
When had she become do concerned with looking right to others? With people seeing her as someone who had it all together?
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how tired she was from the work it required. Hiding anything that might be even the slightest bit messy from the world around her took a lot of work. She always had to be paying careful attention, making sure there was no crack for what was underneath to show through for even a brief moment.
Who was she really trying to impress? Was it really worth the energy and the time?
She collapsed the umbrella and let the rain our down on her. Eventually she began to walk, then run, then dance. Laughter echoing with the raindrops hitting the ground.
She'd forgotten the freedom of it until now. Worries about looking right and impressing others vanished from her mind. Cares that had been holding her back released their hold. For those moments she was free to be who she was underneath the masks she usually wore.
I wonder if we're more like this than we really want to admit. Even as I wrote it, I realized how often that struggle is mine.
But, I also know there is freedom that comes with dropping the masks and letting what's underneath be seen. There's freedom in stepping into God's cleansing rain in our lives. In letting it wash away our perfectly manicured and presented selves, to show the broken and the mess we've hidden behind it.
Because when we allow God to wash away the facade we've put up, He can reveal a masterpiece that He has built behind. Out of the broken and the mess of our lives God creates something far more beautiful than our pretend perfection ever was.
Will you step out from under the umbrella? Will you allow the rain to wash away your pretend perfection to reveal God's beautiful work?
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