"For I Hold You By Your Right Hand — I, The Lord Your God. And I Say To You, Don’t Be Afraid. I Am Here To Help You."
Isaiah 41:13 (NLT)
To start life all over again, when you thought all along your life was set ~ Courage
To ask for help, when you never did before ~ Courage
To step out in faith, when there is nothing but darkness surrounding you ~ Courage
To state "I can't" and then do it anyway ~ Courage
To smile, even though there are tears in your eyes ~ Courage
To take an opposite stand, even though the crowd may be saying something different ~ Courage
To give encouragement, even though you may not get a response ~ Courage
To take the hand of a friend who is hurting, and put aside your own pain for awhile ~ Courage
To get up in the morning, when you just don't feel you can face one more day ~ Courage
To trust again, once all trust has been shattered ~ Courage
It takes courage to face your fears head on.
In my case, it takes more courage than I ever thought I could muster up.
It isn't a secret that I don't seek out people, I am more than happy to live in my own little world, however He has greater plans than that for me and it takes every ounce of courage I have within me, to face what He has called me to do.
If I stop and actually think about it, fear almost always wins.
I will fail Him ~ Fear
They won't like me ~ Fear
I will be laughed at ~ Fear
He won't love me anymore ~ Fear
He is angry with me ~ Fear
I could go on and on, however I will assume you get the picture.
There is a fine line that one walks when it comes to courage vs fear.
Fear should never be allowed to win.
If allowed, it most likely will consume your life, and then you are just left as a shell of what you used to be.
Courage is what you will need in order to change the shell back into a "real" person.
I have had to ask for an enormous amount of courage, on more than one occasion and been granted what I have asked for each time.
Sad to say, but I believed the lies of the enemy, that I wasn't worthy, that I had no business going back to school, that no one would ever love me again, that I was a complete and utter failure, that I would ultimately die alone etc...
Each day I wrestled with my own mind, trying to discern what was real and what was a lie, each day I had to seek His truth out, what He thought of me, what He was truly asking of me, if He really loved me, if He was perhaps mistaken and to be honest there are still days that I allow my mind to go back to the lies.
I take that to Him, (most of the time in the ugly green chair), and I just talk to Him as I am talking to you now.
No flowery words, no reasoning with Him, just honest heart to heart talk between a Father and His Daughter.
It is during these times my courage is renewed, my soul becomes calm, His peace is flowing within me, His love shines through and I know He is sitting right there with me, listening to every fear, every doubt, every worry, my tears landing in His palm, my heart beating in perfect time with His and if I close my eyes, I can almost see Him, so very close.
Never did I think, that I would seek Him, the way I do now.
Never did I think I could love, what I can not see, with such passion.
Never did I think, I would gladly give my life up, for Him.
Never did I think, joy would envelope me, when chaos surrounds me.
Never did I think, I would shed tears, for those that don't believe.
You need courage to get past your fears and He is the one who will supply it to you, all you have to do is ask.
I pray each one of you has the courage to stand out and apart from the crowd, that He is the one who supplies your courage, and that you face the fears head on, with Him holding your hand.
CASTING CROWNS
The Only Way We'll Ever Stand
Is On Our Knees With Lifted Hands
Make Us Courageous
Lord, Make Us Courageous
