[special thanks to my friend Tyler for this picture]
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, EMT’s, 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.
10 Comments
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Nicki-
I love this post. I can so resinate with your feelings. Why is it so hard to put off fear and walk in the courage and strength that He offers us? I am struggling with the courage to speak my heart in truth. I seem to struggle to believe what God says about me, my circumstances and who he is and have the courage to release all of it to Him. All my plans and expectations. I am realizing control is a lack of courage and is really fear gripping my heart. I also am praying for the courage to hold my tongue about things that are frustrating me, hurting me and wounding me while God works to restore my honor. May we be women of courage 🙂
Thanks for blessing me today with these words!
Erin, I hear you friend. I struggle with much of these same things. Praying that you will push through and experience the courage of Jesus today.
I’m glad the fortune out of the cookie I got from work helped you : ] I’m tyler’s friend
Well hi Kate! How funny that it was your fortune cookie! 🙂 Love Tyler!
Hi Nicki!
When I think of courage, the first person that comes to mind (besides Jesus) is Bethany Hamilton. I also think of the book of Joshua where God says “Be strong and corageous!” Recently, as I watched Soul Surfer with an amazing group of sisters, one of them stated she felt as though she would not have been as courageous and that see would not see a chance to be that courageous. God gives us so many chances to be courageous (in Jesus). They can be as small as speaking His word to a friend who’s never heard (After all, you don’t need to read a Bible to be saved.) or having the strenght and courage that Bethany had in Him. I’m not quite sure what I need to be more courageous about in Jesus at this time, I need to be more disciplined to His word though. God Bless you sweet sister!
Hi Jessica! YES!! Totally agree, Bethany Hamilton is an incredible example of courage!! Praying that you will have the courage to press through the battles of finding time with Jesus. Blessings to you!
This week I have found myself in a place of surrender. A place of hoping that what I call surrender, looks something like God’s definition of surrender. I need courage to seek and follow God’s plans for my life. And not to just follow, but to be content with where He has me and with what He has for me. There are dreams and desires deep within my heart, yet I often wonder if they are God’s or mine. Thank you for the prayers Nicki.
Hi sweet Leigh Ellen, I can completely understand what you are saying and I have walked through those same questions. Maybe this would make a good blog post…I know there are different views on this but I am a firm believer that if the dreams in our hearts include the growth and expansion of God’s Kingdom, which can come in MANY forms, then they are God’s desires too. I think I will write about this next week…good thoughts LE! Praying for you!
Thank you Nicki! I am looking forward to your words of wisdom.
Thank you so much for this post I definitely would love to have more courage in Jesus especially when it comes to not speaking the truth so as not to offend anyone – especially about Jesus. I need to depend on him more and be courageous enough to trust in him which I am struggling with, sometimes I feel as though there is a struggle going on in my mind for the right decision to be made. I need courage and trust in the Lord to help me overcome my fears and distresses. I need to depend on him more and not in my own limited powers!!
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