Be courageous...

    Have you ever thought about what it takes to be courageous?  What are the characteristics of a courageous person?  The Bible tells of us of many courageous people, but I doubt that they would have described themselves that way.  The one that comes to my mind is Moses.  He was called by God through a burning bush but he did not instantly say, “Yes, Lord, I will go”.  He had excuses – lots of them.  He also had a speech impediment – he stuttered.  He wanted the Lord to pick someone else, and then he asked the Lord to allow him to take his brother to speak for him.  However, through leading the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the desert, he learned to totally rely on the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. 

   The other man who comes to my mind is Joseph, Mary’s husband.  Perhaps it is because we have just celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He took Mary to be his wife, after she had told him she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  He cared for her and protected her.  Being warned in a dream of the dangers to the Christ child, he takes her and the baby to Egypt.  Can you imagine packing up and leaving in a hurry in the middle of the night?  There wasn’t time to take a lot of ‘things’.

    So, what does it take to be courageous?  After looking at the lives of these two men, I would say trust, confidence, and totally relying on the Father.  In Ephesians 3:20, we read, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

    The people I work with have told me that I am brave.  Brave for leaving all my family, friends, and everything I have known here to go to another country.  Those who really know me (my sisters come to mind) can tell you that courage is definitely not one of my character traits.  They could tell you stories of me as a girl growing up on the farm being terrified of any and all animals.  In particular, I was scared of cows.  My older brother Steve and my sister Rhonda delighted in talking me into climbing into the hay loft of the barn when there were no cows or bulls around.  Their timing here is very strategic as it was near the time of the evening when the cows were milked.  After climbing into the hay loft with them, the whole herd it seemed came to the barn including Buford our Black Angus bull.   Looking into the barn from the hay loft, all I could see was this massive black bull and there was no way I was coming down. I stayed up there for what seemed like hours and no amount of coaxing from them convinced me to come down.  They still love to tell these stories and laugh hysterically.  Though brave and courageous is not a way I would describe myself, it is a characteristic of my Father.  Scripture tells us in John 15: 5, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”  Therefore, if I am in Christ, I have His characteristics.  I am doing this afraid knowing that My Father goes before me and is with me.  Therefore I can totally trust Him and totally rely upon Him wherever He leads me.

    My favorite verse since I was a young girl has been Deuteronomy 31:8.  “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you.  He will not fail you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.”  I know that as I go to Guatemala, prepare for ministry, and adjust to another culture, I do not go alone.  My Father is with me, he is holding my hand, He will never fail me or leave me.  I have no reason to be afraid or discouraged.

Just a few of my thoughts this week…