“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Dear sister,
When you think about courage, what comes to mind? Bravery, strength, honor? What about fear? Do you ever think of a courageous person of someone who is afraid? Of course not! But is being fearless really a prerequisite to earn the title courageous?
Ambrose Redmoon once said, “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
When people hear about my trip to Africa they will occasionally say, “That was brave of you.” or “That must have taken some courage to travel half way across the world.” I find the comment funny because I don’t tend to think of myself as a woman of courage. I’m scared to death of spiders and anything else that creeps or crawls on the earth and I was definitely scared when I was at the airport about to fly to a third world country having never left the United States before. I was scared even a few days before I even arrived at the airport! I couldn’t know ahead of time whether I would make it to each destination safely or without complication. I couldn’t know if the people I would be meeting up with in Amsterdam would arrive on time and that we’d all be able to catch the same flight as planned. I couldn’t know those kinds of things and there was a certain level of fear and nervousness that came along with that uncertainty. Have you ever been afraid of the unknown?
Fear is dangerous; it can control and even paralyze us. We can be so afraid of doing something that it keeps us from obeying God. But, I didn’t let that stop me. I didn’t say, “No, God, I know you want me in Uganda but I really don’t think I can manage the long flights.” Courage is not doing big things without fear, it’s doing things in spite of fear. It’s understanding that yes, this obstacle is big and scary but my God is bigger. My God is trustworthy and I can trust Him to bring me through this even though I am afraid right now. I was nervous about leaving the country and going to Uganda but I trusted that the Lord would bring me there and back safely and went where He was calling me to go. And guess what? He was faithful to do it! So I think Redmoon had it right. Courage is not the absence of fear but rather realizing that the goal, or the desired outcome, is more important than fear. My calling to serve the Lord in Africa for two weeks was far greater than my fear of traveling half way across the world. God doesn’t expect us to be fearless. It’s clear from Scripture that He knows we will be afraid at times. But what does He say? In Joshua 1:9 the Lord says, “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” It doesn’t matter where you are, what you’re doing in life or what is that you are afraid of. The Lord your God is with you, He will strengthen you, He will help you, and He will uphold you with His righteous right hand (Is. 41:10). So take courage, dear sister, and trust in Him.
Under His wing,
Kayla
Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14