I love that God makes us courageous, and gives us power. Probably, because those are two things that don't really come naturally to me. I enjoy adventure, trying new things, don't mind making mistakes or getting hurt, but I also wouldn't call myself a big-time dare devil or risk-taker. While I love the idea of adrenaline rushes, taking risks and doing things that would cause some people to completely question your sanity, in reality, I probably shy away from that stuff more than I wish I do.
I believe being courageous is a huge KEY to following Christ. He doesn't want us to live life in fear. We have been called by Him to use wisdom, but that doesn't mean our lives weren't meant to be full of risk, adventure and even danger. I don't think God really believes in His children living safe lives. Not when we're called to pick up our cross and follow after Him.
For most of what I can remember of my life, I have been prone to worry. I am often looking for ways to combat that, and I'm still working on it, but I have come across some truths I've found helpful. One thing I've realized, is that God doesn't ask me not to remain unaffected when something happens that causes anxiety to threaten me. I even think of Jesus praying in the garden, and He wasn't unaffected. (He actually sweat blood! I can't remember the correct medical term for it, but I do remember it's incredibly rare and represents high levels of stress and anxiety.) Instead what God does ask me to do is allow my faith to be bigger than my fears, my trust in Him to drive my choices and life even when I'm scared, struggling to hold on to His hand. It might be somewhat of a cliche' quote, but I really believe that "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the recognition that something else is more important than being afraid." I can find peace in that.
How do I dig deep enough to act on my faith? That's where the Power of the Spirit comes into play. My desire is to truly live in that power, fully aware that at all times I have the Holy Spirit of the Living God indwelling me. I am learning about the importance of plugging into that power. I want to believe God when He tells me I can do anything in Him, and when He told The Disciples that the church would do even greater things than He did. That seems impossible. How could mere humans do greater things than God wrapped in flesh? Through The Spirit! This is where it starts to make a lot of sense and get really exciting to me. When you are truly living in His power, constantly struggling to breathe in His ablilies and exhale your inablities, you are living the life Christ has for you. And if many believers will simply choose to live in that, than that means the life of Christ is multiplied through YOU and ME! That means we have the chance, through His power to be Jesus to those around us.
Here's where it comes back to courage. Because the life Christ calls us to isn't always pretty. Sometimes it's reasonably neat and tidy. But a lot of times, when you're truly living in that Spirit-Empowered place, it gets messy, uncomfortable, unknown, and daunting. Because sometimes that means (at least what feels like to us) big sacrifices on our parts. Sometimes it means risking your reputation. Much more often than not, it means going places that scare you. It involves hurting with people which isn't fun. This kind of life involves people with worldly perspectives ridiculing you. There's a lot of other things that The Spirit-Filled life invites also though. Because this is the way of abundant life. This is the way to do life as a citizen of Heaven NOW. This is the way to forward your treasures from this fleeting earth to The Kingdom of Heaven. This is the way to live with your heart intimately in touch with Eternity. This is what it looks like to live life with power and courage, and I don't want to find out what any of the alternatives are like.
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