Serious Courage
Jesus takes our fears seriously. In fact, he takes our fears more seriously than we do. Imagine that for a second. Before He left earth, He left no doubt about it. More than any other command, Jesus urged us to not fear. Of everything we know the Lord said to us while dwelling among us, "fear not" topped the list. If you think about it, what stops us from sharing our faith with strangers? What hinders us from loving the unlovable, forgiving the unforgivable or attempting the impossible? Fear, fear and more fear. It's no wonder He encouraged courage.
Fear paralyzes us. Bringing up the rear of the group on Saturday night, I was able to see things as they happened. And the one constant that fear forced the group to do was stop. Stop walking. Stop moving. Stopped cold and frozen. Predictably, at the stop sign of fear, we slam on the breaks.
Fear fools us. In one of the mazes, we were asked to wear 3-D glasses. Things appeared to be coming straight for us and fast. Better duck or get gobbled! But halfway through that maze, I took my glasses off. Turns out that things were actually much further away than they appeared. What a difference it was to see the source of fear with clear eyes.
Dear friends, Jesus takes our fears more seriously than we do. At a stop sign of fear? Run it. Blinded and confused? Try it with clear eyes. In the face of today's fear, let's take Him seriously, allowing courage to be our default reaction.
--Jimmy Peña
For Discussion: What has fear stopped you in pursuing today? Will courage be your default reaction? Friends, prayer is the key. What do you need courage for today? Whether for health-related issues or otherwise, list them below or simply say, "Unspoken...serious courage needed."
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