Oftentimes I refer to Merriam-Webster, because she is, after all, my favorite dictionary! But what I’ve come to know—and really know—about courage is this… Well, first, let me start with my homegirl, Merriam.
Per Merriam aka M. Dub (Ion care if y’all laugh at my jokes because I surely do laugh at my own self!), courage is the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” Per moi, courage is doing something when you don’t know the outcome. Courage is being willing to act, willing to think, willing to work, willing to say, willing to do more, and not just more, but to do more. In Divine Truth, Trust and Faith: How to Know Truth Before You See It, I wrote about Hebrews 11:1 which reminds us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. The implied “yet” means that even though I can’t see it right now, I will actually see it. Issa promise for more!
I saw a video on Instagram the other day that essentially said– and I’m gonna Jovalize it: What if your desires are so strong because your future self already has the very thing that you’re currently hoping for? And isn’t that what faith is? Isn’t that what Hebrews 11:1 says faith is?
And how can I, after all, believe in a God that I cannot see, when I believe in the brother that I can see? How can I have faith in something that I cannot see with my physical eyes, when I know and see my brother, my sister, my comrade, my traveler, my friend? Which, spoiler alert!: is basically 1 John 4:20:
If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.
1 John 4:20 MSG
Oftentimes, people say they believe in God, but what if, really, they believe in the unknown? Not the unknown, rather the unseen?? And how can you believe in the unknown or the unseen when you don’t even believe in yourself? After all, we’re called to “love our neighbors as ourselves” and I it’s impossible to love you more than I love me. So… Can you really have faith in a God that you cannot see if you do not have faith in your very self, whom you can see? And let the record show, I say “you,” but I really am talking about myself!!!
How can I have faith in a God so big and yet still doubt myself???
But I know myself, because I know the God who created the stars, the sun, the moon, and the universe. I know myself because I know the God who created me! And so, I might not be able to see God, but I absolutely see God. I see God in the pinks of the flowering tree, in the whites of the clouds, in the blue of the skies, in the green of the leaves, in the oranges and whites of the flowers. I see God in the variety and diverse types of green leaves. I see God in my friends.
I see God in me.
A Prayer for Courage and Divine Connection
God, thank You for courage. The courage to begin to believe in You. To begin to believe in ourselves, and to love our brothers and sisters who we can see. Thank You for change. For growth. For maturity. For perseverance. For completion! Thank You that You began a new work, a mighty work, a deep and gentle work within us. Thank You that Your way is better and higher and mightier and more than we could ever ask for, dream, think, or imagine. Thank You that on the other side of facing my fears I inevitably meet You. That we meet you in those interstitial spaces. Thank You for the love and support we receive when we face our fears. Thank You for Heaven on Earth! Thank You for sweet longings fulfilled! Thank You for brokenness, the pain of healing, the pang of courage, and the pain and self control of perseverance to become who You created us to be. Thank You for artistry, for words, for presence, for gifts, for language, and for grace. Thank You that we are always exactly and precisely how and where we are when we are, because in You, mistakes do not exist, and in us, mistakes are an invitation to connect and to love! And so it is. Aaaaamen!