October Devotional: I Want to be Brave, But I'm So Afaid

The Lord said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12: 9,10

Be brave! The command jerks my senses to attention. I want to be brave!

I want to be brave enough.

Brave enough to write. To teach. To lead. To do anything and everything that God has called me to do.

I want to be brave enough. The only problem is…I’m so afraid.

Afraid of failing. Of disappointing others. Of being boring! Of misinterpreting God’s Word. Of not being enough.

That’s it. I’m afraid of not being enough.

And then Jesus whispered in my ear, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Yes, Lord. Yes!

Therefore, I will be brave in my weakness so that Christ’s strength will rest on me. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I will choose to be brave not because I am enough but because Christ in me is enough. 

For me, being brave is not a feeling because I rarely feel brave. Instead, I believe that brave is a choice. Brave shows itself strong in a mixture of humility, fear and action. Now when someone tells me to be brave, I don’t try to muster up a feeling of courage. Instead I get down on my face and humbly confess that I am nothing without God. I boldly declare that I can do all things through His strength, and then I courageously step out knowing that God’s grace is enough for me. Thank you, Jesus. You are enough.