I’m at a point in my life where almost everything I do is stretching me further and further out of my comfort zone, which comes with a lot of fear and anxiety.
But I’m learning how to do it afraid.
Even simple things - like sending a difficult or complex email or text message - can be difficult.
But we have to do it, even if we are afraid.
I recently heard Joyce Meyer talk about the combination of faith and works. In James 2:26 it says, “Faith without works is dead.” But what does that really mean?
She said when the Israelites were fleeing Egyptian slavery, they had to cross the Red Sea. God famously parted the waters for them but didn’t do it until they stepped into the water.
They had to have enough faith to step into the water. They had to do something. They had to do the work. They had to do their part before God could step in and do His.
In chapter 5 of the book of John, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special Jewish festival. In Jerusalem, there is a pool with five covered porches, and many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some of them were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed. One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been sick for a long time. So he asked him, “Do you want to be well?”
The sick man answered, “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the water when it starts moving. I try to be the first one into the water. But when I try, someone else always goes in before I can.”
Then Jesus said, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately the man was well. He picked up his mat and started walking.
He didn’t have to do much; all he had to do was stand up and pick up his mat; but he had to do something, and Jesus took care of the rest.
So when I feel fear before making that tough decision, that tough phone call, or sending that difficult email or text message, I have to remember that as long as I do my part, God will take care of the rest.
And if I have faith and trust Him, I know that all things will work together for good (Romans 8:28) because He has great plans for me; plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:22).
Courage isn’t the absence of fear; its the ability to do something even if you are afraid. Do it. Do it afraid, and have faith that Jesus will take care of the rest.
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