Courage for the small things.

For I am the Lord, your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you… Isaiah 41:13 NIV

Sometimes I feel like I have courage for the larger things in life, like surviving a car accident, giving birth to a premature son, or spending time living in a foreign country. It’s the little things where I fail, like fearing the walk into an unfamiliar church, unpacking and organizing a sea of boxes in my family room, or getting oriented to a new town. Yes, I can fly across the globe to a Bible college in New Zealand but, “Please God, don’t put me on a freeway two miles away from my new house!”

Our Heavenly Father offers courage for all situations. He doesn't rate our need and say, “You're on your own for this situation; it’s only a 2.4 on the fear scale and I don’t mess with such trivial situations.” What kind of God would that make Him? No, He loves us enough to subdue our daily fears. When we do our part and take a first step, He will watch our back and take away our fear, but we need to make the first move.

In his book, The Neurotic’s Notebook, Mignon McLaughlin says, “Courage can’t see around the corner but goes anyway.”

C.S. Lewis’ outlook on courage is: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

If we are to be lean, strong men and women of faith, we can expect God to take us on some adventures where we know not where we are going. Courage opens the door and says “boo” to its fears.

What is your biggest fear about moving to a new area? Are you afraid your children won’t make friends? You won’t find a job? You will hate the weather? You’ll never see your extended family? You will never grow to love that dark galley kitchen? Look your fears straight in the eye and take one little action today to conquer them. God is great at matching our timid first steps and will be there to keep us moving forward.

Sometimes all we have is a community of two, but sometimes that’s enough…for a start.