Courage is just fear that has said its prayers

Was it just me or did COVID-19 hit you in ways you didn’t see coming? I learned throughout the last few months that sometimes, discipline doesn’t work. And that’s okay. In talking with a friend earlier this week, we conversed about what it might look like to pick the ball back up. You know, the one you’ve dropped along the way? And decide to keep running forward. That being said, here we are. 

This week on the podcast, we decided to take a left turn towards reminders instead of revelations. We decided to look for the things we know, that we forgot we learned along the way. In the book of Philippians, Paul is writing to us from prison and not the COVID-19 kind. There’s no Netflix, ZOOM calls, and walks around the lake. Just him, mud walls, and dark space. Despite this, his instruction is clear. 

In Philippians he tells us, look, guys, “there has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finishing on the very day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:6 MSG)

That being said, I’ve got a question for you. Have you ever held back because you thought God wouldn’t be there? Have you ever not prayed because you didn’t think He’d answer? Have you ever not tried because you didn’t think He was for you? Have you ever doubted that God would keep at it and finish what He started? 

I have. And if I’m honest, most days, I still do. But can I tell you a secret? One between you and I? Courage is just fear that has said its prayers. Paul, in prison, had no doubt that God would keep at it. He would keep working, keep moving, and keep speaking until the work was done. So why do we? What holds us back from believing that God will finish what He began? 

This weekend, I want to challenge you to wrestle with one question. What have you tried to control because you think God won’t finish the work He began? Journal it, walk with it, spend time speaking it to God. And then, let it go. Things won’t change overnight but maybe if we do this long enough, we’ll start to see what Paul did. He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it.