Saturday, April 6, 2013

Standing Up to Fear


A bird at our neighbor’s house was not scared when we walked near her. Wondering why she was not frightened, we then realized she was sitting on her eggs. We could get right up next to her and it would not fly away. Nothing was going to frighten her away from protecting her eggs. She stood up to fear because she was driven by a purpose more important than her own security. The bird was fulfilling her purpose with passion.

Photo Credit – whitegadget.com


I love seeing photos of mountain scenes. What a great inspiration they can be. These great rocks have stood firm over time. They can shield from bad weather or protect from enemies during wartime. Nature is a great teacher like the examples above and we can also learn lessons of courage from history, from TV/movies, and in life experiences.

Even though TV shows may not be reality, there are still lessons of courage depicted. When my daughter was younger, we got in the habit of sitting down to watch episodes of Little House on the Prairie. One of the characters in the show named Mary received a teaching job in another county. A resident in this county didn’t want the school to succeed but Mary had the courage to stand up to her and get everyone thinking her way. Sometimes you have to ruffle some feathers and not be as friendly in order to get people moving in the right direction; it’s called leadership.

To make an omelet you, have to crack some eggs. There is a need for leaders to have courage to stand up and point out a problem so they can nip it in the bud before it grows out of control.

Think of the terrible shootings in the late 1990’s in Littleton Colorado Columbine High School and the recent shootings in the Aurora Theater or at Sandy Hook. The killers involved in these incidents showed many warning signs that were not followed through with. Was it because of a lack of time or attention by those around the shooters? Or was it a lack of courage to stand up and nip it in the bud before it got out of control? The killers in these tragedies all had planned in advance, and had problems with their behavior leading up to the events.

Do we simply need more courage to do what’s right? There are many stories that do demonstrate courage. I heard a story one time that a man fell 18 feet off a ladder onto an iron fence post. It jabbed through the man's side and out the other.  A neighbor had the courage to take action immediately. He cut the post stuck in him and hurried the man to the emergency room. The post was surgically removed from the man’s body; only missing his heart by an inch, bruising several internal organs, and severing some main arteries. The amazing thing about the story is that the man was recovering at home within a week.

Stories like the one above demonstrate to us that everything is in God's hands and we should have courage because God is in control. He has given us control over our thoughts and the thoughts of fear can be mastered. The starting point is desire. We all can control our own destiny by reaching a decision to have courage. When we go about our day and see or hear negative words or actions from others, we can be courageous for God is with us.

For building faith in God’s power, limitless, and promises there is an on-line devotional I’m using to keep me on track. I invite you to join the journey or check in from time to time for some inspiration by liking or following at the links below:

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