Student Leadership 801: Courage نموونە

Day Two: Your Move

The trick to doors with motion sensors is this: They won’t move unless you do.

In one of the lesser-known stories of the Bible, we’re introduced to a man named Benaiah. He was one of David’s “Mighty Men,” and he earned his spot on that list. Not only did this guy snatch a spear out of his rival’s hand during a fight like a boss, but he ran after a lion. Not away from a lion, after a lion — and he came out of it the victor! Who does that?!

We don’t know why Benaiah chased after this lion (and we're most definitely not encouraging you to go chase down dangerous wild animals). The point is, he did it! He had the courage to chase down this big, scary, impossible looking thing. Would you be willing to do the same?

Check out this pretty well-known verse, Ephesians 3:20 (NIV): “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us [...]” We like to recite this verse when asking God for something big. But somewhere in the mix, we get caught up in the “immeasurably more” part… and somehow miss the “within us” part.

In the same way a motion-sensored door is tied to your movement, our big crazy dreams are tied to our willingness to charge forward. As Mark Batterson put it, we need to “quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely to death.” Yet we hesitate for fear of looking foolish or getting hurt. We keep waiting for God to make a move when all the while He's waiting for us.

Now before you go and hit the ground running, there is a fine line between courage and stupidity. Your choices still need to include wisdom and discernment and a touch of reality. As in, don’t go convincing yourself you're the next Beyoncé if you’re tone deaf. We want to pursue dreams based in faith, not fantasy.

King David said it best in 1 Chronicles 28:20 (NIV) when he told his son, Solomon, “be courageous and do the work.” Courage takes work, and work requires an action step. And yes, sometimes that action step will look as insane and impossible as chasing down a lion and winning. But if you’ve read any story in the Bible, you know this: Impossible odds are the setup for God’s greatest success stories. But it is often up to you to make the first move.

Practical Step: Write down a dream so big it scares you — something that is far-fetched but stirs your heart. Bring it to God. What is one step you can take to start pursuing that dream?