Student Leadership 801: Courage نموونە

Day Three: Fight for It

“Every opportunity is a gift from God, but what I do with every opportunity is my gift to God.” — Mark Batterson

In October 2012, a Pakistani girl named Malala was shot in the head while riding the bus home. The reason? She was an outspoken activist for girls’ rights to education. Yet this assassination attempt did not deter her. As soon as she recovered, this teenager spoke out even louder, co-founding a non-profit for the education of girls and going on to be one of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winners in history.

Malala had a choice — fight or flight. She chose to fight.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)

God didn’t make us afraid, yet we've trained ourselves to see fear as part of our identity instead of just something we feel or experience.

This does not mean the fear you feel is any less real or valid, but when you begin to see fear as an opportunity to stretch instead of a reason to fail, you determine whether or not that same fear will push you forward or hold you back.

There is a Finnish word, “sisu,” that means the ability to keep fighting after most have quit. All the people we have studied through our Student Leadership Program chose to fight when others would have given up. David chose to meet Goliath. Mary Magdalene chose to visit Jesus’ grave. Nehemiah chose to share his vision with the king. They all felt the fear… and charged ahead anyway.

Courage is not the easiest thing to choose, and big dreams are not easy to fight for. But what if, just like Esther, you have been placed where you are, with the dreams you have, “for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b NIV).

We're all given opportunities, some scarier than others. And with every opportunity, God gives us the freedom to choose what to do next. Everyone we've learned about could have stepped aside and hoped and prayed that someone else — someone “better” — would step up. But they didn’t. They decided to be that someone and dove in faith first. They saw the opportunity before them and took it, fears and all.

That's what made them great leaders and that's what will make you a leader worth following too. When most people would choose to throw in the towel, leaders choose to fight for what's right.

Practical Step: We’ve talked a lot about scary steps and big dreams; now let’s take it a bit further. Looking back at your wild dream, write down all the fears you have attached to it. Choose one or two of these fears to pray over and ask God what steps He wants you to take right now in this season. Then do it!