You Make Me Brave

You Make Me Brave:

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

You're not entering into the unknown alone. The path on which you are embarking may appear shrouded with fog and darkness, but the Lord your God will guide the way. More often than not, He beckons us to do things that make no sense whatsoever.

With fear looming over our heads, we shrug our shoulders at God and question whether or not He really thought this one through. Believe me, God has NOT lost His marbles. In fact, He merely wants everyone ELSE to be baffled by the benedictions He bestows on His bashful sheep. The forgotten ones everyone else has overlooked, these are precisely the ones God wants to abundantly bless and prosper.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

If you're the one everyone seems to ignore and pass by, don't be discouraged. Instead, be encouraged, because this means God has placed something special inside of YOU. Yes you! Contained inside of you is the mighty resurrection power of the Holy Spirit, and He's put something in you that has the capability to revolutionise the whole entire world for the Lord!

You may be thinking, "But, I'm not quite the 'revolutionary' type. I just don't *feel* like I have what it takes to make a difference for God's Kingdom." Well, my friend, let me tell you... I've said words just like those. I understand that *feelings* can bemuse us, but God has never been one to be limited by our feelings. Rather, He takes the lowly vessels and fills them with the treasure of His glorious might.

"He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength." (Isaiah 40:29)

Faith. It works. Even just a teeny tiny, itty bitty, microscopic amount of faith can do the trick. You know why? Because it's not actually the FAITH that does it, it's the One in whom you place your trust Who accomplishes the grand feats. Those things everyone else reckoned to be impossible, too much to ask, or too good to be true, are exactly the things that God succeeds in carrying out.

"I *feel* like this is just too big of a request on my behalf." The good news is, it's not about YOUR hard work or strength.

Christ came and bore every bit of brokenness, every gram of shame, and every account of condemnation that was on you, and HE took it all on Himself for you. Jesus stands in the Holy Throne room, at the Right Hand of God, and He is interceding on Your behalf right now!

So it's not about YOUR goodness, YOUR deserving, or YOUR righteousness. It's about your Good Shepherd, the One who poured out His life for your redemption, the blameless Lamb of God.

Your past record? The one that occupied pages and pages of unrighteous iniquities? Gone. Yes. Completely and totally wiped away. What remains? The pure and Holy garment of Salvation. The freedom of the Father's faithfulness resting upon us. What could possibly hold us back from the great things He has in store for us?

"But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

No matter what infirmities we posses, God is stronger than them all. God doesn't just move around our infirmities, He magnifies His power through them! He supplements peace for the easily frightened, joy for the brokenhearted, and bravery for the unassuming.

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Through Him, nothing is too wondrous to achieve, too good to believe, or too holy to receive. Go in bravery and courage, expectant for God to do something absolutely incredible in your life today.

-The Introvered Evangelist

Photograph Taken By: Raphael