Day 28: Courage for the next step

Reflect

At some point the plan has to meet reality. A call has to be made, a message sent, a course started, an application submitted, a first day faced. It is often at this point that fear returns with fresh force. What if I am not good enough, what if they say no, what if I look foolish?

Paul writes to a young colleague who was clearly struggling with timidity. God has not given us a spirit of fear, he says, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. Notice what the verse does not say. It does not say that you will never feel afraid. It says that fear is not the spirit you were given. It is a visitor, not the owner of the house.

Courage in the Bible is rarely loud. It is usually the quiet decision to go ahead despite trembling. And it almost always comes with the assurance of presence: I am with you. Courage is not a solo performance. It is taking the step because you are not taking it alone.

A practical help is to make the step as small as you can. Do not decide to change your career today. Decide to send one message. Do not decide to master a field. Decide to attend one meeting. Courage grows with each small act, and the first is the hardest.

It also helps to let people know what you are about to do, so that you are accountable and supported. A friend who will ask how it went is a gift.

Today, identify one step you have been putting off because of fear. Choose the smallest version of it. Say a short prayer. Then do it, and notice that you survived it. Courage tends to be built that way, by experience rather than argument.

Verse

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

Journal

What step have I been putting off because of fear? What is the smallest version of it I could take?

One small action

Take that smallest step today, and tell one person you did. Write down how it went, including what was hard about it.

A 60-second breath prayer

Breathe in: “You are with me”

Breathe out: “I take the step”

Breathe slowly for about a minute, saying the first line as you breathe in and the second as you breathe out.