God has named you brave
Part 2 of an interview with Kelly
Johnson,
Author of Being Brave: A 40-Day Journey
to the Life God Dreams for You
God has made
us brave, not fearful beings. In a forty-day devotional format, author and
blogger Kelly Johnson invites readers to consider a new way of thinking about
what it means to be brave and challenges them to seek a greater intimacy with
God and the people God has placed in their life.
Through
Scripture, stories, prayers, and thought-provoking questions, readers will
recognize the seeds of divinely inspired bravery and learn the strength found
in community. Using letters of the word brave as a guide, Being Brave highlights what God’s Word has to say about the
characteristics of bravery: Bold, Resilient, Authentic, Vulnerable, and Engaged
and Empowered by the Spirit.
God has named you brave. Being brave is
your birthright as a child of God. You already have everything you need to live
a life of passion, sacrifice, meaning, and purpose. You don’t need anything
else to be ready. Many
of us have been playing it safe when God wants us to be bold and hiding from
one another when God wants us to live in community. Courage is more often
experienced in community and naming one another brave is the path back to God and to the
bigger, braver life we desire.
Q: How might being brave look different for different
people?
Being brave or
having courage means something different to all of us. We would all agree that
a person on a battlefield requires a large degree of bravery. Facing a
diagnosis of cancer or sitting with the pain of losing someone you love
requires great courage as well. However, the need for bravery is not always
black and white. What might be terrifying or hard for some might be easy for
others.
For many of
us, risking vulnerability and allowing ourselves to be seen as inadequate can
be scary. For some of us, we are fearful of the unknown, of loss, of change, of
that which we can’t control, of appearing foolish, and of not being able to
protect those we love. Is being brave in those circumstances even related to
the kind of bravery required to lay down your life in a combat zone? What does
this other kind of everyday courage look like?
Being brave
might include any or all of the following:
•
Being willing to move forward, even when I’m scared.
•
Living creatively, chasing my dreams, and not settling for safe.
•
Being driven more by my curiosity than by my fears.
•
Being vulnerable and authentic in my relationships, even though I can’t control
the outcome.
•
Trusting other people, even though I have been hurt.
•
Being honest about who I am and what I want.
•
Admitting when I am wrong and taking responsibility for my mistakes.
•
Taking risks and being willing to fail.
•
Asking for help.
•
Believing my story is an important part of the larger story God is telling.
•
Embracing progress, not perfection.
Authenticity and vulnerability
build connection. Jesus reminds us the most important commandment is to love
God with all our heart and to love one another as we love ourselves. Although
God has created us for community, we often hide from each other in our more
tender places. Comparison, competition, and perfectionism block connection and
keep us stuck believing we are irreparably separated. Authenticity and
vulnerability break down those walls and build the connection we long for, the
connection for which we were made. Listening to one another, authentically
sharing our lives with one another, and naming one another brave is the path
back to God and to the bigger, braver life we desire.
Choosing when to speak up and when to
remain silent is often a difficult choice. I find I make wiser choices when I
stay connected to the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer. Slowing down to
seek direction from God in a moment of disagreement, instead of responding
impulsively in the heat of strong emotion, I am much more likely to communicate
with respect. Whether we speak the truth in love, or choose to remain silent,
we can trust God’s spirit of power, love, and self-discipline will be with us
and guide us.
For the past ten years, I have had the
privilege of serving at a local day shelter for homeless and poor individuals
in our community called The Lamb Center. I have been deeply inspired by the
staff, volunteers, and guests of The Lamb Center, and it has changed the way I
think about what it means to be brave and live in community. It is my intention
to donate part of my proceeds from sales of the book back to the ministry of
The Lamb Center.
My friends at
The Lamb Center have taught me that being brave means asking for help from God
and from each other. We are always more courageous in community, but many of us
equate self-reliance with strength. My friends at The Lamb Center are under no
delusions and have no misconceptions that they have their lives under control.
The pride and arrogance that plague many of us with comfortable homes and money
in the bank have long since been left behind by my friends who sleep in the
woods. Unlike many of us in more affluent circumstances, they know they need
help because their circumstances leave them no alternative. Around our Bible
study table each week, the masks of invincibility are left outside, and I am
reminded how much we all need each other, regardless of our circumstances. God
created us to lean on one another and to take care of one another.
Learn more about Being
Brave and Kelly Johnson at www.KellyIveyJohnson.com. She is also active on Facebook (KellyJohnsonGraceNotes), Twitter (KellyLJ1), and Instagram (kellylj1).
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