Recently my church held a women’s conference over a Friday
and Saturday. This was the first year that I had attended, something
inside just kept telling me that I needed to attend this year. That there
was something that I needed to hear. The theme for this year’s conference
was Be Brave, Walk Brave. We talked about the things that could hinder
our walk with God with the question hanging: what stones are in your shoes that
hinder or hold you back from what God is calling you to do or walking a closer
walk with Him. We heard the inspiring words of Emily Fox, founder of
Forget the Frock ministry which is an amazing story, when you get a chance read
up on it. Something she said that remained with me throughout the conference
and days following was “Being brave is trusting God will take you where you
need to go.” Sometimes we don't trust God to lead us to where we need to go. We question what others would think or our own capabilities to do what God is calling us to do.2 Corinthians 3:5 - Not that we are adequate in ourselves consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.
Being brave in following God's call is trusting that we are adequate to complete the task. God has everything planned out for us and knows what we are capable of, so why do we constantly question that? Why do we question what other people think and feel? Because we're human right? We allow a multitude of things to hold us back from walking down that path. We like to hold on to things rather than trusting God to take it all. We want to hold onto that one thing, the thing we may find comfort in. I think we are too afraid of the unknown to effectively be brave enough to walk out into the unknown trusting God will provide all we need. We want to stay in that familiarity even if it means holding on to something that is not good for our lives. I think we look for proof that we would be safe and protected. We want that sense of security we get from our "thing" that we are too afraid to let go and let God as the saying goes.
The truth is we are inadequate, we do fall short, but being brave is trusting that God proves all we need to be adequate. Being brave is trusting that God will protect us and lift us up when we fall. We need to trust God enough to let go of those things holding us back and step bravely outside of that comfort zone. I know some of the things that hold me back, the things I hold on to because they are familiar. Yes, they are things that can do more damage than good like anxiety and depression, guilt and self-doubt, fear. I pray that I am able to let these things go and walk the path that God intends for me.
What are some of the things that hinder your walk? What is holding you back from being brave?
