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Bravery.
When I look at the women around me…. I see BRAVE WOMEN!
But most likely, not a single one of us consider ourselves that way. We are all women just trying to make it… BUT What I see in each of my sweet friends is bravery. You might be dealing with any number of very real, very tangible emotions… BUT you are CHOOSING to push through the hardship and all the while you are CHOOSING to follow Jesus – even when its hard.
You might not think that your normal life requires much bravery….. but it does. & What if courage is the answer to your right now problem? What if…. Starting today, starting right this very moment…. You weren’t scared anymore! Imagine life with more joy, more wonder…. What would you do? What dream would you chase; What bold thing would you go after? How would doing that change who you are? What would your life look like if you, RIGHT NOW…. Had the courage to FILL IN THE BLANK. What if….. that’s the question.
What if God is calling you beyond your fears and into boldness?
God’s LOVE – not our own ability or goodness – is the source of our bravery and our courage and our strength.
Lets read Mark 5:25-34 about the woman with the blood issue who was healed:
“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” -Mark 5:25-34
You can also find this story in Matthew and there it uses a specific word that I want to look at. Matthew 9:22 says, “But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; (G2293) thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
“Good comfort” is translated from the Greek word tharseō which means COURAGE! (Strong's Number G2293).
Jesus also speaks this word in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart (tharseo)! I have overcome the world”
Jesus gives us a promise with POWER. Jesus-courage comes with healing, forgiveness, with presence, and the ability to overcome. He loves us into a completely different experience…..
I want to encourage you to look at the obstacle you are facing today as an opportunity that is leading you right to your own need for forgiveness, healing, and confidence in Jesus. Remember it’s the hardships that we learn from, the valleys grow us. The mountain tops allow us the opportunity to look back at the beauty in the valley that we couldn’t see while we were in it… there is beauty in being refined; there is beauty in courage.
The woman with the blood issue went to Jesus with COURAGE. She had a boldness within her because she knew the power Jesus had and she believed that He could heal her…. So she stepped out!
We don’t have to do this alone…. We have a village of praying woman, and we have Jesus who promises to bring “courage” for whatever we face! Think about this virtue of courage…. It can be the catalyst in our soul that launches us into lives of freedom, love, and yes…. BRAVERY.
Remember the promise Jesus gave us: “You will have trouble” but he also gave us power and authority when he followed it up with “Tharseo! I have overcome the world!”
Life with Jesus is incredible – but its not comfortable or easy or convenient. That’s where COURAGE & BRAVERY comes in…. We are woman set apart. Strong and brave because of the mighty God that we serve. We aren’t training for earth; we are training for heaven!
This is your reminder: God’s LOVE – not our own ability or goodness – is the source of our bravery and our courage and our strength. God is calling you beyond your fears and into boldness!
Questions to Ponder:
Take inventory of your life this week. What scares, worries, or concerns you? Do any patterns or themes emerge as you list them (example: worries about the future, about money, about what others think of you, ect.)? Can you write these down and then completely hand them over to The Lord?
What does being courageous look like to you? What does it look like to be brave enough to give Jesus control?
What if God is calling you beyond your fears and into boldness? What does that look like for you?
Thanks for reading, sweet friends!
<3 The Bohemian Homemaker - Michelle Warren
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