Day 9 of 21 Days of Courage

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
 

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The simple fact is that, in order to learn to embrace uncertainty and move forward despite your fears, you’ve got to turn loose of your uncertainty. As long as you’re holding on tight to your misgivings about God, you can’t grab on to His faithfulness.

I’ve got a friend who is a rock climber. He tells me that as long as you’re just hanging on where you are, it’s impossible to go any higher. I’ve never done any rock climbing, but I can imagine that when you’re fifty, seventy-five, or a hundred feet up on a steep rock face, having both hands and both feet dug into a good, tight hold would feel pretty good. When gravity is working against you, it’s nice to know you can hang on to something.

But guess what? Hanging on to where you are guarantees that you won’t go anywhere—up or down. To make progress in either direction, you’ve got to release your present security and reach out.

I believe that many of us, in our battles with our fears and troubles, have given up on progress and settled for just not falling. I understand that impulse. I really do. But I believe we have a God who longs to reach out and take us by the hand and draw us up toward higher ground. And as long as our fists are clenched around the things we presently trust, we can’t grip God’s outstretched hand. We won’t go any higher.

Listen to me: no matter what you are holding on to right now—whether it is your 401(k), your job title, your protective mistrust of the people around you, your anger at a friend’s betrayal, your dependence upon another person, or whatever it is you think makes you feel safe—you will be more secure once you’ve let go of that and grabbed God’s hand.

The faithfulness of God is stronger than whatever fears or challenges are holding you back.  

Nothing except God lasts forever. Everything else will fade. And one day, that thing, person, or situation you’re grasping so tightly will turn to dust in your hand.

Only God lasts.  
 

-Pete