Happy You, Happy Life!Sample

DAY #7

BRAVE

I have done a lot of adventurous things in my life. As a mother of five, it comes with the territory. Some of those things include bungee jumping, skydiving, taking our family touring through Europe by train, and swimming with six-foot wild Lemon sharks.

I won’t lie. All of those things took guts. 

Now my youngest daughter is trying to convince me to go shark cage diving with her. Does it ever end? There is always something that is outside of your comfort zone, and as soon as you conquer that, it’s going to be something else. So how can you be courageous enough to handle whatever comes your way? How can you be brave enough to swim with the sharks?

I promise you, you can. And it’s easy!

If you want to swim with sharks, this is the one simple step you need to take—jump in the water! 

Whew! That’s easy, right? No?

I’ve discovered that many people want to know how to be free from fear, but they want an answer that removes all responsibility from them. People want to hear, “Don’t worry. If you say these three words, God will take over your body and do the scary stuff for you.” No matter how many times you ask the Word of God how to be courageous, you will never find that answer. You have a part to play, but remember, I said it would be easy! All you have to do is jump in the water, and God will take care of the sharks. You can trust God to take care of you.

When I went swimming with six-foot sharks, it only looked scary from the boat. Once I jumped into the water, it was one of the most breathtaking experiences I have ever had. I was in awe. It was the same with bungee jumping and skydiving. Once I jumped, I realized that was the hardest part, and the things I thought would be scary weren’t. The hardest part is always just saying yes. When you understand that, jumping gets a lot easier!

Courage is doing something even when it looks scary because you know you aren’t doing it alone. All you have to do is jump—say yes, step out—and God will meet you there. Don’t worry about how you’re going to swim with the sharks, or what comes next, just jump!

“My grace is sufficient to carry you through storms to your destination, but you must get in the water for my power to be made strong on your behalf. My anointing comes to those who engage my power by taking the first step. Even as in natural things a journey must begin with a step, so too my plans for you require you to walk hand in hand with me. I cannot do it for you, but I will do what you cannot do—and my grace will see you to the finish line. Begin!”