Doing Things That MatterSample

"LEAD COURAGEOUSLY – PART ONE"

When I was a kid, my friends and I often went to the community pool during hot summer days. At the deep end of the pool, three diving boards stood ominously challenging every little kid that dared climb their steps. The middle board towered sixteen terror-filled feet above the water. I can still remember the fear of climbing that high dive for the first time, uncertain if I would actually survive the ordeal.

As I inched out towards the edge all sorts of alarms were blaring within me saying, “Stop you idiot!” This particular diving board wasn’t a solid platform. No, it was a springboard that made each step towards the edge a wobbly nightmare. The edge is a dangerous, scary place. It’s much easier to simply dip our toe into the pool than to look down the barrel of the high dive, but for my friends and I, it was a right of passage—one where not jumping was more detrimental than jumping. It was a bad day for the poor kid that chose to turn around and climb back down the ladder and shamefully slip back into the shallow end of the pool.

We’ve all stood at the edges of things in life, such as a life-changing decision, an investment risk, or even the courage to ask someone out on a date. Similar to the feelings I had on that high dive, fear, concern, and impending danger are all in front of us, but nonetheless we have the conviction to jump. We all want to be courageous! 

The scriptures are full of stories about people who lived and led courageously. One of the most striking things about the story of Peter walking on water is that there were twelve disciples on that boat, but only one had the courage to step out of the boat. Isn’t this true of so many of us? We are like the eleven disciples, we love Jesus, but when it comes to the truly courageous and faithful things, we’d rather stay in the safety of the boat. 

Peter was willing to do the thing that no one else was willing to do. He was willing to lead courageously! 

What or where do you need courage so you can lead?