Trust the Whisper: Finding Courage for Your CallingНамуна

It takes courage to listen to a whisper. It takes faith to step out of the life you know and into something completely unexpected. When a whisper comes into our lives, and it feels like it is disrupting all our plans, it most certainly is. Usually, we recognize that first whisper at the moment when we are restless for purpose, wondering if this is the life we were really meant to live. It might happen when we are contemplating a job change or facing a health challenge.

When you are standing on the precipice of change, you get to decide exactly how much courage you are willing to summon. Are you going to take the job that is just one step away from what you are already doing? Or are you going to take the leap of faith to a completely different career that has been calling you for a long time?

Maybe you have recently received a difficult diagnosis that has made you understand just how fragile life is and how every day truly is a gift. This can be another crossroad time to decide if you will keep coasting in the life you know or make a hard right turn onto a new path.

If we believe it is all about us and our own courage, those decisions can be terrifying. But if we remember we are with God, they can be exhilarating. When you are taking a leap of faith based on a whisper that won’t let you go, you won’t be leaping alone. God will be with you. You may not land exactly where you expected, but you will land exactly where you were meant to be.

My husband has a rare disease and we have had to recalculate everything in our lives, from how much time we thought we might have together to what we thought was important in life. From the day we realized how serious his illness was, we had to think hard about our life choices. For the first year, we lived in complete fear only asking the question, “What if he dies?” We lived tight and small, scared to be too far from a hospital in case something happened. But eventually we understood there is actually something worse than dying—living as if you already are dead.

So we began to recalibrate our lives, trying to find courage in spite of the fear. We made time for joy and the people we loved. We began asking what we would regret if we did not try. And we began to live with intention, understanding this life is not a dress rehearsal. This is our one chance.

With that as the backdrop, it became easier to take risks. Would we regret more that we tried something and failed or didn’t try at all? But mostly, I realized that by trusting whispers, there is no failure. Every step and every action, whether I can see the success or not, is leading me closer to who I was always born to be. It may feel like I am taking a leap of faith, but God knows exactly what that flight path will be.

Time for Reflection

(If you don’t have time to reflect on all three, choose one that you want to explore)

1. If you had fifteen minutes of insane courage, believing that God is with you, what would you do?
2. At the end of your life, what do you not want to regret?
3. What is the most courageous thing you have ever done? Where was God in that story?

Prayer for the Day

(This is an offering for you or choose own prayer for the day)

God, help me have courage even when I am full of fear. Help me know you are by side always and I am under your canopy of blessings and grace. Let me not give in to my fear but trust that you are leading me always to serve my purpose in this world. Amen