June 2024 - But what if you fly?

 What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?
(Erin Hanson)

What's stopping you? Joshua 1:9 says, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."  For the month of June, let's stop allowing fear to dictate our lives, and instead choose to step out in faith, trusting God to catch us.

1. Truth: Where should you be right now? Are you there? Fear is an awful thing: paralyzing and cutting off any forward growth. It's time to have courage and take whatever steps you have been putting off. Do you have a great business idea, but you're too afraid it would go under? Do you have the capabilities to be a sports player, but are too afraid of hurting yourself? Could you be a great speaker, but don't want to end up embarrassing yourself? There will always be a valid reason not to want to start something new, but you have to remember, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." (Robert F. Kennedy) You will never know how far you can go if you don't start. As John Wayne said, "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." You need to have a little bit of what Mark Rober calls "naive optimism": realizing that sometimes its better not to know what will happen and instead trust that if you keep moving forward you will eventually make it. If we knew how many burnt cookies we would make before we finally got the perfect batch, we'd be much less likely to try: when what we should be doing is striving forward while enjoying the cookie dough along the way. 

2. Trust: God says that if you are willing to step out, He will go with you. This month focus on one goal you have been putting off due to fear: reaching out to someone new, starting a business, getting a degree, singing a solo, etc. It does not have to be big, but it does need to be something you are afraid to do. Try this simple exercise to help you jump start: write down your goal, and in two columns underneath it, write down everything that could go wrong, and everything that could go right. Oftentimes our biggest issue is not actually an issue, but rather something our imagination is creating. And even when there is an actual reason to be afraid, the reward often outweighs the risk. Clarity is often all we are missing. The way will not necessarily be smooth: God does not promise an easy road, nor does He promise that you will accomplish what you set out to do; He does, however, promise to go with you and that you will be better for having tried. 

3. Trial: Remember, as Winston Churchill said, "Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others." If you can have courage you can do anything. So step out in courage this June and see where God can take you. 

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."  (Joshua 1:9)