As I was walking into this new year, 2026, I feel like the Lord has been telling me that this
is going to be a year of cultivating courage. And honestly, my first reaction was, oh no,
what does that mean? What's coming? Because when I think of courage, I think of hard things,
right? I think of battles needing to be fought. I think of needing to be brave because there's
something scary that's ahead. And that got me curious. Why was my initial reaction to an
invitation from the Lord to grow in courage to fear? And there's no shame in feeling fear. We
don't have to pretend that we're not afraid sometimes, but the good news is we're never
stuck there because we're sons and daughters of the most high God. So we have access to his wisdom,
his power, his authority to overcome all fear. So as I sought wisdom around why fear was my
initial reaction to this invitation, I realized, oh, I'm leaning on my own understanding here.
I am leaning on my own ability to be brave. And to be real with you, I have really struggled over
the years to identify as a brave person. I've looked at other people who have done
incredibly courageous things, made big moves, huge leaps of faith. And I compared, you know,
we do that sometimes. And I thought, I just don't have that. I don't think I got that gene.
It felt like bravery was a personality trait and some people got it and some people didn't.
And often I thought I was in the group that just didn't get it. But scripture doesn't treat
courage like a personality type. It's a command. Be strong and courageous. And you don't command
someone to have brown eyes. You command something that requires a decision. Courage is a choice.
And that is really good news because it means it's available to all of us. Even those of us,
hello, who have spent maybe years believing that we're just not that brave. So I went to scripture.
I started looking at places in scripture where God commands courage, or even where God commands
do not fear. And I found something that I actually hadn't really noticed before. There is a consistent
pattern. When God tells his people to be strong and courageous, when he says, do not fear, he
doesn't just give a command, he gives a guarantee. The command to be courageous always comes with the
assurance of his presence. Let's look at a really famous command for courage that maybe a lot of us
know. In Joshua 1.9, God says to Joshua, he says, have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Did you catch that? Not just a command, but a guarantee. A command that comes with a reason.
Be courageous because I'm with you. And it's not just Joshua. When Moses speaks to the Israelites
right before they enter the promised land, he says something very similar. He says, be strong and
courageous. Do not fear or do not dread. Do not be in dread of them. Talking about those that are
currently in the promised land. For it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you
or forsake you. Same pattern. There's a command, then there's a guarantee. In Isaiah, another one of
my favorites, God says, fear not for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will
strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you. And over and over again, the same thing occurs
when God tells his people to be courageous, when he tells them, do not fear. He gives a reason.
I am with you. You are not in this alone. This is such good news. Courage wasn't tied to Joshua's
willpower or Moses's leadership ability or even Israel's ability to behave. It was always tied to
God's presence. So here's where I'm landing as I step into this new year, ready to cultivate
courage in my life. The invitation, the command to be courageous isn't to brace yourself for hard
things. It's to focus your awareness on your victory. The command to be courageous isn't for
you to, you know, muster up your own strength to be able to do what it takes to survive suffering,
to survive hard things, to win the battle. God is with you in the hard things, in the battles,
in the good times and in the bad.
times. And in Christ, that promise for courage and that promise for his presence isn't just for a
hard moment, it's our permanent reality in Christ. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. And when we put
our faith in him, his spirit comes to live inside of us, the Bible says. There's no more separation,
there's no more visitation. There is only permanent union with God. So that's what we're
going to be exploring more of as we walk into this new year. I want to talk a little bit more
about courage. You know, Jesus, like I've said before, has never promised a life without trouble.
He promised you his presence and his victory in every trouble. You are living in a victory he
already won. The outcome is secure, even when the process is hard. The absence of difficulty is not
proof of his victory. His permanent presence is in you, and that is the guarantee.