WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.000 As I was walking into this new year, 2026, I feel like the Lord has been telling me that this 2 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:12.160 is going to be a year of cultivating courage. And honestly, my first reaction was, oh no, 3 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:17.520 what does that mean? What's coming? Because when I think of courage, I think of hard things, 4 00:00:17.520 --> 00:00:23.040 right? I think of battles needing to be fought. I think of needing to be brave because there's 5 00:00:23.040 --> 00:00:30.400 something scary that's ahead. And that got me curious. Why was my initial reaction to an 6 00:00:30.400 --> 00:00:36.800 invitation from the Lord to grow in courage to fear? And there's no shame in feeling fear. We 7 00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:41.680 don't have to pretend that we're not afraid sometimes, but the good news is we're never 8 00:00:41.680 --> 00:00:47.120 stuck there because we're sons and daughters of the most high God. So we have access to his wisdom, 9 00:00:47.120 --> 00:00:57.120 his power, his authority to overcome all fear. So as I sought wisdom around why fear was my 10 00:00:57.120 --> 00:01:03.760 initial reaction to this invitation, I realized, oh, I'm leaning on my own understanding here. 11 00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:11.280 I am leaning on my own ability to be brave. And to be real with you, I have really struggled over 12 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:17.120 the years to identify as a brave person. I've looked at other people who have done 13 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:24.560 incredibly courageous things, made big moves, huge leaps of faith. And I compared, you know, 14 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:30.000 we do that sometimes. And I thought, I just don't have that. I don't think I got that gene. 15 00:01:32.080 --> 00:01:37.440 It felt like bravery was a personality trait and some people got it and some people didn't. 16 00:01:37.440 --> 00:01:43.200 And often I thought I was in the group that just didn't get it. But scripture doesn't treat 17 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:50.320 courage like a personality type. It's a command. Be strong and courageous. And you don't command 18 00:01:50.320 --> 00:01:57.920 someone to have brown eyes. You command something that requires a decision. Courage is a choice. 19 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:03.600 And that is really good news because it means it's available to all of us. Even those of us, 20 00:02:03.600 --> 00:02:12.480 hello, who have spent maybe years believing that we're just not that brave. So I went to scripture. 21 00:02:12.480 --> 00:02:17.440 I started looking at places in scripture where God commands courage, or even where God commands 22 00:02:17.440 --> 00:02:22.720 do not fear. And I found something that I actually hadn't really noticed before. There is a consistent 23 00:02:22.720 --> 00:02:28.640 pattern. When God tells his people to be strong and courageous, when he says, do not fear, he 24 00:02:28.640 --> 00:02:36.320 doesn't just give a command, he gives a guarantee. The command to be courageous always comes with the 25 00:02:36.320 --> 00:02:42.560 assurance of his presence. Let's look at a really famous command for courage that maybe a lot of us 26 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:50.400 know. In Joshua 1.9, God says to Joshua, he says, have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. 27 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:59.440 Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 28 00:03:00.320 --> 00:03:06.400 Did you catch that? Not just a command, but a guarantee. A command that comes with a reason. 29 00:03:07.040 --> 00:03:14.800 Be courageous because I'm with you. And it's not just Joshua. When Moses speaks to the Israelites 30 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:20.000 right before they enter the promised land, he says something very similar. He says, be strong and 31 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:25.600 courageous. Do not fear or do not dread. Do not be in dread of them. Talking about those that are 32 00:03:25.600 --> 00:03:32.880 currently in the promised land. For it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you 33 00:03:32.880 --> 00:03:40.240 or forsake you. Same pattern. There's a command, then there's a guarantee. In Isaiah, another one of 34 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:47.920 my favorites, God says, fear not for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will 35 00:03:47.920 --> 00:03:56.400 strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you. And over and over again, the same thing occurs 36 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:01.760 when God tells his people to be courageous, when he tells them, do not fear. He gives a reason. 37 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:11.200 I am with you. You are not in this alone. This is such good news. Courage wasn't tied to Joshua's 38 00:04:11.200 --> 00:04:20.320 willpower or Moses's leadership ability or even Israel's ability to behave. It was always tied to 39 00:04:20.320 --> 00:04:27.360 God's presence. So here's where I'm landing as I step into this new year, ready to cultivate 40 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:35.600 courage in my life. The invitation, the command to be courageous isn't to brace yourself for hard 41 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:43.840 things. It's to focus your awareness on your victory. The command to be courageous isn't for 42 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:50.720 you to, you know, muster up your own strength to be able to do what it takes to survive suffering, 43 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:57.680 to survive hard things, to win the battle. God is with you in the hard things, in the battles, 44 00:04:57.680 --> 00:04:59.920 in the good times and in the bad. 45 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:10.400 times. And in Christ, that promise for courage and that promise for his presence isn't just for a 46 00:05:10.400 --> 00:05:19.120 hard moment, it's our permanent reality in Christ. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. And when we put 47 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:24.800 our faith in him, his spirit comes to live inside of us, the Bible says. There's no more separation, 48 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:30.960 there's no more visitation. There is only permanent union with God. So that's what we're 49 00:05:30.960 --> 00:05:35.360 going to be exploring more of as we walk into this new year. I want to talk a little bit more 50 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:40.880 about courage. You know, Jesus, like I've said before, has never promised a life without trouble. 51 00:05:41.520 --> 00:05:47.600 He promised you his presence and his victory in every trouble. You are living in a victory he 52 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:54.640 already won. The outcome is secure, even when the process is hard. The absence of difficulty is not 53 00:05:54.640 --> 00:06:02.160 proof of his victory. His permanent presence is in you, and that is the guarantee.