Courage or Fear?

At the beginning of the year, I was encouraged by Carl Beech, to weigh up whether I was making my decisions out of courage, or out of fear. And you know what? That thought stuck with me.

The question is a personal one and really is between each of us and the Lord. For me, travelling, living out of suitcases, teaching in countries where perhaps people are hostile to the message of Jesus, my own fears may not be the same as for other people.

So where is my fear? What about, ‘Will Jesus come through with finances for me?’ Nah, YWAMers are known to live by faith, right? But looking at some of my decisions, I know that I can make a call based on whether or not I can pull it off financially, regardless of what I believe Jesus is saying. Where is the courage there?

I’m reading a book right now (for the second time, it’s just that good) called ‘Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England‘. It’s the story of a small group of MPs who, despite massive opposition from their parties and against the press and popular opinion, sounded the alarm bells about Hitler and Nazi Germany and fought for their cause with strength and much courage. They weren’t liked. Their message wasn’t appreciated. They were called ‘warmongerers’ and they clashed against the mood of the time. But they knew their job, their duty, and they courageously put their careers (and sometimes even their lives) on the line to get the work done. Without them, I shudder to think what would have happened to England and Europe as a whole.

Carl got me thinking, and on this subject I’ve been dwelling for a while, and will be for a while to come. How are we making our decisions? Out of courage, rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ who is King over all? Or out of fear? Fear of man, our shortcomings, our limitations. Here’s what Carl says: