We all need to hear a little more about courage and hope. With the concern of COVID19 spreading like wildfire, I decided to post-pone my weekly series of “Signs of Hope” blog posts to reflect the general concerns of health and virus containment.
If there was ever a season where we needed to see signs of hope, this is that season! Receiving hope does not mean you have your head in the sand, ignoring life’s realities.
It simply means you’ve decided to switch up what mindset and thought patterns you’re going to give power to. Choosing the values of hope rather than fear as your point of reference.
It’s pretty evident that without the ability to see like an electron microscope, it’s impossible to avoid contact with all germs … including this new corona virus. So we follow suggestions of good hygiene and common sense.
Normal activities like going to school, to work, to church, to shopping centres have suddenly become tricky, even impossible due to closures. It’s causing hassles, and trouble. And fear in many people.
Jesus’ thoughts on Courage and Hope
Jesus clearly said, “In the world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In the original language, Jesus actually said “… courage courage, I have overcome the world.”
Courage is the first step of walking in true hope. Courage is not necessarily a thing that you can conjure up within yourself. It is a paradigm of thinking that enables you to get past the thing that is causing anxiety, fear, concern, unsureness … and moving beyond the power of those things to control you. In order to get past those things, we need to see beyond.
But how? I need an example, don’t you?
Jesus’ version of courage is unlike any I have ever seen.
Jesus was the kind of guy who found a storm to be the perfect place to walk across the surface of a dangerous, stormy sea to your help your friends who are stranded in a boat, straining at the oars to get out of the storm.
He’s the Friend who helps you do what He is doing (walking on the stormy water), not out of crazy foolishness, but because you have the authority to do so. No fear.
Doing courage Jesus’ style also means that you take rest when you need it.
He showed us His trust in the Father when He was out in another storm, in a boat with His buddies. A violent storm rolled in, but that didn’t disturb Him from that place where He slept, on a cushion (what?!).
His friends woke Him up and accused Him of not caring about the possibility of them dying in the storm. What did Jesus do? He calmly spoke to the storm, recognizing that it was being reckless and not peaceful, and basically told the wind and the waves to be quiet, behave and be peaceful.
Courage opens up the way of peace in the middle of the storm. The Love of God and His hope pushes out all fear and anxiety. But how exactly … what is the process? I’m glad you asked.
When you read the story of Peter walking on the water with Jesus in the storm (Matthew 14:22-33), he did ok, walking on the stormy surface until he took His eyes off of Jesus and started getting freaked out by the wind and then … he began to flounder and sink.
Immediately, Jesus reached out and pulled him up. Jesus wondered aloud to Peter why He had doubted. I don’t believe Jesus asked that to shame Peter, or because He didn’t really know why, I believe it set Peter up to begin to self-evaluate what was going on inside of his own mind.
Jesus still does this today.
A few minutes later in the boat, the reality of Jesus’ authenticity sunk in. The Son of God. He had walked on water to meet with them in the middle of a storm. Peter had this wild encounter: walked, sunk, and was saved from drowning.
Apparently the storm was still going on around them – both the book of Matthew and John don’t mention anything about this storm ending in the moment. So, we can assume the storm continued. Yet something had shifted. Their mindset.
The shift into courage and hope.
They were glued to the fact that the Son of God was with them in the boat. That made all the difference.
No one said, “Hey Jesus, can you stop this storm like you did in the other storm where you slept on a cushion and we all thought we would die?!”
The Presence of the One who had power over every storm was enough to eliminate their fears, and bring them into internal peace. He was with them in this boat on stormy seas. They trusted Him.
Whether He removed the threat of the storm, or allowed the storm to continue – they were in trust. They trusted His goodness and His power. They trusted the Father’s heart to do what the moment required through Jesus.
And today, He does the same thing. I have seen Him still the storm. I have also witnessed His Presence as a protective force of peace and hope while the storm rages on. He does both. In my life the storms have been both literal and figurative. Financial upset, relational dysfunctions, health crisis, my own personal battle with cancer.
I have never been one to bury my head in the sand and ignore the world around me and just expect to get raptured out of the world’s messes.
Here is the game changer in my experience: every moment of storm and catastrophe has a Constant.
The Presence of Jesus tangibly brings inner peace and calm. Courage and hope.
And When I focus on Who Jesus is for me in each moment of difficulty and storm, I can walk on the water with Him. When I focus on fear and just look at the chaos around me, I start to sink. And fast!!
Good thing Jesus loves to save and redeem. When I sink, He loves lifting me up out of the headspace that I start to drown in. He reaches deep into my soul, and sets things at rest and peace.
When I invite Him to share His Holy Spirit’s strength on the inside of me, something in my own spirit and soul begins to gain strength. That is the miracle of trust. You could even call it faith.
When I trust Jesus to bring His peace into my storm I am creating space for His miraculous power to shift how I see life. He changes my mindset and paradigm to reflect His. He sees life up close and personal with me, but also from the perspective of eternity.
Jesus is equal parts God and man. That’s the beauty of Jesus being IN each moment with me.
He sees like a human but He also sees like God. He is God! If I am ever going to be courageous, I need a perspective beyond what I can see and touch and grapple with.
The impossibility of seeing beyond myself comes with being human. The possibility of seeing beyond comes from the Divine Guidance that God Himself gives through Jesus Christ.
So, in this world that is filled with storms and trouble (and COVID19), we can experience courage and hope!
Lasting Hope doesn’t depend on storm-free, trouble-free living, but is reliant on the Presence of Almighty God. And this Hope does not disappoint.
When Jesus is in the boat with us in a storm, we still row our boat in a way that deals with the storm in it’s reality. But we have no fear! We have courage and authority. We say peace be still. And we sit back, and let God be God. We watch for the breakthrough as we wait patiently and operate with His patience and wisdom.
How do we live in courage and hope?
He said to the storm, peace be still. That’s what I will say.
Through faith and patience we inherit God’s promises. That’s what I will do.
I will keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith.
I will take every thought captive to Christ and release my anxious thoughts and cares to Him. I will do this as many times as I need to. No shame.
I will invite Jesus, the Prince of Peace to keep my heart and mind at rest.
I will rely on His Word/the Scriptures to transform my mind into a spacious place of peace rather than a tormented place of fear.
Perfect Love casts out fear … I will invite the Presence of God to bathe me in Love so that eventually I am so aware of His Presence, Goodness and Power that I trust instead of fear.
And I will love others the way God has loved me. Without reserve. Without hesitation. Expecting the Kingdom of God to invade with every good blessing, no matter the chaos around me.
{{And I will do all this at the grocery store, when I am trying to buy toilet paper, and there isn’t any left!!!}}
My friends, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power! I bless you to receive His courage and hope today.
Love, Jenn
Copyright (c) 2020 Jennifer Bryant-Choong. All Rights Reserved.
