Bravery.

Land of the free home of the brave, right? Well, not necessarily.

I have never been a brave person. I will let that cat out the bag right now, but something inside of me yells, "RILEY, BE BRAVE WITH YOUR LIFE." I quickly shut that down because I am a worrier. I worry that if I post such a blog as this one, you might think that I am so brave and always choose to do right which is NOT true. But I worry though, if I am not bold enough to write this, who will?

Let's be honest.

That time when you spoke badly about that friend behind his/her back, did you feel brave?

That time when you said your first bad word, did you feel brave?

OR

That time you chose to yell at your parents, did you feel brave?

What do YOU call being brave? think for a second. then scroll.

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Now lets rephrase this question.

What does JESUS call being brave?

That time when you chose to sit back and listen instead of chiming in about how terrible that friend is, he calls that brave.

That time when you said kind + encouraging words, he calls that brave.

That time you walked away to gain self-control and then responded politely to your parents, he calls that brave.

SO how do we find the difference in bravery when we tell ourselves one thing and Jesus thinks the other?

BRAVE means ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage.

When searching this word, it makes sense why people run to bad stuff to feel brave. People tend to get insecure, neglected, or talked down to. To defend themselves and feel brave, they produce bad things to others around them. Jesus says to do otherwise in 1 Peter 3:9,

"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this YOU WERE CALLED so that you may inherit a blessing."

YOU WERE CALLED to be brave with your life.

YOU.

WERE.

CALLED.

He calls YOU brave.

In return for doing good, you will feel good, receive good, and love like Jesus loves. Being brave is much more than being ready to show courage in danger.

It is being ready to show Jesus in danger.

Bravery is knowing Jesus and how he treats others in times of weakness, to be able to treat others the same way. He is BRAVE + he made us in his likeness so does that not make us BRAVE too? Joshua 1:9 says,

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

So if Jesus is with us wherever we go, be BRAVE and show that to others. YOU can do this.

Dear Jesus,

Help me to choose YOU over temptations around me. Help me see and understand, that being brave is not treating others badly, it is treating others the way you treat them. I pray that in my times of weakness, I do not pay evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead let me reflect you in ALL I do and say. Help me understand that being brave is much more than being ready to show courage, but it is being ready to show YOU. Jesus, thank you for all you do. In your name I pray, Amen.