“David also said to Solomon his son, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.’” (1 Chron 28:20)

I had the opportunity to meet Bruce Campbell, the actor from the TV show Burn Notice and The Evil Dead movie franchise, at a book signing recently held at a local bookstore. This was a big deal for a couple of reasons: 1) to date, he’s the most famous person I’ve met; and 2) I attended the book signing alone, something I probably wouldn’t have done even just a year ago. And meeting him was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had.

Even though I’m an introvert and don’t mind being alone, I don’t like going places by myself. I especially don’t like eating alone in a public place. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve entered a restaurant and sat down to eat by myself. As a matter of fact, eating alone in a public place is something that I focused on specifically as an area of growth a little over a year ago. I ate by myself once at lunchtime in a busy restaurant where other people were also there alone. At that point, I decided I’d grown enough and didn’t need to do it again. But more recently, I made myself go out again. You’ll note my word choice here – it really felt like it was something I was forced to do because I dreaded it so much. Interestingly enough, it was much easier to go out to eat on my own the second time.

Being courageous means different things for different people. Recently, I heard courage defined as being able to face your fear to accomplish what you want. For me, being courageous means going out to do things on my own. For you, being courageous may mean standing up for yourself when someone tries to take advantage of you or spending less time at work and more time with your family.

Courage is mentioned in the Bible numerous times, from the Old Testament (Dt 31:6-8; Jo 1:9; 1 Chr 28:20; Ps 27:1; Ps 56:3-4; Ps 112:7; Is 41:10; Is 54:4; ) to the New Testament (Mk 5:36; Jn 14:27; 1 Cor 15:58; 1 Cor 16:13; Eph 6:10; 2 Tim 1:7). God will give us courage for the situations we face and the battles ahead. All we have to do is ask and trust that he will provide.

Dear Jesus, thank you for giving me courage to face the unknown. Thank you for being there for me each step of the way, guiding me through the unusual and the difficult. Help me to turn my fears over to you. Amen.