2 Ideas to Train Yourself in Courage [Eps 27]
Courage—you develop courage by doing small things like just as if you wouldn’t want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing yourself. —Maya Angelou.
We’ve been keenly aware of courage lately: the courage to speak out against injustice, to serve in healthcare in the face of pandemic, and the courage to simply keep going.
But there’s another branch of courage: one that goes unseen. It’s not talked about in headlines or social media that often. Infact, its pretty counter cultural: I’m talking about the courage to slow it way down.
This is less about a big, bold leap and more about training one’s heart to make micro movements of faith Imagine climbing a mountain, like a Colorado fourteener. You don’t typically just go out and hike one without preparation (especially if you’re from the Midwest). You train over time, day after day. You get stronger with small choices of effort and faith that propel you toward this goal to successfully climb a mountain.
The courage to slow down is to dare to move at an unhurried pace, which requires a big dose of humility and a hefty amount of trust.
What happens when I’m in a hurry?
Who do I become? Am I even aware?
Usually, I become agitated, impatient, and you might hear a complaint or growl come from my lips. I’ve complained a lot during covid. I’m not talking about lament, which bringing my grief before God, but the opposite: having an unthankful heart. It’s not pretty. I often mow people over and I’m not really kind to myself either. Transformation does not happen overnight (unless you’re a super hero). Some of us live like we are.
Hurry and busy almost always from a sense of overwhelm that I am trying to control.
Hustle culture will not satisfy a holy longing.
Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. -Maya Angelou
Courage connects. Courage doesn’t have to be loud. Courage is not big and bodacious. Courage is the sum of tiny choices we make each day.
We lift small weights before the 100 lb. We train before we climb the mountain.
How do we arrange our lives to be more courageous through slowing down?
It starts with stillness
Psalm 46:10 reads, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Deep gladness always begins in quiet.
Two ideas to do this:
Create from a sense of calm.
Ask yourself what you need most today.
Be still to be more responsive when it counts. When you do I promise you will connect to God, which taps into your gladness, which connects you with your creativity, which connects you to freedom and peace, which allows you to be more courageous in everything you do: more decisive, more alive, and stronger in your faith.
Take courage and slow it way down. If you’re trying to lift that 100 pound weight and you’re crushed, maybe it’s time to get back to the 3 and 5 pounders. Remember, small reps.
Get your free audio meditation on Psalm 23: https://bit.ly/3kpSRa0.
Leave a review via Apple Podcasts/Itunes.
