How BIG is your BRAVE?

God never promises that life will be easy, He doesn't promise us a bed of roses, and no pain on this earth. But, what He does promise, is that He will ALWAYS be with us. He will NEVER LEAVE us or forsake us.

I wear a bracelet that has the word 'brave' on. It's pretty and reminds me that I am to be brave throughout the seasons of life. This weekend, I found myself looking down at the leather band around my wrist, and asking myself the questions, "How big is my brave? What does it mean t be brave?" I began to recall some times in my life when I had to brave. I was brave when I did a skydive, brave when I moved to Australia in my early twenties, brave when I stood up to give testimony at my love,y Aunties funeral. I was brave as I sat with my beautiful Granma and watched her breathe her last breath on the earth and graduate to Heaven. I was brave when I held a massive snake around my neck at the zoo. I was brave when I stood up and preached moments after someone had said some cruel things to me.

Being brave is about standing up, standing strong and stepping out, bold and confidently, in the face of adversity or challenge [whatever that looks like]. As I began to remember different times in my life when I had been brave, I asked myself another question, "HOW was I brave?" The reason I can be brave in the midst of trial, challenge and adversity is firstly because I know that God, My God, Creator of the Universe, is with me. And also, I have a company of family and friends, who know me, love me and stand with me. I know for a fact that I would not have gotten through that nasty illness I suffered as a teenager had it not been for my immediate family nursing me and speaking life over me as I slept. I know I would not have been brave enough to jump out of an aeroplane if I wasn't strapped to a hunky man! I know I wouldn't have been brave enough to hold a big fat snake without the zoo keeper being near me. I know I wouldn't have been brave enough to get on the plane to move to Australia without my family waving me off and telling me I could do it. I know I was only brave enough to be with my Granma when she breathed her last breath, because my dad was with me.

As all these thoughts were running through my mind, I was so aware that I can BE brave, not because of anything to do with me, but, because of the power of God in me, and the wonderful people that surround my life.

I then began to wonder what it would look like if we EXTEND our brave, to other people. We CAN extend the invitation to them too. We can tell them that God is for them and so are we! There are people in this world, in our lives, who are aching for us to be brave for them. The woman whose husband is beating her, the neighbour who is alone, the post man whose wife just left him, the work colleague who has been diagnosed with cancer, the elderly relative who is in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's, the child who has an alcoholic father, the girl at the check out who would rather work all night than have to face what awaits her at home, the university student who is crippled with anxiety and stress due to deadlines, the friend who can't find work, the baby fighting for his precious life in the hospital, the girl who is forced into prostitution...

Recently, I have been so aware that there is so much injustice, pain, trauma and heart ache in this world. People are crazy and do crazy things.the enemy is a liar and has the sole purpose of trying to destroy us. Thank God, that if we belong to Jesus, the silly devil is powerless and only has the authority over us that we give him. But, still, bad stuff happens to good people, all the time.

I want to fix things. I want to see people healed and restored. I want to be part of the solution and not the problem.

Over my life, I have learnt that the most powerful and constant thing, is the word of God. Whenever I am facing a scary, dangerous or difficult situation, if people try to destroy me, if the doctor gives me a bad report, if I am anxious, nervous or tired, whatever I am facing, whatever I am going through, Gods word is bigger, stronger and WAY MORE POWERFUL than anything that I face!

His word makes me brave! His word, being 'fleshed' out in my life makes me face crazy situations with bravery and courage! His word, on my lips, in my heart, and in my mind, makes me brave. When I read, listen to, speak out, and declare the very Word of God over my life, the powers of darkness flee, every demon in hell trembles, because, My God shows Himself strong, and, HE MAKES ME BRAVE!

I can declare the promises of God over other people's lives as well as my own. I can push back the darkness and bring Gods glorious light.

We can stand up. Rise up. Sing. Shout. Declare. We an raise awareness, and then be moved to action [awareness is POINTLESS if we don't ACT on what we are aware of!] we can be the voice for those who cannot speak.

Will you be brave just for you, or, is your brave big enough for others too?

Today, I want to challenge myself, and you, if you're up for it, to ask the question, "HOW BIG IS YOUR BRAVE?"