You Make Me Brave

I've heard more often than not that being brave is something people were born with. People that are usually bold or extremely confident are considered brave. Even those of us that do things to prove how brave they are, like sky diving or bungee jumping.

Well, no. I just don't know that that's it. Brave people may have those characteristics. They may be bold and crass and extremely confident, but I think bravery is based on trust.

Last week at my life group, we sang this song that I had never heard of before during worship called "You Make Me Brave" by Amanda Cooke from Bethel. The song talks about how standing in the presence of God and His light you are washed over by crashing waves and how He calls your name and all this stuff. Eventually it gets to the bridge where it says, "You make me brave" repeatedly.

As I was singing this song, I really felt like I was diving into the lyrics and the meaning that the Lord was giving me behind it all. Maybe this message was just for me and my strange perspective, but I figured I'd share anyway!

So I'm listening about the waves crashing over you, envisioning it. How you would stand in this crazy, awe-inspiring presence that could utterly destroy you without blinking, and I realize that bravery isn't something you're born with and something that comes from being confident or incredibly extroverted. 

Bravery is something that develops from trusting something. When the bible (and the song) talks about weapons against us not remaining or fear not being anything to hinder us (Isaiah and in many other parts of the bible), that's because we have developed a trust for our God. And how do you develop trust? By earning it and proving time and time again that you're trustworthy and won't disappoint or let whomever down. 

Think of it like this: I read a story the other day about an old oak tree that had a support rigged against it like a crutch to help with the weight of one of its limbs. At first the tree didn't need it. The do-gooders just thought it might help, but years later the tree did need the support. If the tree were conscious, it probably would have doubted the support of the crutches at first, but by the time it needed the support, many years later, it wouldn't have had to think twice about the crutches being able to hold. The crutches would have proven their strength and "earned" the tree's trust simply by being there.

Turn that analogy into how we trust Jesus. He is always there for us, He is always providing His strength for us, and He is always extending His love and grace towards us. Basically, when we have to be brave we have to trust. 

We are put in a vulnerable spot where we could fall, bend, snap, or fail, and then we have to be bold --brave-- and step out. You have to trust whatever you're stepping out for. You have to get your bravery from the trust you have from whatever you have to be brave for.

You're not going to walk out onto the overlook at the Grand Canyon if you don't trust that the glass will hold. 

The Lord helped me realize that those times that I have been "brave" are the times I've been bold and have been trusting in Him entirely. Even the people that jump out of planes to prove their bravery are trusting their chute will open. Their bungee cord will hold. The cage that separates them from the deadly teeth of a great white will not bend.

Bravery isn't a character trait, in my opinion. It's a consequence of trust.

--Maggie Mae