Courage and Risk Taking

This past Sunday afternoon, as I was preparing for a board meeting and a special business meeting. I walked into my office grabbed my Zondervan Leadership Bible and prayed the following prayer, "Lord, I need something, please speak to me through Your Word."
Moments later I turned to Numbers 14:1-10. After reading these 10 verses, I then read the daily leadership lesson on courage/risk taking. Here is what I read:

It was one thing when the children of Israel murmured and complained about their provisions and their leadership during the first two years in the wilderness. It was far more serious when they decided they could no longer trust the Lord. The tragedy at Kadesh was not caused merely by grumbling, but by outright rebellion against the purposes of God. The Israelites had convinced themselves that their children would be killed if they attempted to take the promised land, and they therefore drew back in disbelief. Ironically, it was their children who later occupied the land under Joshua's leadership.

By pursuing a pain-avoidance strategy rather than trusting the Lord, the Israelites actually inflicted far more pain upon themselves. As a result of their lack of courage, the generation of the exodus was consigned to an additional thirty-eight years of wilderness wandering until they died and the new generation was ready to take the land.

Obedience to the precepts and principles of Scripture does in fact require significant risk, because to trust God is to pursue the invisible over the visible. But if we hedge our bets by resisting the prompting of the Spirit and chasing the promises of the world system, our growth will be stunted. "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith" (Hebrews 4:2).

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9). Knowing this, God asks his people to take a step of faith and trust in his presence. God is the ultimate source of empowerment; he is the eternal source of the godly leader's courage.  The Leadership Bible, New International Version® © 1998 by the Zondervan Corporation

Good stuff, isn't it? It gets better!
Today when I checked the mail, I received a book mark from a Father's Day promotion company. In bold letters across the top it read: Men who walk with God never walk alone. The following scriptures were also on that bookmark:

Joshua 1:9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 2:5 Come... let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Proverbs 4:11-12 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

Now I know to many this may seem like a coincidence. But if you only knew where God was leading me right now and the things He has been showing me, this would understand how incredible this is.
When you trust God and walk with Him, many times by faith. He gives you the courage to keep walking and keep trusting, even when what is before you seems impossible.
I know you have no idea what I'm referring to, but many of you do! And I promise, at a later time I will write about the whole story/journey that I have been on for the last two months. It's a good story and we're only at the beginning!
Have courage. Keep Trusting Him and walking by faith.

Why Do We Worry?

The other day I read this incredible post by Pastor Perry Noble. It has challenged me in so many ways, so I had to post it for my readers!


Church leaders…we’re such hypocrites at times aren’t we?


We know what Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34 by heart!

We tell people that God is Sovereign and that He reigns over their situation.

We recite I Peter 5:7 to people as they are completely stressing out in front of us.

I could go on…but you get the point…we know how to confront and encourage others when THEY worry…and yet…

We freak out about the sermon every week.
We are scared to death that the set list is not going to come together.
We stress out about attendance numbers.
We worry about the offering.
We lose our minds when we hear someone is upset.
We allow the voice of the enemy to convince us that everything is about to fall apart.

WE DO THIS…and we’ve got to stop! Reality is…

Jesus loves the church way more than we do!
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion! (Philippians 1:6)
He has SO MUCH MORE in store for your church than you could imagine! (Ephesians 3:20)
He will reveal WHAT we need to know…WHEN we need to know it!
He has a plan for our church…and He actually wants us to know it WAY MORE than we could imagine!
If it is HIS WILL then it is HIS BILL…what the KING wants the KING pays for!!!
He is at work right now…doing things that we are completely unaware of but will one day BLOW our mind!

He has placed us in this time and in this place to make a difference!

My prayer to overcome worry has consistently been to ask God to enlarge my view of Him…the larger HE becomes to me the smaller my problems and circumstances are.

He reigns…what HE started He will finish…

“Do not worry…” Jesus

Thanks Perry Noble (http://www.perrynoble.com/) for an amazing post.