Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
—ISAIAH 30:21 NIV
In October 2007, I started to feel something unsettled in my spirit. That’s the best way I can describe it. After weeks of this weird feeling, I felt like I had to really pray and ask God to direct me. I sensed I was supposed to make a change, but I just didn’t know what that change was.
So I asked God. And my heart kept hearing that it was time for a move. To Nashville. And after a few months of wrestling, I did it.
I cried the entire drive. Three and a half hours. Now, I know I wasn’t leaving for a town halfway around the world (yet), but this Georgia girl would be moving farther away from home than she ever dreamed.
Friend, you need to know this. I never felt brave. I never had a moment of extreme courage or belief that this was going to be the best decision I had ever made. I just did the next thing. Quit my job. Sold my house. Packed my belongings. Pointed north until I crossed the state line and didn’t stop until I saw the trademark of the Nashville skyline—the Batman building.
I won’t bore you with stories of the weeping and gnashing of teeth that occurred for the first weeks (okay, fine, months) after I moved, but it was terrible. Painful. Lonely.
Can I say this again? I never felt brave. But day after day, I just did the next thing, took the next step, said the next yes. And God built a life for me in Nashville that I could not have dreamed up for myself. I may not have felt brave, but I was taking brave steps in obedience to God.
I never felt brave. But day after day, I just did the next thing, took the next step, said the next yes.
If you and I sat down and you told me your story, I would be able to show you places where you made brave choices, even if you don’t label them that way. You’re probably already doing more than you realize. You are braver than you know.
BE BRAVE: Think back on your life. Journal about two or three moments you or someone else might label as “brave.”