Day Five

JUST START

Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

—1 SAMUEL 17:37 NIV

I think the hardest thing about writing is the blank page. Or computer screen. It’s said that to be a writer is to have homework every day for the rest of your life. You remember that feeling, don’t you? When you have a paper to write or an assignment to turn in and you know you can do it if you can just. Get. Started.

It’s so hard to start, whether it’s writing a book, training for a 5K, or any other dream you may have. To start the journey toward that thing—I don’t know what it is for you—is not a journey to courage. The moment you take that first step, the moment you start, little seeds of courage, the ones I believe are already planted there right now, begin to sprout in your heart. You aren’t headed out to find courage. It’s in you, it is blooming, and it is with you as you travel and say yes to things that seem scary.

Those little seeds of courage have been growing in your heart for weeks, maybe years. Then at some point your heart began to beat with a different rhythm, and now here you are, ready to take the first brave step.

The moment you take that first step, little seeds of courage begin to sprout in your heart.

You just have to start, my friend. That thing that is whispering on your insides? Maybe for you it’s writing a note. Singing a song. Making a phone call. Having a conversation. Composing a story. Writing a check. Booking that trip. Sending an e-mail. Going on a date. Reading a book. Signing up.

I’m trying to list as many options as possible, but you know the thing God is doing in your life better than I do. It’s time to get quiet before the Lord and ask Him what it looks like for you to live a life of courage today.

Just start.

BE BRAVE: What does it look like for you to take a step of courage today that will help you start?