We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Bruce Sampson.
Bible Reading:
Zechariah 4:6
“Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.“
Word:
When I was in college I use to live in one of the highest rated counties for the most homeless in Georgia. I approached a man one day, who was gazing with a long face at the food people were bringing outside to eat from a local cafe. He was mid-drool over a grilled cheese sandwich when I asked him if he wanted to have lunch with me.
His name is DJ, and we are still good friends today.
God taught me more about courage in my relationship with DJ than I learned with anyone else. To be honest, I was scared. I was scared I would be stuck in a situation that I couldn’t ultimately fix. There were so many questions of “what if” that came to mind. “What if I give him my number and he takes advantage of me and every time he calls is for a free meal?” “What if I couldn’t support him with the zero dollars I had in my college savings account?” “What if with all my effort to get him clean, he turns back to the lifestyle he was in before?”
All of my fears were based on me. I was scared that my ability wouldn’t be enough. It turns out that having true courage was never about my ability, but my dependency on God. It’s when we know how incapable we are that we rely on God’s help. If it were up to the confidence I had in myself, I would have left DJ like another statistic but in the middle of my fear God had a solution. Jesus made a way for us all to trust in the saving power of God. Jesus died for us so that we could live forever with our courage in God not ourselves.
Prayer:
God thank you for giving me the courage that only comes from you. Even when I am weak, you are strong for me. Help me to see the sacrifice Jesus made for me whenever I see an opportunity to be courageous. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Skillwork:
What’s a courageous thing that you can do for someone today? Think of ways to reach out in a physical way to show the love of Christ to someone in need.
To receive the Faith Workout of the Day every morning, please sign up here.
