Today is Part 4 of my series that is digging into a quote from Oprah: “The only courage you ever need is the courage to live the life you want.” Digging into this quote to understand what it means for my own life and exploring where courage comes from is the message that I have been striving for in this series. Today, we will look at the question: What is the life I want to live and do I have the courage to seek it out? CLICK HERE TO CATCH UP 🙂

Each morning upon waking up, you are faced with hundreds of choices that take you from dawn to dusk. Many times we are not even aware that we are making choices because of their insignificance, but then, one choice becomes bigger and more daunting. It’s at these times that we learn who we are and how to handle situations with grace, calm and ease. In these moments we make the decision to focus or not, center ourselves or not and follow the crowd or not! We ask ourselves “Who should we follow?’ and “Where do we find our focus?”

I have been reading Lysa TerKeurst’s new book, The Best Yes Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands as part of an online Bible study with  Proverbs 31 Ministries. Lysa is quick to point out there are no perfect decisions and this idea flows throughout her book. When we wake up and begin a new day, we should remember that when choices come at us quickly, we will be more successful when we center ourselves in strength, grace and  love. When we focus on the One who chose us as His own, our lives become a reflection of the path that God planned for us. All passions, dreams and goals are tied to our faith in God.

Lysa shares that “every leap of faith has elements of failure. In other words, since there is no perfect choice, we don’t have to be paralyzed by fear that we’re not making the exact right decision.” It is “only in the perfectly surrendered decision to press through our fears and know that God is working in us to bring about good through us” that we are able to make choices.

In the process of decision making, there is this sense that courage is needed to follow through to the end and this is the pressing through our fears that Lysa speaks about in The Best Yes. This is a courage based in our faith in God and His ability to provide the strength we need.

Courage

When asking friends, family and fellow writers whether they have the courage to seek out the life they want, the answers possessed a common theme.

Heather says, “I draw my courage from the peace of knowing He has set forth and blessed my steps within His plan. That is all I need. The life I deeply desire to live is the one He knows is best for me and those He can touch through me.”

My friend Valerie says, “It took courage for me to get here and it will continue to take courage for me to keep living it and keeping myself strong and in-line with His passions.”

My son Daniel says, “The life I truly desire is the one that I was created to live, reflecting God’s image into the world and sharing in His promises.”

Finally, Jolene wrote a blog post last week that explores passion and beautifully begins the conversation with: “Whatever the reason is for our passions, it is known by God and only He can reveal the purpose & the plan in His time, His way. Will we trust that? Will we listen?” My first thought was that this is courage- this is how we begin to deepen our trust and this is how the conversation begins when making the choice to follow God completely. Read more of Jolene’s post here and be blessed.

All of the above words lead us back to God and the courage needed to live a life in line with His passions and promises for our life. All our choices require a centering – an unwavering focus on Our Father and His desires for our life.

[Tweet “Centering ourselves on Jesus creates a flow of strength, grace and love resulting in courage.”]

May we live the life we want because we have chosen God as our Lord and Savior to lead us on the path of a deeper relationship with Him. May our courage come from God that we may shine for others as a reflection of God’s love in all we do.

Blessings,

Mary

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