Today's Encouragement

When God Breathes Courage - Encouragement for Today 

LYNN COWELL

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

With his phone to his ear, my husband whispered to me, "Madi has been in an accident."


Again?

When our youngest daughter first began driving, she experienced a minor accident. Stirring the supper that was simmering, I assumed this accident was the same.

Soon enough, I discovered how wrong I was.

Several hours earlier, our daughter began a road trip to see a friend. Since she was an experienced driver who’d driven many highway miles, saying goodbye no longer made my heart thump.

As Greg continued talking to the emergency worker, I wondered, What should I do next? By now, Madi was over three hours from home. Finally, adrenaline kicked in and told me to get going as fast as we could.

As I threw a few essentials in a bag, a myriad of pictures began to arrive via text. A fireman was sending pictures of my daughter's unrecognizable car. He said she was OK. Why didn’t she call then? I had to hear her, see her, to erase all my fears. When her call finally came, I could barely understand the panicked voice trying to describe what happened.

Reaching the hospital several hours later, we arrived just as Madi was being released. Our daughter was whole!

I have no doubt God had His hand of protection on my daughter that day. I haven’t stopped praising Him yet!

As I write though, my girl is excitedly packing to go see her friend on a drive that will take her down that same highway. Past that same mile marker.

And I have a choice.

I can choose to be afraid and worry about her safety. Or, I can choose to be brave and trust God that as He was with my daughter that day, He will be with her again. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells me, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Any fear I feel is not from Him; He doesn’t give us fear — ever.

At times like these when fear floods in, we have to remember: Courage is not a feeling. Courage is a noun, the strength to go forward even in the face of fear.

One of the Hebrew words for courage is ruah, which can mean “breath of God” and can be used to describe God’s creative activity. Just as He did in Genesis 1, God is creating something out of nothing in you and me. Alone, we don’t possess confidence, courage or bravery. He forms this fortitude where there has been a void, where it’s never existed before. He is very good at making something out of nothing.

That is what I am praying for today — courage for me and for my girl.

I know not everyone has the happy ending that we have had. I don't understand why bad things happen to good people. I do know that I am grateful and want to shout His praises for helping our family and for helping us choose faith over fear as we move forward.