100 Days to Brave: Devotions for Unlocking Your Most Courageous Self

by Annie F. Downs

Courage is doing things even when you’re scared.

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.

David, as a shepherd boy, fought a lion. And a bear. And rescued his sheep. He never killed the lion in preparation for the bear. He didn’t kill the bear in preparation for Goliath. He just chose to be brave at every turn—to do his job and protect the sheep. And as the challenges grew in scope, so did David’s belief in the ways God had uniquely created him. More importantly, David wholly believed in who God is and that God had a role for him to play that would require courage. The same is true for me and you.

Hear this—you are not too old to figure out your calling,

You can be fully you wherever you are.

I once asked my friend Pastor Scott Sauls what happens when you stay in a church even when you are hurt or it seems hard. He said, “That’s when you grow up.” Wow.

We are to be a light wherever we go, even online.

Saying little noes that give you some space in your life allows other things to grow.

Say yes to the gym. Say yes to the open door. Say yes to the situations that stretch you and scare you and ask you to be a better you than you think you can be. Say yes to the moments that will only come once. Say yes to serving. Say yes to Jesus in every way—every chance you get.

You can trust in God even when you can’t see the future—because He can!

Bob Goff says quit something every Thursday. What can you quit this week?

The truth is that discipline isn’t rules you have to live by or laws you have to obey. Discipline is the work done on the practice field so you are ready for the big game.

Make rest a rhythmic part of your life. It is a discipline you have to choose and invite into your life.

Rest!

Sabbath is something we are called to—a discipline that will make our lives better if we embrace it.

You might think you don’t love money more than God, but where is your money going? Are you using your money in a way that honors Him? In a way that serves His people?

Your home should be different because you’re in it.

You need to see that the world is big and diverse, and maybe God doesn’t look or sound the way you always thought He did because the world has a lot of different-looking and different-sounding people, all of whom are made in His image.

John 3:16 says it all.

Making brave choices in your life is going to change the world. At the least, it will change your world.