Devotional.
Have you ever said something that changed someone's life? Probably not a sermon. Probably not something you even remember saying.
But my friend's life was changed by three words.
In their twenties, they were addicted to drugs and alcohol.
At their lowest point, they were on the streets of central London, literally lying on the ground with nowhere left to go.
A young woman walked past. She could have kept walking. Most people did. But she stopped, crouched down, and asked a simple question.
"Are you okay?"
They got talking. She invited them to church. They went. Then they went again.
Slowly, over time, they got clean, found a community, and found Jesus. Today they have a beautiful family and two daughters.
They were on the path to probably an early grave, but instead, their life was turned around, and so was their eternity.
Think of the few moments when she saw my friend on the ground and the thought popped into her head.
Should I see if they're okay? I can imagine the instant answer was "no, keep walking" - I know that would have been my instant reaction.
But all of it - the sobriety, the faith, the family, the two little girls - traces back to one question from someone brave enough to stop.
I am not that brave. I want to be, but I am not.
I walk past people all the time. I see someone who looks like they might be struggling and I tell myself it is not my place, I do not want to make it awkward, I'm sure they are fine.
Maybe they are. Maybe they are not.
Most bravery goes unnoticed.
Sometimes it is crossing a pavement. Sometimes it is saying the honest thing to a friend who is not doing well. Sometimes it is being the one who stays strong for someone going through something terrible, when every part of you wants to fall apart too. Sometimes it is just saying yes to something that scares you.
God makes us brave for the person and the moment right in front of us.
That young woman in central London had no idea what would come from stopping. She just stopped. She just asked.
What is in front of you today?
Prayer.
Lord, You make me brave, providing courage I don't naturally possess, giving me strength to face what terrifies me, enabling me to do what feels impossible.
I'm not brave on my own, fear is my default, anxiety is familiar, and left to myself I'd avoid, hide, or run from most of what You're asking me to do.
Teach me that bravery isn't the absence of fear but moving forward despite it, that You making me brave doesn't mean I stop feeling afraid but that I act anyway.
You make me brave by being with me, by going ahead of me, by promising Your presence in whatever I'm facing, turning cowardice into courage through Your nearness.
Help me stop waiting to feel brave before I act and start trusting that You make me brave as I step forward, that courage comes in the doing, not before it.
Remind me that every brave thing I've ever done was because You made me brave, that it was Your strength in me, not mine, that got me through what I feared.
Give me courage for what's ahead today, bravery I don't feel yet, strength to face what scares me, knowing You make me brave when I need to be.
Let me live today as someone made brave by God, facing fears, taking risks, stepping forward, not because I'm naturally courageous but because You make me so.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
