Praying for Hope and Courage

 “You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.” Job 11:18-19

In order to get to my beach apartment, I have to cross a bridge. The bridge opens every thirty minutes at the quarter hour. If I am approaching the bridge at 4:45 pm, I hope there is no boat waiting so I don’t get stuck at the bridge. The process to open it and close can take a good ten minutes. I already know that the bridge operator won’t open the bridge until all the cars have stopped. There’s always the daring driver that will ignore the red light and the sound of the bells. If the gate is up, they just keep going. That takes courage. I have found myself in that situation. As I approach the bridge, the alarm goes off, the red lights start to blink, and the bells begin to sound. I have to make a decision in a split second: do I keep going or do I stop?

We all face situations in our life that contain a mix of hope and courage. We hope the situation works out in our favor, but sometimes it’s up to us to make the final decision, and that requires courage. All of life decisions are interconnected. Every action we take, no matter how small or how big, creates a ripple effect which makes a difference in our world. For example, during the Parkland school shooting, a young 15-year-old threw himself in front of a classroom door in an attempt to shield other students from flying bullets. His decision took courage and hope. Hope that he would survive and courage to place himself in the line of fire. His action saved the lives of twenty students. He was shot five times. He survived the bullets but was in the hospital for months, and has endured more than a dozen surgeries since the shooting took place in 2018. His heroic action, though, made a huge difference in the lives of those twenty students that he saved. In October 2021 during the trial of the shooter, that young hero was present. He was interviewed and his words reflect his deep hope and courage in the midst of incredible pain. He said that the fate of the shooter was up to God: “That’s not my decision. My decision is to be a better person and to change the world. I don’t want this to happen again.”

His heroic act of courage hit the newspapers, but most of the time, small, or even large acts of courage and kindness, go unnoticed. But if we look around us, they are there: a young but courageous pregnant mother who leaves her communist home country in the hope to reach the United States so that her unborn child can grow in a free country, and the kindness of a church group that comes together to provide everything that the baby will need but that the mother can’t afford to buy; a young girl who made bracelets to raise money to support healthcare workers during the pandemic; an ICU nurse that volunteered to be in Covid ICU rooms during the worst of the pandemic, even though that meant that she couldn’t see her family for almost a year, and she had to postpone her own wedding. And these are just a few examples of the unsung heroes that live amongst us, who put courage and hope above their own self-interests. They find hope and the courage to persevere in the midst of a world filled with chaos and confusion. 

We can surely learn a lot from them. When our crazy and chaotic world paralyzes us, and we feel there is nothing we can do, it is at that moment when we need to turn to our source of courage and hope. For me, that source is my faithful Lord. He provides the courage and hope that I need to face each day. If I start my day listening or reading the news about the political turmoil, the weak economy, and the sense of uncertainty surrounding future government mandates, and potential COVID variants, my sense of hope and courage will be chipped away. And that is why I choose instead to begin my day in prayer. Prayer for me is as necessary as water and sunlight. When I begin my day thanking God for all His blessings, this attitude of gratitude allows hope to flourish and grow in my life. Even though I cannot control the news, I can control my own decisions. And each day I choose to begin my day with an extra dose of hope and courage which I can only find in God. 

God drives away my fear. “Fear not” is one of the most repeated commands in the Bible. “Fear not, I am the one who helps you” Isaiah 41:13. “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things” Joel 2:21. "Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” Matthew 10:31. “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom” Luke 12:32. If we place our trust in God, we should not fear. “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid.” Psalm 56:3-4.

This doesn’t mean that we have to face our fears alone with God. He places people in our lives to either help us or for us to help them. Connecting with a friend who gives us empathy helps us not to give into fear but to keep hoping in God. And if we know someone who is experiencing loss or pain, we should be ministers of God’s grace to that person. 

Returning to the bridge, should I stop when the alarm goes off and the red light starts to blink, or should I keep going? If I was a courageous person who didn’t care about the consequences, I would keep going. But I’ve been taught that a yellow light means slow down and a red light means stop. So as much as I hope that the bridge will not open, if I get caught by it, I must stop. Every action we take, no matter how small, creates a ripple effect which makes a difference in our world. Even though whether I stop at the bridge or keep going seems inconsequential in the scheme of bigger decisions, how I react at that moment is a reflection of how I will react when facing bigger issues. And I must confess that my initial reaction is to rush across the bridge to avoid the ten minutes of waiting. But then the responsible me kicks in, and I brake. And instead of looking at those ten minutes as wasted time, I turn them into prayer time. 

“Lord, thank You for stopping me at the bridge. You have your reasons for holding me back. You may be protecting me from something that I’m not even aware of. Help me to turn this delay into a reminder that You are the hope that causes me to face my problems with greater courage, more confidence, and faith. Fill me also with peace in my heart, and the faith that can help me to overcome my fears. You, Lord, are my hope. Help me to hope in You more, and to have the courage to follow You all the days of my life. Amen.”

Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.