“Even when it gets tragic and dark, do not despair. You are braver than that.” 100 Days To Brave, Annie F. Downs

Being brave when I’m feeling inspired and empowered and invigorated is one thing, but being brave when it’s tragic and dark? Urgh. When I’m low, overwhelmed with trials, sorrows and troubles, I can get so swamped I feel my feet are setting in concrete. Heavier and heavier they become until moving forward seems impossible.

Sadly, hearing from well-meaning Christian friends that Jesus has overcome the world makes me feel even worse. My heart hurts and I don’t understand. I don’t feel Jesus near me, and my circumstances don’t seem to reflect his powerful statements. It’s easy to imagine Jesus’ overcoming power skipped my area.

Does that mean they should never remind me? I don’t think so. Rather, their reminders give me something to speak back to God. I can ask him, “Really Jesus? You’ve overcome this? Like how?” And slowly, my spirit aligns itself better with God’s spirit. It’s not my friend who won me over, it is the power in the scripture for it is alive and active. Scripture has the power to divide soul and spirit, joint and marrow. (Hebrews 4:12) Scripture has the power to separate me from my fear, my heart from my pain, my sorrow from my circumstances.

I don’t think God’s unnerved by my frustrations or fears, or even by my attempts to argue with him. While I may desire to wallow in my negative feelings, eventually I can bravely say, with the power that came from the scripture I’ve spoken, “I don’t know why this is happening, Jesus, but I know you’ve overcome the world and all the troubles in it.”

It takes a lot of brave to pray that. Sometimes my prayer is barely a whisper, sometimes it’s smothered with crying so loud no one but God could possibly understand me: “Help me be brave enough to keep going. Give me the peace that you promised.” And he does.