Be Strong & Courageous

There are so many inspirational quotes, videos, and essays online about facing challenges and overcoming them to reach your goals, achieve success, find your purpose, etc. 

I rather like a lot of them.  They're good to read and reflect on when you require encouragement as you face down your giants.  

But I thought the other day, what do we do when the challenge seems insurmountable? What do we do when whatever we are dealing with feels impossible to overcome?

I was reading through some quotes on perseverance the other day, and I came across this much more realistic quote by Harper Lee from her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird: 

“Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

There's so much packed into that simple line, and I want to unpack it a bit.  

It's not often that we face impossible challenges, but when we do, most of us will find that our first inclination is to withdraw.  Retreat feels prudent in those moments.  Or, at the very least, we'll stand exactly where we are without ever moving forward. 

It does take courage to take on a seemingly impossible challenge when the possibility of failure is high.  But to "begin anyway and see it through no matter what" is the only way to discover what we are made of.  

A friend told me a story about how he invited a former pro basketball player to a one-on-one game. My friend got the ball first, and he started well. He faked out the pro and went in for an easy layup. 

The pro player nodded at him and said, "Okay."  Then, he scored twenty-one points in a row to end the game.  My friend never got the ball again.  

He grinned at me and said,  "But I sure got him on that first point." 

I've always loved that story because my friend learned something about himself that day, and not just that he would never play pro basketball.  

He was willing to go toe-to-toe with a challenge that he would never win and still take away something that felt like victory.    

Because sometimes it's like that in life, isn't it?  We don't always win, but if we are willing to move forward toward an obstacle in our way and take away small victories, it leaves us in good stead to overcome others down the road.

It also allows us to realize that we sometimes need backup. We need people in our corner who are there to encourage us and who will sometimes join us in the fray. Sure, there are plenty of times when we have to face things down on our own, but there are still more when we don't—if we are willing to ask for help.  

There's a verse in the Hebrew Scriptures that I have often remembered in moments when I felt like all was lost.  It's Joshua 1:9, and it reads: 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

If you are facing an insurmountable obstacle right now, know that you have all you need to face it, no matter the outcome. People who engage in seemingly impossible challenges are never remembered for how they failed; they are remembered for how they tried.  

And you never know, that seemingly impossible challenge might not be that impossible.  But you will only know once you summon the courage to overcome it.  

May it be so, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, now and forever.  Amen.