Faith Fuels Courage

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."  - Luke 5:4 (NIV)

I've been thinking a lot about this Scripture lately. What would it have been like to be in Simon’s position? It must have taken considerable faith for him to believe Jesus, because he had been fishing all night and hadn't caught anything. It must have felt like an impossible situation. 

And, in addition to believing, Simon also had to muster up the courage to actually carry through with the action of letting down the nets. 

 In this case, it seems to me that faith was the believing, and courage was the action. The situation required both. We know faith fueled Simon's courageous action because in the next verse he says, "...But because you say so (faith), I will let down the nets (courageous action)." (NIV)

This idea of pairing faith and courageous action together has made me take a closer look at my own life, and to be honest, I don't always manage to join these two important concepts. Instead, it's often an either/or scenario. I might have faith to believe for something, but I don't actually step out into what God has directed me to do. Or, conversely, I dive headfirst into something thinking I’m being courageous, because what I'm doing seems like a good thing to do, but I haven't waited for God to be a part of my decision-making. In this scenario my action is not rooted in faith but in striving or ego. I’m leaning more and more into prayer to guide me in this area.

Let's look at a couple more Scriptures that examine these concepts. Joshua 1:9 says to "...be strong and courageous...for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (NIV). Where does this courage come from? I would again posit that it first comes from having faith. And since we know that even a small amount of faith can have a big impact (see the mustard seed parable in Matthew 17:20), we really can be "strong and courageous" in our lives when we lean into faith and then live out our faith in courage to honor God. 

I believe this is how we can see impossible situations shift. It's how we can be a compelling witness in a world that so desperately needs our example. And most of all, it's how we can walk in confidence because we know that the Lord will be with us wherever we go.

Questions for Reflection:

1. I invite you to take a closer look at this faith + courage model for yourself. Where do you see yourself exhibiting one without the other? Where do you exhibit both? Do you see a difference in the results?

2. In what area(s) of your life do you feel God calling you to have the faith + courage to cast your net out into deep water? What's holding you back? Ask the Lord to guide you as you work through this.

3. Which do you think is harder, having faith or taking courageous action? What can you do to build yourself up in the area that is weaker?