Becoming More than we are

Many quotes, magnet pictures, and various clippings have resided on the front and side of my refrigerator for years.  One of these seems to have been written for this very moment in history, world history.  Madeleine L’Engle, a prolific American writer who wrote the book A Wrinkle in Time, penned this, “We have to be braver than we think we can be because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are” (Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, 2016). 

Those words are true and stirring, but what if we don’t feel so brave  or maybe worse, what if we feel brave but the source of this confidence is unreliable, like an inflated sense of who we are.  Thankfully, there is a source of strength and bravery, both real and reliable.  It is in God Himself and His son, Jesus Christ.  However, even before Jesus came to earth, the Bible depicts countless brave characters and their stories of courage.

A very well known story in the Old Testament is that of David, a young shepherd boy, who took on a very big and scary Philistine giant who taunted the Israelite army of the living God (1 Kings 17).  Young David had confidence to take on this giant with only a sling and a few stones because he had experienced God’s help and protection from attacking lions and bears as he had cared for the family’s sheep.  With only one stone and a proven faith in the name of the Lord God Almighty, he hit the towering giant in the forehead and down he fell.

Many of the psalms were written by David, and he honestly describes his experiences of discouragement and temptations to be afraid.  But he always comes back to the Lord, his light and salvation, the stronghold of his life.  Psalm 27 is a wonderful illustration of his faith and how it grew as he writes about seeking God and wanting Him to lead and teach him.  David ends the psalm with this honest and revealing profession: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait I say, on the Lord!”

As people of faith, let us respond to this time and its daunting challenges with humility and a willingness to seek God just as David and many others have done. We can choose to draw near to God and allow Him to create in us a brave strength, making us “more than we are.”