You Make Me Brave

Under what conditions would you be brave?

This is a conversation I recently had with a friend while watching the movie Insurgent (part of the Divergent series). If you haven’t seen this movie, I recommend this series. It’s a great story about defying the odds, discovering yourself, and doing what you never thought was possible. Watching these movies always makes me want to workout and then take on the world.

In case you haven’t seen it, or just need a refresher, these movies chronicle the story of Tris, who chose to leave the life she knew and pursue bravery in a faction called Dauntless. In this dystopian society, the people are separated into 5 factions to maintain the peace; they are sure that if anyone defies the system it would surely lead to war and destruction. Over the course of the movie Tris learns to not give into fear, but rise above it and she learns who she is.

In the second movie of the series, Insurgent, there is a point when we see how different people react in the face of fear. Tris’ brother, Caleb, chose to focus on his intellect above all else, which impacted how he reacted when it came time to be brave. In the moment, when he had a chance to save someone’s life, he froze, likely frozen by fear and/or analysis paralysis. He had lived in such a way that his bravery muscle was pretty underdeveloped, so he was unsure what to do in that situation. Tris, on the other hand, spent months training for this exact scenario and could jump into a dangerous situation confidently. Her bravery muscle was very well developed.

This leads me back to my original question:

Under what conditions would you be brave?

Bravery for most of us doesn’t look like jumping out of moving vehicles or diffusing bombs or beating up bad guys. In real life, bravery is much quieter. Bravery can be subtle. It could be having an honest conversation or praying for someone when you feel led or opening up again after being hurt.

This is the beautiful thing about the Lord, our trust in him naturally infuses us with bravery. To live the life that God desires and has called us to requires bravery. He has given us all that we need to be brave and obey him. Every day is an opportunity to practice bravery in little ways. By practicing little by little, like training in the gym, we will be able to be brave in the big moments. People don’t just magically become brave or strong or faithful or loving, these things require practice. But we can start now. 

Let’s be brave today!

To go deeper: Read Fear is a Funny Thing, Shattered: Exposing My Fears
Listen to You Make Me Brave