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A Chain of Courage (Guest Post)

Make Your Move: Finding Unshakable Confidence Despite Your Fears and Failures by Lynn Cowell. Guest post at karenehman.com.

Hi Friends, today I’ve invited my friend and fellow Proverbs 31 Ministries author, Lynn Cowell, to share from her new Bible study, Make Your MoveFinding Unshakable Confidence Despite Your Fears and FailuresPlus she’s giving away a copy of her Bible study book (and DVD) to one of you! Here’s Lynn…

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Each day I started my workday by telling myself, You can do this! It’s not a big deal. For many people the task I needed to complete was simple – something they could accomplish in a few short minutes. But it wasn’t for me.

Even though this simple act would help others in their walk with Jesus, that motivation wasn’t enough to push me through. The fear of failure crippled me. I finally found the courage I needed to push past my phobia when a story leapt off the page and into my heart.

The first two chapters of the book of Exodus tell the tale of a chain of courage – one act of fearlessness prompting another until the whole of these women’s actions changed history.

Act 1: Shiphrah and Puah, midwives in Egypt, are commanded by Pharaoh to kill all males as soon as they are born. Exodus 1:17 tells us, “The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.”

What bravery these women showed in obeying God rather than Pharaoh!

Act 2: Jochebed, the mother of Moses, courageously decides she will not obey Pharaoh, either. Rather than kill her son, she hides him at home. When she can no longer keep his existence a secret, she puts this one she loves in a basket, hiding him in the Nile River.

Jochebed’s faith to take the risk of hiding a baby and putting him in a river is compelling!

Act 3: Miriam, Moses’ sister, stands by, watching the basket boat. But she isn’t just observing. When Pharaoh’s daughter calls for the basket to be brought to her, this grit of a girl steps up and addresses the princess, giving royalty advice on how the child can be taken care of.

Do you see the chain effect one woman’s courage had on another’s?

Shiphrah and Puah decided to go against Pharaoh together.

Jochebed, in the same steps of the midwives, chose courage instead of compromise.

I have no doubt that Jochebed inspired her daughter to show her prowess to the princess.

I want to be a part of a chain effect of courageousness, too!

As a young mother, my mom stepped out of her social norm, embraced Jesus as her Savior and became a prayer warrior for her eight children. Even though several were already adults when she came to know Christ, through her prayers and life testimony, all of us serve Him today.

Seeing my mother’s fearless faith gives me courage to make a difference in my world. Seeing God answer her prayers for her children empowers me to pray for my children’s salvation, asking God that they will follow the steps of Miriam – on the lookout for where God can use them – and when the time is right, boldly step up with the wisdom God gives them.

Friend, where are you in a chain of courage?

Is God calling you to be the first in your family to break out? To step up and bravely make decisions to bring God’s redemption to your family line? To redefine “normal” in your family’s legacy?

Maybe like me, you are blessed to have witnessed the courage of another, and it’s empowered you to be brave. We have to be careful not to grow comfortable or complacent when we’re in the middle of the chain but instead be empowered by the Holy Spirit to keep courage going.

We can start by:

  1. Praying for courage.
  2. Surrounding ourselves with others who are courageous.
  3. Reading stories of others who’ve been courageous in the Bible or in books.

Let’s be brave. Let’s display daring boldness and in turn, teach others to be courageous.

The Giveaway

GIVEAWAY ENDED: CONGRATS LORI (la.norwood) – PLEASE REPLY TO OUR EMAIL WITH YOUR MAILING ADDRESS.

Where is God calling you to make a move in 2018? Comment below for a chance to win Lynn’s new Make Your Move Bible study book and DVD. U.S. Addresses only please. Winner will be announced here on this post on Friday, December 22.

Make Your Move: Finding Unshakable Confidence Despite Your Fears and Failures by Lynn Cowell. Guest post at karenehman.com.

 

In Make Your Move, dive into six stories in the Bible of not-so-well-known women who found themselves needing confidence to make their move, and how they uncovered the faith to get it. Lynn encourages women to leave behind all the unnecessary insecurity this world induces and find confidence in God alone. Watch Lynn’s Make Your Move Bible study trailer and download a sample chapter here.

 

Lynn Cowell is a national conference speaker who is passionate about helping women of all ages understand the importance of Christ confidence. She is the author of several books including her newest study for women, Make Your Move: Finding Unshakable Confidence Despite Your Fears and Failures, and Brave Beauty: Finding the Fearless You , just for girls ages 8 – 12. Lynn and her husband, Greg, have been married for over 30 years and are the parents of three young adults. They enjoy spending time together, especially when it combines the mountains, well-worn sweatshirts, and anything with chocolate and peanut butter. Connect with Lynn today at www.LynnCowell.com.

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123 Comments

  1. This study sounds great, there are probably many areas of my life I need to be bolder in and take steps of faith. It has been a very trying year. Looking forward to 2018, yet not exactly sure the diraction God has in mind for me. I could really benefit from this study.

  2. I feel like I’m being called to blog. The details are still murky on how that will serve the Lord but it’s been on my heart for a while. I also believe I’m being asked to be courageous in my financial faith.

  3. God is calling me to be confident in who I am. To be confident in Him alone. To have the confidence to make decisions alongside my hubby.

  4. would love this study, besides needing to take better care of myself, I also would like to be more confident and be willing to stand out and up for my faith.

  5. What,a wonderful post! Some of us are not the bold and fearless type, and this post is tailor-made for us! Thank you very much for the chance!

  6. God is calling me to step up into a new role at work that will require a lot of public relations and to step way outside my comfort zone. I love the illustration of the chain of courage! I would love to read Lynn’s book; it seems very timely!

  7. Being bullied most off my life has left me with anxiety….but lately I’ve been braver to approach people and help…I would love to have more courage to do more!!!

  8. For years I have felt like I want a career. I absolutely love being a mother and I don’t mind being home with my children because they are all so little. I have decided that in 2018 I will go back to college because I want to create a better future for myself and my family. But every time I think about it the anxiety kicks in about balancing school and taking care of 4 children and a husband who frequently works hours away from home. I would love to do this study because I struggle so much with stepping out of my comfort zone.

  9. After being very active in church and even being a leader of Bible studies, I have become very complacent and uninterested for a while now. I have changed churches and have not yet felt I belong anywhere. I need some encouragement to step up and step out.

  10. It is so easy to let fear of failure or disappointment from past failures keep you from stepping up and out to do what you should do! I would love the opportunity to study more about the courage of our Biblical role models!!

  11. I am 65(will be 66 in just a few days), and although I have grown very close with my LORD over the past few years, I still have many moments where I feel unqualified; of less importance than others, I grew up with and continued to carry a lot of dysfunctional baggage though out my adult years. I am not blaming others for I made many bad decisions knowing it was not what was good or right for me. Now that I have become wiser and more Christ like minded, I wake up and give myself the “I AM THE DAUGHTER OF A KING; I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM’ speech every morning. Some days it works well, but I have days where something comes up unexpected, and I go back to the old me, handling it badly. I need JESUS to help me with my boldness and confidence in being LOVED BY THE KING..

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