courage just once

by Joel Bates

Jett sat without a helmet or harness the whole afternoon, clearly communicating that while it might be great for the students he led to face their fear of heights at the climb site, he was exempt.  After belaying the last of his youth group kids down the rappel, I made my way toward Jett.  I wanted him to take a turn, face the fear, and lead his students by example, but his body language and my intuition, built on two decades of inviting freaked-out people to face their greatest fears, told me he wasn’t budging. 
​
I knew there was a good chance that if he didn’t step over the edge, he was going to lose his voice of influence.  Pondering this dilemma, I suddenly heard the still small voice of the Lord remind me of something He had been communicating to me for weeks, “Watch Me work.”  He spoke to my heart like a fresh breeze blowing through my soul on a hot summer day.  Instantly, I knew that despite my misgivings about Jett’s courage, God was going to do something great.  The best part was that I no longer felt the pressure to use some facilitative verbal jiu-jitsu to coerce Jett into leading bravely.  

Beckoning Jett to join me next to a granite boulder out of earshot of the group, I began by telling him that I wanted him to know two things.  First, I wasn’t going to strong-arm him to rappel.  I wanted to honor him and let the decision be his.  Second, if he chose to take a safe, comfortable stance while pressing his students to face their fears, he would likely lose some of his spiritual influence with them.  It's difficult for people to follow you as you follow Christ when you aren’t going anywhere. 
​
His response surprised me.  “I have this problem,” he admitted.  “I feel like I only have enough courage to face a few fears, and what if I use too much courage here and don’t save enough for the future?”  I’d never thought of bravery having an expiration date, but his question was authentic.  I had always thought facing fears built more courage and enabled one to face even greater challenges in the future, but I couldn’t deny that Jett had a point worth considering.  So, I answered with a different tack.  

“You may need courage to face future fears, but the courage you could use today will undoubtedly bless others.” 

Jett pondered this point for a moment and then resolved to face his fear, saying, “I’ll do it now…for my students.” 

We walked back to the rappel and scrambled up the slope to the top.  His 15 middle schoolers watched and chanted his name, cheering him on.
​
With his trembling body hooked securely to the rappel rope, Jett leaned back over the cliff like a new convert being laid beneath the waters of baptism and descended into something he had never experienced before—true bravery.  His action was true and holy because it was not done to show off or to prove something or even to impress others.  Bravery is not the act of being fearless, but quite the opposite.  True courage is being afraid and facing it anyway, especially when it inspires and encourages others to face their own fears.  

---

​When Jett’s feet touched down, his group erupted in celebration.  He was elated; he had done it!  And I wiped a glistening tear forming at the corner of my eye because I had just experienced again the faithfulness of God, watching Him work to make a timid soul brave.  In the shadow of the fearful crag, God and Jett taught me that if you’ve only got enough courage to spend once, spend it on others and that the courage we need comes from an infinite source a little at a time.  That day, despite the odds, all I had to do was watch Him work. 

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you
with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10