You Make Me Brave

"You make me brave, You make me brave, You call me out beyond the shore into the waves. You make me brave, You make me brave, no fear can hinder now the promises You made."

Since I started on my seminary journey a few weeks ago, I realized that there are moments when I constantly have to choose to be courageous. Even more I realized that the enemy is threatened by my desire to go into vocational ministry and my longing to simply just help people encounter God.  The call to ministry is a call that is never simple and requires much faith as God beckons me out into the rushing tides. 

I had the great opportunity to go to Bethel Music's Tides tour this past weekend. For the most part it was refreshing and rejuvenating to be in a worship environment again where God's presence is thick and the Spirit is moving mightily.  From getting to sing out loud how God is forever glorified to feeling God's embrace as we acknowledged His presence, it was my flavor of how I love to worship God.

The moment that most impacted me though was when Steff Frizzell-Gretzinger spontaneously began singing:

"I still remember the moment You called me. I still remember when I said 'Yes!' I still remember when You poured out on me. I want to give you my thankfulness."

These words took me back to the night I encountered God for the very first time during my freshmen year at UC Merced. It was the night God poured His love into me and filled me with my love language. It was the night that Jesus came before me and in all of His glory and told me that He loves me and is proud of me. 

Reflecting back on my journey with God, I honestly believe that night was the catalyst for my call into ministry. Though God would not bring up the idea for a couple years, I'm glad I kept my heart open. More importantly, I'm glad that I said "Yes!" to God that night.

Life is constantly filled with moments where we must choose to be brave and go against what's logical...to accomplish what only makes sense in the realm of faith. I thank God for the ministry that Bethel has and the way their worship has spoken to me, encouraged me, and even challenged me the past several years.  This time though, I continue on in my journey feeling brave and knowing that I am closer to God than ever.


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