"You're A Messenger of Courage: For Such A Time As This"
"And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!'" Judges 6:12
"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" Luke 1:28
As happened with Gideon and Mary in these two instances, my heart has been pulled for the courage rising up within God's children to step into their purpose and calling. It's not just any courage, but a kairos kind of courage that empowers us to leap beyond the hope of our calling and into its appointed time of action and fruitfulness.
It's a crossing over of the mind, and an empowerment of the heart to fully believe, fully receive, and then to seize the purposes and promises we've prayed and waited for as the moment arises.
The last few weeks I've found myself sharing about a quote I hadn't recalled in a long time, from a movie called "We Bought A Zoo." I believe the words are very relevant to us in this time as we learn to seize what God has placed before us:
"You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it." (We Bought A Zoo)
I believe this is a now word for you and me. We are being presented "suddenly" moments, for such a time as this, to step into a breakthrough that is bigger than our hope can comprehend.
These might be moments that look like immense risk or require vulnerability, but we have to seize that incoming wave at the opportune time with fresh courage. (Photo via Wikipedia)
We must realize the breakthrough starts within us – so it can be brought to life all around us – by stepping outside our comfort zone and recognizing the new thing that He is doing now.
Breaking Out of Our Comfort Zone
"I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?" Isaiah 43:19
Often, the hardest thing about receiving something new for us is that it almost always requires something new of us. Those new breaker waves we pray and believe for rarely flow through our familiar comfort zone. They don't stay within our boundaries or control, rather, they are the move of His Spirit calling us to jump outside our self-imposed box and ride the wave of a lifetime.
The above verse from Isaiah is quoted frequently, even hung as a banner to declare the new thing God is ready to do. But how often do we leave off that last part? How often do we turn a deaf ear to the question the Spirit asks us each day when He inquires, "Shall you not know it?"
Will we know the new thing God is doing in, through and around us? Will we recognize His fresh move, beyond our insecurities, critiques or judgments? Will we be able to embrace the very thing we've been praying for when it passes by just outside familiar waters?
If we will, it will take courage.
It will require us to be lion-hearted, found among those through the ages who have – like Gideon – lived a courage that is not so much about a valiant charge into battle but about a radical step of obedience that joins God in what He is now doing.
Your Messenger of Courage
The Lord doesn't just send us into such a leap out onto the waters without equipping us.
Like with Gideon and Mary, there are different times throughout Scripture where we see the Lord send a messenger to one of His chosen ones to call them over the chasm that lies between the promises they hope for and the purpose they are created to live.
God goes all in to help us be who He has created us to be, and to prove it, He sends us messengers of courage to strengthen our leap.
"Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree...Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress...And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!'" Judges 6:11-12
"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'" Luke 1:26-28
Gideon was addressed as "mighty man of valor." Mary as "highly favored one." It is not coincidence that God called them by such terms not after they completed their purpose, but before. This is how they were addressed from the outset; then God called them to step into the appointed time of their destiny.
You have a Messenger of Courage within you, a Helper, the Spirit of Truth, and He is calling to you like He did Gideon and Mary, already addressing you as beloved and a victor, not just hopeful of such.
He wants to visit you, meet you, and call to the courage He already sees within you. He wants you to see yourself as He does, and He is imparting to you the courage necessary to leap out and seize the moment that is only just beyond your reach.
(Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
The Lord has aligned timing. He has aligned circumstances. He is calling you by a powerful name like "Mighty" or "Favored" to remind you who you are in Him, and that He is with you. For when you know who you are, you'll also know what you are supposed to do.
He calls you by your identity before you discover your victory. So, what is your messenger of courage saying over you?
"Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." Luke 1:45
Joey LeTourneau, along with his wife Destiny and their five kids, live in Redding, California, and work across the nations to see the Father's heart revealed, and want to see God's children empowered to live out every purpose they've been created for – that no purpose would fall to the ground.
Joey has authored six books and recently created a revolutionary new board game that helps people dream into their potential purpose – especially for youth around the world. Together, he and his wife founded Imagi-Nations LLC, a movement to "Imagine nations changed because you lived your purpose and dream."
To subscribe to The Elijah List go to:http://elijahlist.com/subscribe
But here, in a father-son relationship where such conforming expectations can often be at the greatest heights, my dad was actually blessing my differences, recognizing—and helping me recognize—that it was those very differences in my life that were not like him that would probably make the biggest difference in the world. I tend to think our Heavenly Father sees much the same way. (Photo via flickr)
Here is a stepping-stone like path of identifiers that can help you recognize different, important parts of your life and how they may fit with other pieces God has given you. 
So imagine you start to connect those dots: What if you wanted to give New ideas and inventions to those who are poor, using your passion for business to open a facility in an urban area. Or, what if you wanted to give hope to victims of trafficking in an Asian nation using art as a method of reviving their spirits. (Photo via pixabay)
Our first steps might be to write out a goal or plan. Maybe start to research more about your compassion. You could even take a vision trip to visit the people or place you are called to—not necessarily to do anything yet—just to ask the Lord what He is doing and how He is calling you to join Him. (Photo via flickr)
Sometimes we're afraid to surrender the way Abraham did at Mt. Moriah. We're often worried surrender will equal loss; but that's not our Father's nature, He prefers multiplication!
So how do we go forward in this "with" mode? The last couple years God has given me a clear word I continue to move forward by. 
Joseph has often been known as "the dreamer" with the way he dreamt of what would happen in Israel through his life. And Joseph watched and waited for those dreams to come to reality. All along, God was trying to show him something he didn't expect: "Yes, I'll give you your dream for Israel, but it's part of My much bigger dream for your life. I want to give you Egypt, which will give you the nations, which will also include Israel."(Photo via Pixabay)
"Now Joseph had a dream…" Genesis 37:5
From the desk of Steve Shultz: