iphone wallpaper // he makes me brave

"then moses said to the Lord, 'o my Lord, i am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but i am slow of speech and slow of tongue.'

so the Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? 

or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? have not I, the Lord? 

now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.'"

exodus 4:10-12

it's scary to step out in faith. it's scary to do something we've never done before, to stand before a great sea of unknowns... waiting for God to part it and make a path that we've never walked before. it's scary to follow God's calling because, most of the time, it seems impossible.

if we always stayed in a place of comfort, in a place of 'possible', there would never be a need to be courageous. only when we're faced with something scary or uncomfortable or seemingly impossible, do we have the chance to exercise bravery...

bravery: noun
the quality that allows someone to do things that are dangerous or frightening.

i'm reminded of frodo and sam... small homebody creatures unlikely to have any sort of adventure or victory. they had never faced a day of battle or discomfort or setbacks or loneliness or climbing mountains or meeting new people... they didn't know all the ins and outs of their task, where exactly to go or what they might encounter.... but they were willing and went.

we won't know all the ins and outs of God's plan for our lives, we'll be met with forks in the road and we won't know which way is 'right'... so instead of just sitting down at the fork and not moving from fear of picking the wrong direction, let's move forward in faith. let's be assured that no matter which way we choose that God will direct us. He made us, He fights for us, and He will not forsake us.

the way will be dangerous and it will be frightening. that's why God repeatedly encourages us through His Word to be courageous... because He knows that what He's asking of us is scary, and we can't do it without Him, but He will be with us and He will do the impossible.

i've been super inspired by my dear friend chelsea, who has just embarked on a new journey attending hillsong college in australia. i'm amazed at her courage to step out in faith when it would be so much easier to just stay in her comfort zone. after i read her post about being totally afraid and totally excited, i borrowed her little phrase that speaks volumes to me and made a wallpaper out of it, to remind us all that He makes us brave.

i pray that this year is characterized by us not sitting in fear, but stepping in faith. i don't want to do something or make decisions out of fear, i want to be brave.

love you all, hope you're encouraged!

xo,
ash

[the wallpaper is formatted for iphone 6, but i think it'll work on most phones! also, if you do have an iphone 6, when setting this as your wallpaper, make sure to turn off the zoom and reposition if necessary :)]