• Home
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS

for the family

everyday wisdom for everyday families

  • start here
    • Meet Patrick and Ruth
    • Meet the Contributors
    • Statement of Faith
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Videos
  • For Better or For Kids
  • You
    • Following God
    • Ministry
    • Relationships
  • Family
    • Marriage
    • Motherhood
    • Fatherhood
    • Parenting
      • Special Needs
      • Babies
      • Toddlers
      • Teens
    • Discipleship
  • Food
  • Shop

Following God For the Family You

The Courage to Go

Do you long for your family to be an influence in the Kingdom of God? How do you even start? Sometimes, God is calling us to GO right where we are. Here are three ways to begin to build courage into your family mission and be ready to follow God anywhere together.

1 Thessalonians 2
1 For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict…

If you have a longing to be an influence for Christ and His kingdom, then what is required for YOU and for ME is a tenacity, a boldness, a life that takes little and BIG steps of COURAGE.

Courageous living, courageous giving, courageous sacrificing — doing what needs to be done even when you were afraid – all sounds good in theory!

But in reality – living a courageous life is COSTLY. Living a courageous life – FORCES us to FACE the deepest obstacles in our lives – specifically: The opinions of others and our own comforts and security.

Can you imagine – just for a minute… being freed from the CONSTANT PRESSURE of trying to impress others???

Can you imagine – having something so important that you would be willing to risk your comfort and security to achieve that goal? The truth for MOST of us is that anything that threatens our comfort or security becomes unthinkable to us.

If you were to read all of 1 Thessalonians 2, you would discover that Paul’s AIM in life was not to maximize HIS COMFORT, but to maximize THE CALLING God had put on His life.

LET ME SUGGEST — Three simple ways to begin to form the courage in our lives to actually “GO” into “the world” and do the things God has called us to do and entrusted us to do – even when it’s hard and when we’re afraid…

1) Pick “A” Fight, not “EVERY” Fight
The Big Mission in life is Jesus’ mission. But He has A PART for everyone one of us to play. If we spent less time comparing “our mission” to the couple/friend/church down the street – I’m convinced we would live with more courage in the battles that are demanding our attention.

2) Think STEPS, not LEAPS
Living a courageous life is not a 100m SPRINT, it’s a 100 MILE Run through the Rocky Mountains. Some of us (meaning ME) need to take the PRESSURE off and LOVE the very people and situations in which God has placed us in (look at Paul’s exact words in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8)!! Courageous living is not only for the “heroic” moments of life. It’s for the daily moments where we simply need to do the right thing even when it’s hard, when it’s inconvenient, when we’re afraid, and when no one else is watching!

3) Harambee!!!!
There is an East African saying that essentially means – there are SOME THINGS that are so worthwhile AND so impossible to DO ALONE that they require us “PULLING TOGETHER” // “WORKING TOGETHER”.

What’s this look like in the REAL WORLD???
This means that you and I – pick a BATTLE, that we focus our energy, our love, our courageous living on a group of PEOPLE whom we can love not through heroic leaps but through faithful steps, and that we pick a small COALITION of others who will GO with us and do the right thing — EVEN WHEN IT’S HARD!

Imagine our families, our marriages, and our church communities being the kind of environments where we’re known for our courageous living – doing the right thing, the obedient thing – even when it’s hard!

God bless!

Ryan Snow

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)


Ryan Snow

About Ryan Snow

Ryan Snow moved to Toledo 10 years ago to plant a church after serving on staff at Vineyard Church in Columbus. He has been married to Libby for nearly 16 years and married out of his league. Ryan has four awesome kids Ellie, Emma, Griffin & Grady. His passions are Jesus, leadership, running marathons, reading, and eating.

« The Ministry and Mission of a Mom
How to Guide Our Children to God’s Word »

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by our blog. We are absolutely thrilled you are here! We are a crazy church planting couple who loves Jesus, our four kids and loads of coffee! We are giving God the glory every step of the way and love sharing our journey with you.

Read more about us

Subscribe and receive our free guide to Creating Your Family’s Mission Statement

POPULAR POSTS

  • No Bake Coconut Snowballs (GF)
  • How to Help Those that are Grieving at the Holidays
  • Around the Table :: 8 Christmas Prayers for the Family
  • Teaching Your Children the Names of Jesus for Advent
  • Taking Time to Remember the Wonder of the Story

Categories

Search For the Family

Copyright © 2019 For the Family · Design by Bethany Beams

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.