Do Not Be Afraid I Dare You!

June 2009

By Tana Kjos

What’s the boldest thing you have ever done?

That’s a question I have asked hundreds of people across the United States and Canada. When I ask them to share their answers with someone else in the room, it always catches them a little off guard. But soon they are getting up and making their way across the room to tell and to hear.

I have learned a lot from their answers. I have heard that sometimes you do bold things because you are in love. Sometimes it’s because you have no other options. Sometimes the bold thing didn’t seem bold at the time. It only seemed bold as you look back on it. Sometimes you make a move and after taking the step think, “Holy smokes! What did I get myself into?”

What I have learned from listening to all these stories is that we all have done something we can call bold. Every single one of us, in one way or another, has been a person of courage and daring.

Take my friend Tammy, for example. She spent 25 years in corporate America—25 years giving her­self to her work, her company—and then she lost her job. Laid off. These days, layoffs are part of our daily headlines—GM, Microsoft, Caterpillar, ING—no place is off limits.

It could have been easy for Tammy to feel angry. Twenty-five years is a long time to commit to anything, especially one company. Instead, my friend seized this transition time and asked herself questions about what she loved. Questions about what gave her energy. What gave her purpose? What gifts did she have to share? What pas­sions did she want to engage?

Jumping in with both feet

She took a good look at herself and the community she cared about and jumped into a new life with both feet. Instead of being angry or scared out of her wits, Tammy said getting laid off was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She took a bold step and opened a little wine shop where her customers are as important as the wine on the shelves and far more complex. She opened a place where her passions— wine, hospitality, people, laughter, love—merged.

Every time I step into her shop, people are getting to know one another. In that little shop Tammy owns, I have met a lot of new friends and seen walls come down between people between whom it would be so easy to draw lines. On the history-making night we elected a new president, people of every race, political view, and economic standing were getting to know each other in her little shop.

It was an amazing night, but this amazing place is run by a person who wants to make a difference in her community.

One Big Dare

In some ways, it seems, all of life today is a big dare. The economy is in crisis. Job security is at an all-time low. Churches are shrinking. Money is tight. And companies that seemed so secure not long ago are facing huge downsizing. Sometimes you wonder whether life is worth getting out of bed. And yet, when I see Tammy and others like her who are living courageous lives, I feel like I’m in the midst of modern-day versions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who actually listened when God said, “Do not be afraid.”

Mary is not the only person to hear the words “Do not be afraid.” Those words appear many times in the Bible. If you do a quick online Bible search, you’ll find nearly 80 places where that phrase or a similar one is spoken. God says it to Abraham, who had a pretty scary journey ahead of him (Genesis 15:1) and to Hagar, who had every reason to feel alone and terrified of her future (Genesis 21:17). Moses used these words to embolden the people, who didn’t know whether it was more frightening to stay in slavery or venture into freedom, over and over again (Exodus 14:13; 20:20). The phrase shows up again and again in the books of Joshua, Kings, and Chronicles as the people encounter enemies on every side. You can find it when the people are enduring defeat and exile.

Faced with imprisonment, beatings, and rejection, Paul hears these words in a vision from the Lord and they give him courage to “speak, and not be silent” (Acts 18:9). It should come as some comfort to us that even the people in Scripture were often afraid and needed some reassurance!

God Works Through Us

Answering God’s call is scary business. God has a purpose for our lives, a purpose much bigger than we are. God is on a mission to bless and save the whole world! And God has always worked in and through ordinary people, like you and me, in order to get God’s work done. Because the work God is doing is bigger than us, sometimes it feels scary. In fact, the biblical sto­ries show us that one way to know whether or not it is God calling us to do something is this: God almost always asks us to do something we can’t do on our own.

Have you ever had the feeling you were supposed to do something you didn’t want to do or go somewhere you didn’t want to go because it would demand more energy, time, resources than you felt you had to spare? But you did it anyway because, somehow, you knew God was calling you? I know that feeling!

God calls us into a life that is beyond our wildest imaginations and even dares us to laugh like Sarah at the craziness of it all. God calls us to make peace and do justice, to give generously and love freely. And, just like Mary, God calls us to be a blessing to the world. God calls us to work bigger than we can accomplish by ourselves.

On the other hand, when God calls, God calls us! God doesn’t expect us to be something other than who we are. God knows what we’re capable of—our passions, gifts, talents, and resources—and God puts us to use. I think the angel told Mary “Do not be afraid,” for example, because God was calling Mary to just be Mary.

Mary was a strong young woman who had the ability to be a mom. And that’s just what God’s story needed. I mean, it’s not like the angel showed up asking Joseph to bear this child! Now don’t get me wrong, Mary was just maybe the most important mother in history. And her circumstances were undeniably unusual. But Mary was a woman who was able to have a child and who would prove to be a pretty good mom.

God always calls us to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves for the sake of blessing the world. But God always calls us to be who we are. Jesus called fishermen to fish for people. Paul used his skills as a tent maker to make a living as he traveled around starting house churches all over the place. The merchant Lydia used her wealth and connections to support the earliest missionaries and host a fledging church in her own home. Esther came to understand that she had been made queen to save and protect her people at just the right time. God calls us to be who we are, on purpose, for the sake of making a difference in the world. That’s how it has always been.

My friend Tammy has a little bit of what Mary had and a little bit of what God has put in each of us: a desire and the ability to make a difference in the world. She is grasp­ing what it means to have a calling instead of settling for just a job. She is daring to be herself—really and truly herself—in ways that are useful to God.

Every one of us knows what it’s like to be daring. We do bold things for all kinds of reasons! But living a bold life on purpose, a life like Mary’s, begins with knowing that God is calling you to participate in something bigger than yourself.

God wants you to be a part of bless­ing, saving, loving, healing, recon­ciling and setting free all of creation so that we can really see glimpses of the kingdom that God has prom­ised is near.

Scary? Yes. But remember: God doesn’t expect you to be someone you’re not. You can live out God’s purpose for your life at home, at work, in the corner coffee shop, wherever you find yourself. You are participating in God’s purpose each time you smile at your kids, look at the person who took your order and really mean it when you ask how she is, pick up that piece of trash floating down the sidewalk and throw it away, take time to finally meet your neighbor, or engage in some meaningful conversation over lunch at work. You are participating in what God is up to every time you dare to be you and intentionally put your gifts, passions, talents, and resources into God’s service.

Mary had a baby. That really wasn’t out of the ordinary. What made it a big deal was that she dared to live on purpose, using what she had to make a difference, as a part of God’s mission to bless and save the world.

Who are you? What is it about you that God is calling into action? What gift, what passion, what asset, and even what need? God is calling you, all of you, every part. Do not be afraid! You have exactly what you need to participate in God’s mission to bless the world. What are you waiting for? I dare you!

Tana M. Kjos has a master’s degree in mission and leadership from Luther Seminary and 15 years experience leading organizations into renewal. She is the co-founder and creative director of A.R.E.: A Renewal Enterprise, doing consulting and leadership coaching for faith-based, non-profit, and for-profit values-based organizations of all sizes. For more information visit www.ARenewalEnterprise.com.