“I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come?” Psalm 121
For the most part I’m a pretty sore loser. That’s not to say I’m not gracious about it, it’s just that I don’t like to lose. So, what’s wrong with that, you ask, shouldn’t we all strive to win? Perhaps, except I hate to lose so much that too often I refuse to accept challenges at all when it appears the odds are stacked against me. If it doesn’t look as if I’ve got a good chance of winning I just don’t play.
Now, that’s probably smart when it comes to things such as investing in the stock market. Who, for crying out loud, would be foolish enough to buy a stock if the odds are stacked against it ever going up? No, when we invest in the stock market we do so based on the belief that our stocks will go up. But let me ask you, have you ever taken on a challenge where logic says you have no chance to win, yet even under the slimmest odds you did it anyway because it was so worthwhile or you simply felt called to do so? To be so undaunted by fear of failure or losing requires conviction and courage, doesn’t it?
Here’s the point. Sooner or later each one of us is going to be blindsided with some sort of overwhelming challenge anyway. Disaster will strike, a crisis will emerge, and we will find ourselves face to face with Goliath – a giant twice our size. So why not instead pick a few insurmountable challenges of our own rather than waiting for fate to choose for us – things that matter, that make a difference, that make the world a better place for others as well as ourselves? Ask yourself these three questions. What are my dreams that seem out of reach? What passions do I keep locked away? What footprints do I want to leave behind from my walk on this earth? How you answer these questions will determine which insurmountable challenges are worth taking on.
So, then the question of courage arises, from where is it to come? The psalmist wrestled with the same thing. “I lift my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come?” he asked. Then he answered his own question, “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” You’ll find your courage there, too. Believe it – and go for it!