My Father Makes Me Brave
“You make me brave, You make me brave
You call me out beyond the shore into the waves
You make me brave, You make me brave
No fear can hinder now the love that made a way
So God, For You make me brave, You make me brave
You call me out beyond the shore into the waves
Yes, You make me brave, You make me brave
No fear can hinder now the promises you made”
– You Make me Brave: Bethel Music
Please listen to this song as you read this blog. Don’t worry about watching the video, but please have it play and listen to the words as you read. God has been speaking to me so much through this song and it is the inspiration of this blog. Thank you!
My whole life I have struggled with fear. I have struggled with the fear of not fitting in with people, the fear of rejection and people not accepting me or liking me, the fear or not being good enough and not be lovable or knowing how to love, and the intense fear of failure. But as I learn to grow closer to my heavenly Father in the realization and reality that I am His son….the fear within me grows weaker and weaker.
When I was on the world race my Dad came to visit me for a week when I was in Thailand. This week meant so much to me having my Dad there with me on the race. While on the race prior to my Dad arriving I was always very concerned with the amount of personal money that I would spend. We had a pretty small budget while on the race which did not allow us to normally purchase things such as Gatorade, soda, or other snacks that I loved having back while living in the states. So when I would choose to spend my personal money to buy snacks or buy things that was not covered under the budget, I always struggled with worrying about if I was spending too much money or if I was being frugal enough with my finances. Well when my Dad was with me he generously bought me many snacks and other things that I loved. On some occasions he even bought other friends from my race smoothies and other little treats that we normally would not be able to get on our own. For a week, I didn’t have to worry about my finances or the concern of spending too much money. I didn’t have to worry about this because my Dad was with me and because he cares about me I knew that I could go get a couple of snickers bars and Gatorade’s with no concern or stress at all. Why could I do this? I could do this because I knew that my Dad was with me taking care of me. When my Dad was also there, I didn’t feel like I needed to be the protector for the girls in my group or others that I was with. I felt care free that I could just be me because I knew everything was going to be okay because my Dad was with me.
After my Dad left, my Father in heaven spoke to me and said, “Now Ryan, could you imagine what life would be like if you lived with the reality that I your Heavenly Father am truly always with you wherever you go.”
Wow has this small statement resonated, impacted, and struck very deep within me. As I said before, I have been one who has always struggled with fear. But what if my heart and eyes were truly open to the reality that I am truly never alone. What if I lived with the same reality of my Heavenly Father being with me as I lived with the reality of my earthly father being with me the week that we were together in Thailand….
Well the Father is continuing His work that he was doing on the world race in me. He is teaching me to face my fears head on and trust Him in the midst of it…
I am learning that one without fear is not one who is strong or one with real courage. But real courage is when one has fear and still chooses to have faith in their Father and trust that their Father will be with them through their fear.
Real courage is facing one’s fears knowing that their fear does not control them….Real courage is having fear but still choosing to face it with faith, bravery, and trust… that’s real courage.
I am learning to face my fears…
In the beginning of the month, The Lord called my friend Gabe and I to go on a special journey with him. We went on a journey with no money, no bag of clothes, no cell phone, and no worldly provision. It was a journey from Antigua back to San Marco’s where we lived for the past two months. The journey is normally about a four to five hour drive or a three to four day walk. When leadership got the word from The Lord that Gabe and I were supposed to go on this journey, I was shocked and scared. But I soon learned that it was a journey from The Lord to show us that he would provide for us in the midst of our fears.
It was a journey to grow our trust and faith in Him while facing our fears.
It was a journey to make us Brave…
The journey itself would be a whole blog, but wow was I amazed by how The Lord completely provided for us and also blessed us in sending us to unique and divine people who He wanted us to meet and minister to. Throughout the journey God told us not to ask for any help and to trust in Him. He told us that He would provide for every meal and that he would give us a safe place to sleep. I am here to say that when we have faith, even just a little of faith…God truly does amaze us in ways that we least expect it. He provided every meal for us, gave us a free ride through van and boat to San Marcos, and gave us a free safe place to stay and sleep. We made it back to San Marco’s exactly 24 hours later from when we left our house in Antigua and God provided for us the whole way. He not only provided for us but led us to people who He wanted us to meet and minister to on the way. He sent us to a wonderful family that needed his touch of love and hope. He even sent us to a man who was struggling with what they thought were his last days of life because of having cancer within his face. God ministered His hope and love to them in a way that only He could and chose to use us as His vessels and servants of his life, love, and hope.
He reminded them just as he reminded us, that we are not alone in this life and that no matter what we are going through in this life…
that He will see us through…
We were never alone on our journey to San Marcos and
we are never alone in this journey of life.
A lot of things are changing here in Guatemala and The Lord is using these experiences to show me the reality of me being His son in trusting him with every circumstance and situation. Many people from the team have left to go home for fund-raising and different reasons, including three mentors and leaders of mine who I love and respect so much. So the whole team will be leaving San Marco’s and moving to join the other discipleship base that is located in the town of Antigua. But before that happens for me, God is now taking me on another journey to face more fears. I will not join my team in moving to Antigua for another three weeks. This Saturday I will be leaving the whole team to head to a town called Santiago that is located on Lake Atilian across the lake from San Marcos. I will be going there to stay and live at an orphanage for the next three weeks. The orphanage is called “Hands of Compassion” and it is an amazing orphanage that is run by two people that I have become good friends with named Dave and Deborah.
Here is their website if you want to check it out: www.guatemalaministry.com/
The leadership approached me about going there for three weeks because for a long time I have felt like The Lord could be possible calling me to start an orphanage through a non-profit ministry one day. This decision is scary for me and if I am being completely honest, there is a part of me that is scared and does not want to go. I am scared to leave my team for three weeks and to be on my own. But I know in my spirit that this is something that The Lord is calling me to.
When I look back on this entire trip to Guatemala and my whole life one day, I don’t want to have missed out on what God was calling me to just because I was scared.
So I am choosing to trust and I am choosing to go. I am choosing to go so that I can learn first hand what it takes to run an orphanage and love children with my Father and Savior’s living and true love. I am also going to go on another adventure with my Father because I know that while I’m loving the precious children at the orphanage and facing my fears of being alone that my Father will take me deeper into his love for me. I am also going in hope and expectation that The Lord will clarify and give me more vision and focus on what he is calling me to in this life and if he truly is calling me to start an orphanage one day. As a mentor of mine explained to me that either way The Lord will give me clarity and show me if this is something that He really is calling me to or if it’s not, So I know that The Lord is calling me there for more reasons that I even know now.
So i am trusting my Father and choosing to go.
So I am facing my fears and I will be leaving this Saturday and be there until May 24th. Another fear that The Lord has called me to face is to extend my stay here in Guatemala. I ironically enough was supposed to be leaving today, but God has called me to stay here longer. So I am surrendering my plans to him trusting that He has greater plans for me than I do for myself. As of now, I will be staying here until the end of July and possible even until the beginning of October. It has been a hard and growing three months here so far, but I also believe that The Lord has grown me, molded me, and inspired me spiritually in my identity within him as His son more than he ever has before within my life.
So as The Lord continues to help me face my fears and discover more of His love and faithfulness for me through facing them, I want you to know that through whatever fears you are facing in your life…
that you are not alone.
The more that I learn who my Father is, the more that I learn the true nature of his heart and character. Even though there has been many times in my life (and probably will be more) that I have felt alone, lost, and forgotten, my Father is showing me that faith is more than just a feeling, but it’s a deep knowing and believing within the core of my being. This knowing and choosing to believe is what keeps us going and keeps us trusting even when the world thinks were crazy and nothing makes sense. But that’s the true power of faith…faith is not seeing,
but it’s the true power of believing.
(- Hebrews 11:1)
So I pray today that whatever your facing in this life…that just as my Dad was with me in Thailand…your real, true, and heavenly Dad and Father is with you. Even though you can’t see him, I promise that he is there with you and will hold you, guide you, and strengthen you through whatever you are going through. He is with you in the storm and will help you in ways that only he can. A true father never gives up and leaves his children
and our Father will never leave us.
He is with you and loves you… for his perfect love casts out all fear
(- 1 John 4:18)
You have never been alone in this life
and you will never be alone in this life.
The journey can be hard and feel lonely at times, but it’s through the struggle and the feeling of loneliness that we come to believing the true reality of our Father’s living presence always being with us wherever we go.
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8
Be strong and courageous, for The Lord your God will truly be with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9
Here is a song along with the one at the top that I cannot stop listening to that The Lord is speaking so so much to me through. I pray that you hear His voice speaking to you through it and know that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you know, and loved more than you could ever imagine.
God Bless you all and thanks for your love and support for me on this journey and in this life!
“Through it all, through it all my eyes are on you
and through it all, through it all and it is well, Lord
and through it all, through it all, my eyes are on you and it is well with me.”
– It Is Well: Bethel Music
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”
– Hebrews 12:1-2
