Courage.

But first, Momentum.

(Written some time last week)

All my life I’ve been over the top

I don’t know what I’m doing

All I know is I don’t wanna stop

All fired up I’m gonna go till I drop

You’re either in or in the way

Don’t make me, I don’t wanna stop

That there was from Ozzy Osbourne. Just for the record.

I don’t know if it was the end of anything or the start of anything but I’ve been on a continuous trip for, what 2 weeks now? I’m not sure if things will change now that I’m actually writing about it, but write about it I will, in the name of posterity.

It’s the same feeling I had when I started working out, February 2018. Like I’ve been freed from stuff that binds me, and I’ve been freed to do more stuff. And it’s not like everything I’ve actually done from this sudden surge was successful. Take my trading, for example. A couple of good calls had me up 50 dollars, which I lost last night. But all the same, I’m still trading, testing and hopefully, from today’s orders, profiting.

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(This was last night)

And here’s an update for you. I do remember writing all that while I was feeling pretty high.

High from what? What fumes were feeding me?

I seem to believe that it was all the content that was flowing – it was not only created, but it was finding a good channel out. Creations were channelled out in effective celebration, and anything that followed was mostly positive… not that these positive outlooks were what caused the high, no – it was more of the flow.

I was flowing. And then, it started off with me losing everything I supposedly gained, off of reckless trading. Then the puppies needed attention – one is recovering, the other one, well, last we heard, was on a drip and is hopefully also recovering.

And then – this was my fault, really – I wasn’t able to maintain my diet, and I feel like I gained a couple of pounds. Or yeah, it feels like that. Definitely.

But here’s the thing. In spite of this I still see all that’s going on in the light of our Savior, and the Truth of the matter is that HE IS WITH ME AND HE WILL NEVER LEAVE ME NOR FORSAKE ME, no matter where I look. Though I see the flow and I see the river, I know He is with me. Though I see the setbacks, roadblocks and speed humps, I know He is with me.

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John Maxwell writes – Courage Tests Our Talents.

I can get on board with that. I agree. The presence of courage would have us subjecting our talents to the test. In other words, we would be brought by courage into testing situations, and no doubt we would see things to add to our talent that we never would have seen without trials.

But let’s look at things from a different point of view. I’m not about to go ahead and tell you guys about Courage off the bat. What I WILL say is that we are in CONSTANT trial, day in and day out.

Tests: More Constant Than Courage

When we are born, we start dying. This means that the moment we wake up, until we sleep, our bodies are constantly challenged by the elements. We may not notice it in the earlier seasons of our lives, but we would soon be made very aware of our frailty the moment our backs start to hurt, and every other moment our hearts skip a beat, or when we catch ourselves catching our breath after a significant distance and/or increase in elevation.

From the rising to the setting of the sun, everything under its heat is tested. Men are constantly tested and tried by the present and real threat of pornography and related mental imagery. Women are constantly tested by thoughts of insecurity. We’re constantly bombarded in social media and by our screens with half-truths and full-on lies.

Boredom is just as severe a trial as stress is. Spending time with people is the same with being alone in that both are tests of our will.

The question here is not if we are being tested or not – no, we’re being tested and tried with each and every second.

The real question is: Do we have the courage to face each test head on, and in so doing, let our talents be brought into the light?

The trials are at our gates! The tests are clear and present! Shall we face them with courage? Shall we place our talents under pressure?

Of course, I’m obviously making people say ‘yes’, but let this NOT be without thought! Friends, I say to one and all of us, let us be courageous, but let us NOT be reckless! Courage is not arrogance that would have us puffed up, nor is courage without planning and consideration.

So shall we face our trials with courage? Think twice before answering, IF you even would answer. But know that the more you hesitate, the more your chances of getting out of your trial unscathed grow slim.

Commitment Before Courage

Trouble with courage? Well, let’s put that into perspective.

I recently spent a good amount of time with Eras, whom I consider a younger brother of mine. In our conversations on his experiences in military training, I asked him, what does it all boil down to, in one word?

I was very confident that this young man would answer, ‘Discipline.’

I was very surprised when he answered, ‘Commitment’.

Having recently finished Extreme Ownership and The Dichotomy of Leadership, two books by former Navy SEAL Commander Jocko Willink, the tenets ‘Discipline equals freedom’, and ‘Default Aggressive’ were still very fresh to me. But according to Eras, this apparently was not the core of it all. There was a foundation beneath the solid rock of discipline to guide us and to develop us, and that foundation was Commitment.

It was Commitment first, not discipline, that had him and his batchmates get up at 4am, to fix anything and everything that needed to be prepared with the greatest accuracy in the smallest amount of time possible. It was commitment to God and country that was instilled in the hearts and minds of these would-be leaders, for them to take another look at the lessons of leadership, logistics, and tactics, so they would not only know but full-on appreciate when and how to use them, especially when the time came.

And it is with this that I tell us all, as a summary so far:

We are ALWAYS under trial and testing. Covid only made this clearer to us, but, again, we were ALWAYS under trial. The moment we were born, we started to die.

The question is, in our dying, do we have the courage, not only to face our trials, but to attack them, and to handle them in such a way that we have the highest possibilities of victory, each and every time?

The truth of the matter is, with us being imperfect it is inevitable for us to eventually say we lack courage or motivation or inspiration.

But folks, it is during these times that we ought to remember our commitments. We have our commitments to ourselves, our country, our families, the people we influence – if anything, let these connections, these commitments take root and grow the courage that we need.

The Greatest Commitment

It shouldn’t be left unsaid – If we have trouble understanding or much less appreciating our commitments, let us understand how the Creator of the Universe was and IS committed to us.

Jesus Christ was so committed to His vision, His ministry of reconciling us to God, that in His commitment, He thought it pure joy to lay down His life for us as His prize.

And – this is under your scrutiny and open to your feedback – the reason why the scars remained on the hands and feet and side of His new creation body, was because it was a reminder to Thomas  and all who would believe, that He was not only committed to spend relationship with them for a season, but for now, until the end of time, and beyond.

Jesus Christ was committed to us to give us everything. We celebrate this with the bread.

Jesus Christ is committed to be with us, now and forever. We celebrate this with the wine.

And it is from this commitment that I am reminded – I am committed to Good News. I am committed to my Aces. I am committed to my mother, and I am appreciative of her commitment to me and my brothers.

And from these, the first of many commitments that have formulated from the commitment Christ has for me, I have the courage to hunker down – to lay all my cards down without reserve so that every Overflow episode is complete and posted in great detail.

I have the courage to ensure that all my photos and the content I create flow out for the greatest chances of influence, and not just to be dumped into the rest of the river to be forgotten on a long-enough timeline.

I have the courage to seek out new investments and endeavors, to control my intake and maximize my output, in the name of my commitment to myself, that I would be at my best in the name of my commitment to others.

And so it isn’t just about us having the courage to stand when the earth beneath us shakes, but it is also about us having the courage to move the mountains ourselves.

Troubles come. Plans are made. We need courage for both.

We draw our courage from our commitments.

There is no greater commitment to behold and appreciate, than Christ’s commitment to each and every one of us.

Christ is committed to us. Therefore, make your own commitments, and take courage.

Let’s pray.