When God Calls You to Step Out: A Review of Fearing Bravely
I invite you to journey back in time with me. We’ll talk about stepping out of our comfort zones, and then I’ll offer insight into a book called Fearing Bravely, which will challenge you to step out, too!
When God Calls You to Step Out: A Review of Fearing Bravely
It’s past midnight in Tijuana, Mexico.
I lie awake on the hard mattress of my cot and listen to the sound of teen girls snoring and tossing in their equally uncomfortable bunks. I’m here as a youth leader with dozens of teens from our church, and we’re serving the people of this city with open hearts and willing hands. Sometimes, when God calls you out of your comfort zone, the assignment is startling.
As I lie on my bunk with parched lips and a pounding head, the most shocking realization comes to mind: I realize there is no place I’d rather be than right here in this stinky room with the teen girls who have become like younger sisters.
I have no way of knowing that in ten years, these girls will be my close friends.
We’ll be raising our children together and fellowshipping over God’s Word. Together, we’ll navigate dark valleys like death, divorce, miscarriage, infertility, job loss, and more.
I have no way of knowing that following God’s calling out of my comfort zone will one day usher me into a loving community of like-minded friends who know what it is to persevere together.
When God Calls You Out of Comfort
Nearly two decades have passed since that night in Tijuana.
I haven’t led a youth trip for over a decade, and my seven years as a high school teacher feel like they happened a lifetime ago. I’ve spent the past twelve years pouring my heart into raising our three little ones, and in some seasons, I’ve struggled to identify what it might look like to follow Jesus out of my comfort zone.
I know he’s not calling me to hop on a plane, leave my family, and minister to the multitudes in a foreign land in this season. Often, I wrestle with what it looks like for the mom of young ones to follow God’s calling and reach the world for Christ. I know my primary calling is to raise my kids to know the Lord, but it’s not easy to define what it might look like to carry Christ’s love beyond the walls of this little country home.
Much to my delight, Catherine McNiel is speaking straight into my struggle in her new book Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for Our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies. I first encountered Catherine’s writing through her book Long Days of Small Things, and this book transformed days as a mom. Fearing Bravely is challenging me in an equally impacting, yet different way.
I’m rethinking my ideas about hospitality.
I’m asking God to give me his eyes for people who think, believe, and act differently.
And I’m considering what it might look like to proactively reach out to those who are different from me.
Insights from Fearing Bravely
Interestingly, this book is meeting me in a time when I need to be reminded to love and pray for those who see the world differently than me. I’ve faced some rough bumps in the road over the past months. My initial reaction to those bumps was love and prayer, but as I’ve processed my pain, I need the reminder to keep loving and keep praying.
Throughout the past few weeks, Catherine’s words have challenged me to pray for those who are different from me. I’ve reached out of my comfort zone to connect with unexpected acquaintances more than once. And God is shaping my heart.
Here are a few more gifts you’ll find wrapped within the pages of this powerful book:
1. Fearing Bravely expands the definition of “neighbor.”
Catherine writes: “We who follow Jesus are asked to extend the care we provide our own families to our neighbors and communities. But how far does this command extend? Certainly, this includes those living nearby, the people whose shoulders rub our own. But Jesus made it abundantly clear that anyone we meet who is in need falls under this umbrella—no matter where they live, no matter what their religion, race, or creed. Christians are those who encounter strangers and see neighbors, family. We become the neighbors, the hands and feet of Jesus, wherever we go, whatever it costs us.”
2. Fearing Bravely is a call to step into risk—because risk is worth the cost.
Catherine writes: “We don’t choose to live in God’s Kingdom because it’s safe, but because we’re compelled by God’s beautiful plan to make all things new. A woman doesn’t give birth because it’s safe and easy. There’s a risk to her life at every step of the process— but also the hope of new life.”
3. Fearing Bravely is an incitement to take Jesus at his Word.
Catherine offers the following challenge: “To be honest, I can’t imagine what it would look like in our time and place if Christians took Jesus at his word and considered strangers with dignity, love, and sacred compassion rather than fear.”
To be honest, I can’t imagine what it would look like in our time and place if Christians took Jesus at his word and considered strangers with dignity, love, and sacred compassion rather than fear. Catherine McNiel #fearingbravely Click To Tweet4. Fearing Bravely challenges us to step beyond our fears for the sake of love.
Here’s Catherine’s insight on this high calling: “Given this longstanding human pattern, we must find the courage to face our own fears, to confront our own biases. We must step back and ask ourselves: Where might I be consuming untruths, or half-truths, dehumanizing and endangering people God loves? What people am I’m afraid of? What group seems dangerous, unwelcome in my neighborhood, or threatening to me or my way of life?”
When God Calls You, It Will be Worth the Cost
Following God out of my comfort zone in this season looks far less obvious than it did twenty years ago. It looks like praying for a soft heart, reaching out in small acts of love, and initiating conversations on playgrounds and in libraries. I don’t know when I might see the fruit from these actions; however, just as serving alongside the teens in Tijuana created authentic community decades later, I know there will be fruit from the efforts of this season as well.
Fearing Bravely will challenge and inspire you to follow God in new ways as well. You can preorder your own copy right here today. You’ll be blessed as you learn from Catherine and follow God’s calling.
