Scave: Scared but Brave

The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. —John 4:49-50

When my daughters were little, we made up a word: scave. It was for those times when they were scared but brave enough to go through with whatever it was that scared them. They were scave on the first day of school every year and scave when they had to get dental x-rays. We talked about how they were braver for doing those things when scared than if they weren’t scared in the first place.

There are the people who have a gift of faith that helps them hope in the unseen without much effort. Then there are others who have to practice hoping in the unseen, sometimes with much effort. The man in the Gospel story had the gift that allowed him to believe without any evidence. I think Jesus is just as moved, if not more so, by people who ask something of him and then have to really work to believe in his promises.

For Prayer: What is it you want to ask of God? Turn to God as if to a friend, and tell him what you think and feel about your request.

To Pray: Lord, grant me more trust and faith in you and your promises.