Vulnerability & Courage

The essence of courage is in embracing vulnerability. Without vulnerability there is no courage.

You learn more about who you are, your strengths and weaknesses in each courageous leap of vulnerability.

Often vulnerability is associated with weakness, when in fact, it is definitely the opposite. Jesus was made strong by His weakness. His vulnerability. The courage it took to allow himself to be stripped naked, beaten and bare on a cross before the universe is the single most courageous and most beautiful, but also the most loving act of love the world has ever known.

We run from vulnerability, because in order to be vulnerable we have to embrace the probability of pain, rejection and even death.

How are we supposed to embrace vulnerability when our basic human instinct is self-preservation?

I watched TV on September 11, 2001 and saw with my own eyes the most courageous and vulnerable heroes. Extraordinary, mere men, tiny in comparison to the burning towers in front of them, rushing without hesitation into the mouth of the dragon before their faces.

I’ve watched as a woman who had been beaten, neglected and tossed to the curb multiple times by her then- husband, completely broken, and vulnerable. Then some time later I am privileged to be among the few as she stands at an alter once again for a chance of a new relationship and future embodied in the man standing across from her. And, I have also had the privilege of seeing that same woman face the Goliath of infidelity from her partner and yet stand steadfast in faith; digging her heels in to fight the status quo and be quivering and courageous all at the same time; toe-to-toe with the possible destruction of her marriage. I watched her win! I watched as love was restored, her marriage restored because she wielded great courage through vulnerability to overcome the impossible situation in front of her. What an amazing sight to behold as she found her footing in the sweet whispers of her Heavenly Father’s adoration and love for her. A love that never waivers, never changes!

There is no living without vulnerability. Only the empty sadness of merely surviving.

Confidence in yourself is a key part of mastering vulnerability well. Many times, we open up to people needing validation while having no confidence in ourselves. We bare ourselves before others in acts of courage without being properly equipped for the adventure ahead.

Knowing your worth and having self-confidence will aid in avoiding lingering bitterness associated with trauma after the one who validated us no longer holds us in esteem. If a person can validate you and give you the feeling of self-worth, they can also take it away.

The key to living courageously is to find your value in Christ and allow Him to teach you self-confidence, so when someone in your life, who no longer validates you is gone, your confidence (though momentarily shaken) is firmly rooted in the knowledge of Christ in you. Your value to Him and that truth is at the core of who you are.

We can develop self-confidence. Some people seem to be born with it while the rest of us fly around trying to figure it out. We build walls while tearing other walls down.  An endless, repetitive cycle.

Courage stands in spite of fear.

If we wait to live when fear isn’t present, then we will never live.

In closing, resources are available in developing self-confidence, so we don’t live paralyzed in fear and never living vulnerably courageous. If you want recommendations for self-development tools leave a message in the comment section of this blog.

Love, Jenny