Finding Courage

When a tornado transports Dorothy to the magical land of Oz, she takes a journey to the Emerald City to find the great and powerful wizard who can help her return to her home in Kansas. Three others join her on her journey to see if the wizard can also grant their wishes: a scarecrow who wants a brain, a tin woodman who wants a heart, and a cowardly lion who wants courage. The Wizard of Oz turns out to be a charlatan but gives tokens to Dorothy’s companions symbolising that the qualities they sought had already been revealed along the journey.

It's true that the things we want to see changed in ourselves - like our knowledge, our heart for others, and our courage - can grow without us recognising it as we face struggles and gain life experience. But we may also come to recognise that we’re stuck, and we need more than symbolic tokens to see growth; we need real power outside of ourselves. For many years, I was ashamed of my lack of love for God and others, and (like the tin woodman) longed for God to give me a new heart. Others of you may feel stuck in fear and anxiety, and more life experience isn’t improving things. You need real power outside of yourself to address your anxiety and give you courage.

This Sunday we will look at the way Jesus meets us in our anxiety, and (by exploring the story of Peter and John as they faced the Sanhedrin in Acts 4) we will learn how the Holy Spirit gives us courage. In this message, I will refer to the book The Anxiety Opportunity by Curtis Chang. You can also hear Chang discuss his book in this 53-minute podcast.

Listen to Patricks talk here.