At the beginning of this pandemic a woman asked her husband to put a sign out in front, on the lawn in front of their home. "And put our Nation's flag up beside the sign too, " she said. The sign is large 4x4 feet and it says, 'Be STRONG.'
When Jesus chooses His men and women disciples He looks for courageous faith. Believing in Him is the first part of courageous faith. The second part is speaking with Him and listening for His answers and then living in God's will courageously.
Easier said than done? Not really but in differing instances we may take a little longer to get to courage, to gather our wits about us and trust Him, and to step together in courage. Others may be slower than you are to take courage and we need to help them. Kindly. Patiently. We use our words to help.
A fabulous example of courage is found in Matthew Chapter 14. The disciples are out in a boat early in the morning and Jesus comes walking to them on the water. Some choose fear and Jesus is quick to comfort them saying, "Courage, it's Me. Don't be afraid." (Mt. 14:27) Peter wants to come out to Jesus on the water and Jesus tells him to come ahead.
Peter has the right action. To do what Jesus does. That is what we do as His disciples. And when Peter gets distracted by doubt and sinks Jesus grabs hold of Him. Jesus asks him why he doubted but Peter doesn't answer.
Why do we doubt? Jesus says that doubt is not necessary in life. He means that you're safe. We are STRONG in courage knowing that Christ our Lord will always grab hold of us and pull us up out of doubt, distractions, fear, and loss of hope. And sometimes He uses other folks words to do it.