Courage or Bravery?

Post by: Kim Kham

Courage and bravery. Two words that many use synonymously yet are very different. Bravery is the ability to confront danger, opposition, or pressure without the presence of fear. Courage, on the other hand, is pressing through danger, opposition, or pressure in the midst of (or despite) the presence of fear. A couple of years ago, before I came to law school, God began speaking to me through these two words. Those who knew and encountered me thought, because of the way I outwardly portrayed myself and tackled life’s hardships, that I was naturally brave, but I knew I wasn’t. I’ve struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember but the amazing thing is that even in the midst of my fear and doubt, God is still faithful. My continuous prayer is that I never become complacent nor stagnant. I always ask that God would stretch me and take me out of my comfort zone, but for me, it’s almost like I’m opening a way for more anxiety to creep its way into my life. My theory is that if I ever become complacent, I’ve personally become too comfortable. Going to the Middle East for the first time in 2014 to visit Syrian refugee camps took courage (not because it was the Middle East, but because I knew it would be the beginning of a daunting yet exciting career in human rights that I could no longer deny nor run away from). Living in Lebanon in 2015 and working in different Syrian refugee camps every week for 3 months took courage. Going to rehabilitation centers in India in 2015 to visit children that had AIDS because they were born into brothels and conduct research in India on human trafficking took courage. Coming to law school and moving 1,100 miles away from home took courage. It’s so easy to talk about how passionate I am about human rights but it’s a completely different story to be confronted with it head on—it’s extremely eye-opening and humbling because you can’t un-see the outrageous injustice and not do anything about it. I can’t live in the selfishly immature plausible deniability that I once did before I took a leap of courage to go where God called me. In the midst of my fear, God has always reminded me that He really is my steady rock and guide. In a sense, I’m thankful that I have courage and not bravery because it makes me have to depend on God for literally everything I do and every decision I make. Pressing through my anxiety and fear and embracing courage through God, I’ve lived a very uncomfortable life. I think that the field of international human rights is daunting but defending the cause of the weak and oppressed is what Christianity is all about (Psalm 82:3).  Following the call that God has on your life can be extremely uncomfortable and it stretches you. But that’s a good thing, because if you’re not uncomfortable then you might not be growing—we are called to go from glory to glory and strength to strength (Psalm 84:7).

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.