The Courage to Unmake the Map

When Joshua stood at the edge of the Jordan, God did not hand him a detailed map. "Be strong and courageous," the Divine whispered — not because the path was clear, but precisely because it was not.

Rachel Held Evans once wrote about the terrifying freedom of following God beyond the boundaries of certainty. She knew what every honest person of faith eventually discovers: sometimes courage means admitting that the inherited map no longer matches the terrain.

Consider the congregation in Birmingham that voted in 2019 to become a sanctuary church. Their denomination warned them. Longtime members left. The treasurer pointed to shrinking numbers on a spreadsheet. But their pastor stood before them and read Joshua 1:9 — "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" — and asked a single question: "What if 'wherever you go' includes the places that make us uncomfortable?"

They sheltered three immigrant families that year. They lost their building fund. They found their soul.