When Silence Would Have Been Easier

In Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, Jean Valjean faces a moment that defines his entire story. A stranger named Champmathieu has been arrested and mistaken for Valjean — the former convict the police have been hunting for years. If Valjean stays quiet, he keeps his freedom, his factory, his respected position as mayor. An innocent man goes to prison in his place, and no one ever knows.

Valjean spends an agonizing night wrestling with the decision. He burns documents. He paces. He argues with himself. And then he walks into that courtroom and speaks three words that cost him everything: "I am he."

That is what courage looks like in the life of faith — not the absence of fear, but the willingness to do the right thing when doing nothing would be so much easier. Valjean had every reason to stay silent. But something deeper than self-preservation moved him. His conscience, awakened by a bishop's undeserved grace, would not let an innocent man suffer in his place.

Scripture tells us to "be strong and courageous" (Joshua 1:9), and we often picture battlefield bravery. But most of the courage the Almighty asks of us looks like Valjean's — choosing honesty when a lie would protect us, stepping forward when stepping back would be comfortable. God doesn't promise the cost will be small. He promises He will be with us when we pay it.