40 Seconds of Courage

by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D. written on January 17, 2019

I did one of the scariest things today. It may not seem like much to you but it took over one year to muster of the courage for those 40 seconds. It’s amazing though, how less than one minute of stepping through fear to do something outside the norm could be enough to totally change someone’s life. It takes less than one second to light a match, but the results can be astounding. That’s crazy really. That less than one minute of walking through fear to love and share the good news can literally populate heaven and shift people’s entire eternities.

Let me share the process of how it took over one year to muster up this 40 seconds of courage. Only God.

Movie Theatre Preaching or not

Several years ago, I had been in a movie theatre in Redding when I saw a friend preach the gospel in the theatre as the credits we rolling. It was a powerful sight to see and I was inspired.

As time went on, a spiritual son I adopted from the Pioneering Revival class I taught at BSSM would tell me stories of when he preached at movie theaters and on the streets. I took him and a few others on a hike at the beginning of the school year and then all of a sudden once we reached the peak where others we resting, he suddenly started preaching the gospel. So inspiring. I later took him with me to a ministry trip in Czech Republic when he felt inspired to preach outside of a famous cathedral which you can see a clip of in the video below.

And the story goes on. Let’s take a deeper look into my process now. On November 2, 2017, I went to see a documentary last minute with a friend. The movie was called “I’ll Push you: A Real-Life Inspiration.” It was a beautiful movie of friendship where one guy helped his friend in a wheelchair all along Camino de Santiago journey. As the movie neared the end, I felt the anointing come on me and I had two different messages brewing inside of me. One was that Jesus sticks even closer than a brother and that there’s a friendship available even beyond the one we saw there. The other message was a call for healing, but that came with complications because the guy was still in the wheelchair in the movie. This split thought distracted me from the burning message of Jesus being the ultimate friend we need in our lives.

Then right as the movie ended, I was waiting in anticipation, looking behind me, just about to muster up the courage to go for it when my friend asked me about how the movie was. When I chose to turn to answer her rather than spring to me feet to speak to the crowd, I knew I missed that sweet spot window of opportunity to invite people into a deeper friendship with Jesus. People started walking out. The momentum that was building suddenly waned. It felt like the balloon that was filling with courage suddenly deflated and the moment was lost. I told myself after that day that the next time I felt the anointing like that, I wouldn’t back down. Not to punish myself or bring any condemnation in anyway because I know there’s so much grace but in reality I missed an opportunity I will never get back again. This grieved my heart and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

Funeral Preaching

Several months later, I found myself at a funeral a friend who shared the same passion for revival history as me. During the funeral, I felt the anointing fall upon me. I saw on the program that there was an open slot toward the end for people to share. Learning from my missed opportunity in the movie theatre, I wasn’t going to miss it this time. As soon as it was time for open sharing, I rushed to the front to be the first one. I thought that preaching the gospel would have been the best way to honor my friend’s life. He would have wanted revival to break out at his funeral for sure.

So after I had been given the microphone, I built upon what was already said and then welcomed the Holy Spirit. I invited people who didn’t already know Jesus to not walk out of those doors until they did because it was the day of salvation and the best way to honor our dear friend who passed. I was trembling. I felt like I had just jumped off of a cliff. It was crazy really, but I had done it. Praise God! I hadn’t waited and missed my window of opportunity. I had learned from the moment in the theatre that I will never get back again. This time I’d have no regrets.

Then on January 6, 2018, I was heading to the movie theatre again and wanted to be prepared just in case the Spirit stirred me. I got advice from my spiritual son on how to preach in a movie theatre and when the best timing was in case I would do it when I saw The Greatest Showman that week. I was nervous during the whole movie, anticipating the possibility. By the time the credits rolled, it was so loud and I wasn’t really feeling it would flow good with the vibe. I was totally fine not trying to make something happen but instead just wait on the Holy Spirit and be led in God’s timing.

Airplane Preaching

That brings us to today, January 17, 2019. I had just boarded a plane from Alice Springs after being a part of the first Iris Outback Missions School here. I was on my way to Sydney full of excitement knowing that I was not going to continue flying back to L.A. like planned but go on another faith adventure to stay longer in Australia and see what happens.

When we first boarded the flight, I prepared my spirit just in case by watching videos my spiritual son had sent me in the past of when he’d preached in airplanes and on mission trips. I wanted to strengthen my spirit and also learn the best timing if I ended up getting the courage to step out.

Anyways, several of the Outback Mission School students were also on this plane which always feels good not being alone. It was also a shorter flight so people weren’t exhausted like in longer ones. I figured that if I ever want to be able to do this, I need to start somewhere so now is as good a time as any. I told my new friends the plan and asked them to be praying. I listened to United Pursuit’s song “Waste It All” about a million times before to welcome and be overwhelmed in God’s presence on the plane. 10 minutes before landing while my eyes were closed and I was soaking in worship, this woman on the row next to us tapped my hand and gave me a little paper. On that little paper was an encouragement for me to have faith as a foundation, pray, fast, dive deep into the Scriptures. That a stranger handed me that little note out of nowhere as I’m preparing to preach for the first time ever on a flight was beautiful confirmation.

We landed the plane and people started getting their things. I knew there would only be a short window of time before the people would exit the plane. I stood up, I looked back, and then just jumped! The rest is what you see here. Only 40 seconds long. One seed planted. But now this realm is wide open.

To be honest, right after this happened, all I wanted to do was run away and hide. I felt so vulnerable. While I can’t tell you there were miracle stories and healings at the baggage claim, I did get to connect with a few people there and also talk more with the lady that passed me the note. We found out afterwards that she overheard our conversation during the flight. She said all she heard us talking about was ministry, Jesus, ministry, then Jesus again. What a great conversation to overhear!

Obedience is the goal

While I can’t give you a list of testimonies that happened after this at the moment, I can tell you that I know whenever anyone steps out in faith something is always released whether we see the results quickly or in eternity. The goal is not the fruit it’s obedience. Obedience led by the Spirit to demonstrate love is always celebrated in Heaven. Even if that one minute of courage inspires you to step out in faith or another one to discover Jesus, it’s so worth it.

The reason I wrote a whole big blog about this process of something that may seem very small and potentially even insignificant to many is because I believe firsts are very important. Firsts, even though they may take years to get to, break the ground and open something up. Firsts are the seeds beginning to break through after all that time of being cultivated.

Some of us as we enter into 2019 have already taken some risks and tried stepping out. Regardless of the measure of fruit you see or don’t see, I want each one to see the importance of celebrating even the tiny seed or small sprout shooting up and breaking ground. If we can celebrate each small victory, God will continue to accelerate our growth.

Thanks for listening and enjoying my 40 seconds of preaching that took over one year to build up to. May you be inspired in your own way to step out where God leads you and may you take hold of every opportunity He gives you to be a light and declare the good news of Jesus.

I’m not sure what’s next on this Around the World adventure, but if this is any sign of it, I’m stoked and can’t wait to see what’s next. And in the meantime, I’m going to continue to sing and try to live this song for Jesus:

“I’m going to waste it all on You, I’m going to pour my heart’s perfume,

and I don’t care if I’m called a fool, I’m wasting it all on You...”