BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS.

My dear friend,

There is a silent battle many people are fighting that nobody sees. It is fear. Fear of asking for help. Fear of being rejected. Fear of being told no. And because of this, dreams have remained in notebooks, applications have remained unsent, and help has remained unrequested.

I need you to hear this from my heart. There is no nobility in silent suffering. There is no spiritual badge for struggling alone when God has placed people around you. The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16:18. Sometimes what we call dignity is simply pride in disguise. And pride has ruined more destinies than poverty ever could.

There was a season of my life that I will never forget. I had just finished my service year in Nigeria and moved to Ibadan to begin what I thought would be “real life.” I was working hard, running 2-3 jobs at the same time, trying businesses, teaching, tutoring, doing everything I could. In the middle of that struggle, I got married. With my wife’s support, I pushed even harder. Yet nothing I earned was ever enough. Then COVID came. Schools and everything shut down. As a teacher, I stayed home throughout COVID. My employer paid us for a few months, and then our salaries stopped. All my private lessons ended. I remember looking at my wife and my little boy and thinking, “This is a dead end.” There was nothing in the house. That kind of pressure either breaks you or wakes you.

One night, I became restless. Deeply restless. I knew something had to change. I sat down and thought of two big options. I was tutoring a senator’s child at the time. He usually pays me for three short sessions a week, which was what I earned in my full time job. He had just bought a good school. My first option was to approach him and propose that I manage the school. It would have taken courage I did not naturally have. I was going to ask him anyway. I didn’t bother or worry about whether he would accept or reject me. I was going to ask no matter what.

My second option was harder. I was going to call a family member abroad and pour my heart out for help. After several days of thinking about these two options, one night, I made the call. I cried myself out. I explained my situation and asked for help!

“You have not because you ask not” James 4:2.

That call changed everything. It turned my story around. It opened up an opportunity for me to relocate, and that move became a major step forward for my family and me.

What if I didn’t make that call that night? What if I allowed fear to stop me?
What if I assumed I would be rejected and chose to remain silent?

I’m not saying God could not have created another way to bless me, He always has options.
But what if I would still be there, struggling quietly with my little boy and my wife, simply because I refused to take one bold step?

Listen to me carefully. There is no dignity in drowning silently. There is no honour in pride that keeps you bound. The Bible says, “Two are better than one… for if they fall, one will lift up his companion” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Even Moses, the great Prophet, needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands (Exodus 17:12). Asking for help is not wrong if you ask rightly and offer value in return. When I considered managing that school, I was not begging for charity. I knew I could deliver excellence. That is how boldness works. It is a combination of courage and competence.

So, my dear friend, please, apply for that job. Send that proposal. Speak about your business. If you love a girl, don’t be afraid to approach her. If you sell something, let people see it. “Carry it on your head!” The righteous are bold as a lion, Proverbs 28:1. David ran toward Goliath, not away from him. Joshua and Caleb said, “We are well able to overcome it” Numbers 13:30. They saw giants, but they also saw possibility. Fear will sometimes hide behind words like “Let me pray about it,” when in truth God has already spoken. Test it. If it is not sin, if it aligns with God’s wisdom, please, move. Even failure will teach you what success never could.

I am writing this because I know what it means to reach the edge and step forward anyway. Kill that fear. Cry for help if you must. Propose if you must. But do not sit still while destiny waits. Be strong and courageous, go for it!

My prayer for you is that fear will lose its grip on your heart. That the courage to ask, to speak, to step forward will rise within you. May God heal every wound that made you shrink back, and replace hesitation with holy boldness. As you move in faith, may doors open for you, favor speak for you, and help locate you. May this season mark the end of silent struggle and the beginning of confident obedience in Jesus’ name. Amen.