Just a Hobby

On August 25, 1991, a twenty-one-year-old Finnish computer science student named Linus Torvalds posted a brief message to an online message board. "I'm doing a (free) operating system," he wrote. "It's just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu." He was nervous. His code was incomplete. He fully expected criticism from seasoned programmers. But he posted it anyway — and that trembling act of courage sparked a revolution. Linux now powers the servers behind Google, Amazon, and Facebook. It runs on billions of Android phones. It guides the computers aboard the International Space Station.

Torvalds didn't wait until the code was perfect. He didn't wait until he was confident. He hit send when the work was still rough, still incomplete — because the alternative was paralysis.

Courage rarely looks the way we imagine it. It doesn't usually feel bold. It usually feels like Linus in 1991 — hands uncertain, work unfinished, unsure how the world will respond. But Scripture consistently calls us to act before we feel ready. Joshua didn't feel ready to cross the Jordan. Esther didn't feel safe walking into Xerxes's throne room. Yet God meets us in the motion, not the preparation.

What message have you been holding back, waiting until you were sure enough? What calling has God placed on your life that you've been afraid to release? Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is simply hit send.