Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
5 4 2026
The Day the Altar Filled With Fathers … And The Lie of “I’m Fine“
Pastor Mike Ash delivered a powerful call to the men of our church about getting “Unstuck”. But there was a moment this weekend that stopped me. Men came forward—not a few, but many—and what they carried wasn’t hidden anymore. It was failure, silence, distance, regret. Not failure in providing, but in leading. Somewhere along the way, many had handed off the spiritual weight of their homes and quietly stepped back. I was surprised at the numbers. And yet before that altar call ever happened, there was already a prophetic word pressing into my spirit from God:
“Surprised. Why are you so surprised at my blessings? Why are you not more expectant? More hopeful? Standing on more of the faith i have given to you?
Do you doubt I am sufficient? Able. That I am true to my word? When will you grab hold that not one promise can return void? Unanswered… Or undeliverable. Not one. It will not come at the snap of your fingers. You will often not see, in the natural, how I will bring it about. Butif you knew what I knew, why would you need to trust me? Lean on me? Or have faith in me? And, not that it will work out at this very moment …but have faith in me… Jesus… As a person. As your savior. Deliverer.
Your all and all
Pray for spirit eyes to see beyond what you can see. But not only believe me… Believe in me”
We’ve too often learned how to manage pain instead of confronting it. We medicate it, distract it, bury it under noise—anything to avoid naming it. But pain doesn’t stay contained. It leaks. Into our marriages. Into our children. Into the way we show up—or don’t. Scripture reminds us plainly: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:12). Yet we keep fighting surface battles while losing the deeper war. And the cost isn’t just personal—it’s generational.
The truth is, many of us are walking with a limp we’ve learned to hide. Something from the past—hurt, abandonment, failure—we never dealt with. We told ourselves we were fine. But we’re not. And pretending has a price. The prodigal son reached a breaking point, but the turning point wasn’t the pigpen—it was the moment he came to his senses (Luke 15:17). That’s where freedom begins. Not when everything falls apart… but when you finally tell the truth.
And here’s the shift: you don’t have to stay there. When he came home, the father didn’t lecture him
he ran to him (Luke 15:20). That’s the heart of God. Not waiting to condemn, but ready to restore. Ready to put a robe back on your shoulders, a ring on your hand, identity back in place. What keeps us stuck isn’t just the pain—it’s the pride that refuses to release it. But “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13) doesn’t mean carry it alone. Strength is found in surrender.
We were made to do hard things. But we were never meant to do them alone. And this is where things change—because when a man gets unstuck, everything around him shifts. His marriage. His children. His legacy. It’s like redirecting a river by just a few degrees—it may not look like much at the start, but miles downstream, everything is different.
So here it is, plain and simple: stop pretending. Say it—I’m not okay. Own it. Release it. Bring it to the cross. Because holding onto pain may feel justified, but it’s quietly poisoning everything you love. You don’t need to fall further before you turn. You don’t need to earn your way back.
You just need to come home.
This can be the moment. The line in the sand. Where the past no longer defines you, and the pain no longer leaks forward. Where you step into something stronger—not perfection, but surrender.
Not control, but trust. Not isolation, but brotherhood.
You were made for this. Not to stay stuck—but to stand up. And when men do that…
generations change.
What pain have you normalized that is quietly shaping the people you love most?
And if nothing changes in you… what continues downstream in your family?
Do you know someone who needs to hear this? Pass this lesson and future devotions to someone, with this Signup link: http://eepurl.com/i_nlb2 My website to view past devotions is https://fearlesslycourageous.com
Just a note on May 5th, I will host a Discovering Jesus ONLINE 6-week course to dive deeper into our faith and empower you with true tenets of our faith to stand on. Tuesday nights, 7pm to 8:30. It is open to you, your spouse, your family, or your neighbors. Let me know if you have an interest, and I will send you a link and the necessary materials. It is FREE of charge.
To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/zkb-dxcq-iau
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