Happy Monday, friends, and welcome to another episode of The Gospel According to, where we find Gospel truths in all the fandoms we know and love by heart. I absolutely adored the Princess Diaries movies as a kid, and still have a great appreciation for them even as an adult. This one might feel a little too direct, but the message came to me at a time when I didn’t even know I needed it. Hope you enjoy!
Fandom: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The brave might not live forever, but the cautious never truly live.” – Mia’s father, The Princess Diaries
Verses: Romans 8:15-16, 2 Timothy 1:7, John 14:27, 1 Peter 5:7 NASB
Truth: Because we know that God is never troubled by anything that happens to us, we can trust him with the things we fear and worry about and choose to act with courage rather than fear.
The fandom: Princess Diaries courage
I think this scene lives rent-free in most female brains at this point, from 30- or 20-somethings to the next generation. I found out this week that there are elementary schoolers out there who still know this movie exists! There is hope for humanity yet XD.
I just love every minute of the Princess Diaries movies, but especially the scenes with Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. They just work so well together! And they truly embody the roles of Queen Clarisse and Princess Mia, to the point that I’ll never picture either one of them differently again.
This quote comes in at the climax of the first Princess Diaries movie, when Mia is faced with a crucial choice: Will she take on the role of princess, with all of the public speaking and responsibility involved, or will she run away? It is in her moment of greatest need, as she is packing her bags and getting ready to drive away, that her father’s words reach her. This isn’t the most unique idea ever, but still it resonates with all of us, even years later.
I believe that the “Courage is not the absence of fear” quote has made such an impact on us because it points to something deeper. And for those of us who believe, it points to the Spirit in us, reminding us of our true identity.
Let me show you what I mean!
The verses
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons [and daughters] by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him.]
Romans 8:15-17 NASB
These verses put our adoption as children of God as the direct opposite of fear and slavery. That means that, as children of God, we have the power to resist fear. We are heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ! Through no inherent worthiness of our own, we have been chosen to represent and be a part of His kingdom. We have a cause far greater than ourselves to live for! And our suffering, whether caused by our own struggles with sin, or a painful awareness of the brokenness of the world, is a sign that we are His.
Here’s another post with some similar themes: Taylor Swift – invisible string.
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 NASB
This is one of the verses that I memorized as a teenager, but am only now beginning to apply IRL. The world translated as “discipline” in the NASB can also be understood as “sound mind, sound judgement,” which to me is super reassuring. Because I have an untroubled God watching over me, I can choose to be confident even when I’m terrified that every second I spend behind the wheel of a car will land me in another, even more catastrophic accident. I can choose to live in the shelter of the Almighty, relying on His power to protect me and resisting the urge to be timid and scared.
Here’s another post where I reflect on this verse: PJO and the Lightning Thief – Guard your mind.
“Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.
John 14:27 NASB
One of the keys to resisting fear and anxiety is relying on, and asking for, the peace of God. I chose the word shalom as my Word of the Year for 2024, partially because I knew there might be some uncertain times ahead. This verse explains what the word shalom actually means: More than a feeling of calm, it’s a confidence that God is in control and I have all that I need. When we belong to Jesus, there is truly nothing to be troubled or fearful about. Not whether or not I’ll have my job next year, not the coming election, nothing.
having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 NASB
I love how the Hawai’ian translation explains “cast” as “dispose; get rid of by throwing away or giving to someone else.” It’s an even better picture than the one I’ve always had in my head of casting out a line into water. Because when we give our cares or anxieties or fears to God, we’re not meant to hold onto them any longer. And while it’s okay to feel things, it’s better for us and the people we’re meant to reach if we continually surrender our feelings to what we know to be true.
The Gospel According to Princess Diaries
I believe that the Gospel message, or the steps of becoming a believer and receiving the gift of salvation, can be broken up into three parts:
- I am. Who is God? What is He like? Who are we, and why are we here? Is there more to life than just the time between our birth and our death?
- God is the Creator and Lord of everything that we know. He is light, He is absolutely perfect, and He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is also love, and He created each and every one of us to live in relationship with Him. We, on the other hand, are hard-wired to resist that relationship. Because of the rebellion of the first humans, our nature is to resist God’s rule, and we are therefore separated from Him. This separation is called sin. Our sin causes us to feel a void or emptiness that we try to fill with other relationships or pursuits (like pleasure or success), but that can only truly be filled with the relationship with God that we were meant to have. For more thoughts on this, check out this post.
- With you. How can I “fix” my sin problem and find joy, peace, and a relationship with God?
- There is only one way to restore the relationship that we were always meant to have with the God who created us, and that is Jesus. As we already discussed above, Jesus, the Son of God, came as a human to rescue and restore us while we were weak, helpless to fix ourselves. He showed the love of God for us by subjecting Himself to all of the indignities and suffering of the Cross, and died a criminal’s death, even though He had done no wrong. Because of His perfect sacrifice, Jesus was able to end the eternal separation between us and God, and now gives us the choice to receive His gift of salvation and eternal life. For more thoughts, see this post.
- Always. God shows His faithfulness and steadfast love for His people (originally Israel, now including all who believe in Him) throughout Scripture. He will always be with us, and gives us reminders of His presence and His truth through Holy Spirit, who inhabits every believer. Through Him, we have eternal forgiveness of sin, access to His throne room through prayer, and the ability to grow into the people we were always meant to be, free from the power of sin. After we die, we have the promise of Heaven, where we will see our Lord face to face and never have to suffer or be separated from Him again. For more thoughts, see this post.
This quote from The Princess Diaries fits most clearly with the “I am” piece of the Gospel story. As believers, we are submitted to the authority and the sovereignty of the God who created life, the universe, and everything. Because of this, we have a firm belief or confidence that He is in control, and isn’t troubled or worried by the difficult things that happen to us, our loved ones, or the wider world. At the same time, our great, powerful God cares about the things that trouble our hearts, and wants us to share that with Him. He empowers us through His Spirit to choose peace, confidence, and courage rather than timidity, fear, and overwhelm. With His help, and sometimes others’, too, we can value other things, and especially His kingdom, as more important than our fears.
If you’re reading this and you don’t have a relationship with the Lord, what are you waiting for? You can have peace and confidence knowing that your past, present, and future are secure. Click on any of the links above to find out more, or feel free to email me at thefangirlfulfilled@gmail.com or DM me @the.fangirl.fulfilled to talk about it more. I’d love to share with you!
Application
Because of the verses and truths we’ve discussed today, here are some “I will” statements to help us apply what we’ve learned:
- I will tell my real, honest fears about life to my Father in Heaven. God’s greatness doesn’t mean remoteness. He is near to all of us when we call on Him, and He wants to be the first one we tell when something goes wrong or is making us afraid.
- I will ask Holy Spirit and other in my life for help in surrendering/reframing my fears in light of God’s sovereignty. Just this past week, I had an emotional moment where all of the difficult things that had happened in the last few days came crashing down all at once. It started with a plan changing without my knowledge, and ended with me sitting in a dark room, staring at nothing. At that time, a particular friend of mine came and sat with me, giving me the space to feel without trying to “fix” me. Sharing what I was feeling with him helped me to choose to focus on the positive things that were still happening and be a life-giver instead of a fearful life-taker. I believe that having people in your life, or even just a journal and pen, is a great way to point back to the Spirit who gives us peace, wisdom, and courage.
- I will choose courage and faith in times of uncertainty and fear in my life. Being reminded of the truth of who we are and who God is, we have the power to choose courage and life over fear and anxiety. Although I haven’t won every battle, I’ve come so far in the last 5-10 years, and I know now that I am capable of choosing to focus on the good and “get over” my moments of overwhelming emotion or fear. And if I can do it, so can you!
My journal pages
Here are the pages I created in the Fangirl: Fulfilled devotional journal as I was taking in this message from Princess Diaries:
Free printable!
Here’s a free printable art piece and some hand-lettered Scripture to remind you of what we learned today:
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Fandom Fulfilled post about Princess Diaries and the power of courage over fear. Did you love these movies as a kid? What was your favorite scene? I’d love to know!
Happy fangirling!
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