Courage Under Fire!!!
Life is tough, we all know that. You live long enough and you will experience some seriously difficult things that make it hard to get through the day, let alone tackling the next day, or even the next month or year.
Living life…takes courage.
When our courage fails we turn to things that are not only dangerous for us, but are ultimately destructive - be it alcohol, drugs, pleasure, and leisure.
But what does the Bible have to say about courage???
There are many scriptures in the Bible that directly call people to be courageous. there are a multitude of verses and passages that illustrate courage (like David killing Goliath, or Jesus willingly dying on the cross). We should use these verses to encourage us and strengthen us when we are facing situations in our lives that threaten to bring us down and cause us to give up on life.
Here are a few scriptures that call us to be courageous…
1 Corinthians 20:13 says “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
The key phrase in this verse is - “Stand firm in the faith” - it is only by standing in our faith in Jesus Christ, and the supremacy of Almighty God that we can become courageous and strong.
If we try and get through things in our own strength we will fail…each and every time!
Psalm 27:14 says “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
Whenever something is repeated (particularly when said close together) it means that what is being said is a very important point.
Here, the phrase “wait patiently for the Lord” is repeated twice in this verse alone.
This verse does not solely refer to the return of Jesus, but also when we have prayed to God for an answer to a prayer, or for him to intervene in our situations. We tend to be impatient about such things. We ask, and we ask, and we ask - like a kid who wants an ice-cream in the supermarket.
Yet this verse connects our waiting patiently with our level of courage to face adversity. The more we are willing to wait patiently for God’s response to our prayers and petitions, the more courageous we are…meaning the more dependent on our faith we are.
Faith is like a muscle it needs to be exercised in order for it to be strengthened.
Deuteronomy 31:6 goes the extra step and adds some encouragement to the call to be courageous “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
This scripture is particularly encouraging because it gives us a definitive promise - “God is with us and will never leave us”.
So if God is with us, even in our most horrific of times, then we will be okay. Our bodies may break down and we suffer from chronic illness, but God will still be with us. Our relationships may fail, but God is still with us. We may lose our jobs and homes, but God is still with us. The world may turn against us, but God is still with us.
Fear is like a python, it constricts and chokes the life out of our faith, forces the sanity of our minds, and disturbs our spirit. being courageous is standing up in front of our fears, handing them over to God - and letting him to what he does best.
For reassurance of this we can turn to Romans 8:28 which says “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Perhaps the greatest source of hope, encouragement and strength can be found in John 16:33 where Jesus tells us… “ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
This life is hard…you know that…I know that.
But where are you getting your comfort?
Where are you getting your strength?
Where are you gaining your courage?
If the answer to all those questions is not God (who is the author of life, and sent his son to die and be raised to life so that we can have an eternal relationship with him, and have our sins cleansed forever)…then you might just need to rethink the direction of your life.
Frank Sinatra famous sang the lines “I’m going to do it my way” (paraphrased) - that really is not what we should be telling ourselves, especially not in these turbulent times we live in.
I pray that God increases your faith, brings you to a place of courage and boldness where you can touch the lives of others, while you pass through the trials and difficulties of your own life. I pray that you hold close to the fact that God will never leave you, especially when things get tough. May you be blessed this week.