How
courageous are you?
Do
you remember the lion in “The Wizard of OZ?”
He wanted to have courage and went through a whole lot of trouble
seeking it.
Remember that the wizard finally told him, "You have plenty
of courage. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid. . . “
Well, it’s not just in facing danger
that we need courage. There are
things that we’re afraid of for no reason at all. I have to tell you about a dream I had the
other night – but first you need to know that I have a fear that I know is
silly – but it’s still there. I’m afraid
of birds of any kind. I’ve been known to
know over lamps getting to the door when someone’s pet bird is loose in the
house.
So that’s what makes the dream I had so strange.
In the dream people were rioting and everything was bedlam. In the middle of that there were some
chickens that were going to be hurt if someone didn’t pick them up and rescue
them. At that point, (big brave me) I
picked up a baby chick, held it close and protected it from harm. Ok I woke up after that, before the baby
chick could scratch my eyes out.
But the point is that, not all of our fears are rational – they
are just fears and sometimes we need courage to face even the least of them. We also need courage to face the trials of
life, suffering, loneliness, or just living. We need courage every single day.
The Bible does have answers for us. Courage doesn’t come just because we work at
it – courage comes as a gift from God. Let’s
look at what God’s word says about fears and about courage.
The Apostle Paul needed courage when he was in prison. He wondered if he would live to continue his
work.
Look at Acts 23:11(NIV) “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in
Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
David needed courage when he faced Goliath.
If you’ve
ever fought a giant you can identify with David in this event. His giant was a Philistine soldier 10 feet
tall, but your giant could be anything that was so big that you knew you
couldn’t handle it on your own.
Well,
David couldn’t handle Goliath on his own
and he knew it. This is what he said to his giant.
1 Sam 17:45 – 47 (NIV) “You come against me with
sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
you have defied. This
day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, . . . and I’ll strike you down and cut off
your head.”
He talks about the army and
then he goes on –
“And the whole world will know that there IS a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s,”
Our battles
belong to God as well – because He loves us and will fight by our sides.
Peter
needed courage. Remember when Peter was
afraid of the wind and the sea only because he took his eyes off Jesus. Otherwise he would have been able to do
something no one on earth was capable of – walk on water.
Peter was
also afraid on the night that Jesus was crucified? He was so afraid that he denied even knowing
his Lord.
But that
changed entirely after Jesus was raised from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit
to give Peter and the other disciples’ courage.
We find
that the priests and leaders of the people threatened Peter and John telling
them not to speak of Jesus or they would be killed.
They
prayed to God and this is part of their prayer.
In Acts 4:29 (NIV) we read; “Now, Lord, consider their threats (the threats of the leaders of
the people) and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. .
. . (Parenthesis mine)
The Holy Spirit gave them courage and many, people
heard the word and believed.
I think it’s interesting that the disciples asked
for courage to speak boldly, not for the troubles to go away. That may be a lesson for us as well.
But we need to remember that we
can be courageous because God goes with us and will never leave or forsake us.
Deuteronomy
31:6 (NIV) “Be strong and courageous. Do not
be afraid or terrified ….., for the Lord your
God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
We can have courage
because God is strong, He is our strength and defense and salvation.
Isaiah 12:2
(NIV) “Surely
God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become
my salvation.”
You can have courage
because you are worth so much to God.
Luke 12:7 (NIV)“Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.”
It’s amazing how many times the
Bible says, “Don’t be afraid.” It’s
sometimes very hard to do, but there’s something else I want to add here.
When we think of courage it
sounds so strong - Like the voice of a lion – which people
generally see as a courageous
beast – roaring loudly.
Courage isn’t like that, it doesn’t always roar, sometimes courage
comes as a timid voice at the end of the day saying. I will try again tomorrow. I will awake in the morning and I will allow
God to give me courage to face whatever is in store for me today. And if you
truly believe that Proverbs 3:24 will surely apply to you.
Proverbs 3:24 (NIV) “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
Jesus
tells us
John 14:27 (NIV) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and
do not be afraid.”
