I’ve felt it deep in my soul. Like the steady beating of a heart. Courage. Courage. Courage.
The lack of it.
The great need of it.
The way it has the power to change things when a frail human lays hold of it and steps up to the plate we call life.
I don’t know what your daily life looks like friend but I guarantee you, someday in the not too distant future you will have need of COURAGE.
And courage will probably involve work.
King David told his son Solomon,
“Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.” (1 Chron. 28:20)
Evidently David knew the work Solomon had been called to, building the temple might be, difficult, maybe even daunting. It might be something Solomon might want to turn away from and just quit altogether.
The next two verses feel like bookends to me.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.(1 Cor. 15:58)
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. (1Cor. 16:13)
The Father knew that choosing to walk in Courage would require us to stand firm on some things. He knew that things and people would come against us and threaten us making us want to shrink back, give up, or not press on to the upward calling of Christ Jesus.
Because He says, it over and over, BE COURAGEOUS, all through scriptures and not just in these verses it implies that if we can be courageous we can also choose not to be courageous.
But, oh beloved what if we said, YES, to courage?
What might happen?
Noah believed God, took up courage in the face of an entire opposing population around him and built a boat saving his family.
Abraham believed God, took up courage and left everything he knew to go to the land God called Him.
Moses believed God , took up courage and left Egypt, crossing the Red Sea on dry ground.
And there were so many more, dear ones.
Perhaps that’s where it begins then. Before we can take up courage, first we have to believe God and His word. We have to know He is who He says He is, and we have to be willing to stand firm in the face of opposition, trusting that it is God who holds us by His mighty right hand.
(Isaiah 41: 10-13)
Then we can choose to take up courage and see all God does in and through us.
As Charles Spurgeon once said,
“It is a great wonder; but Jehovah is a God of wonders, and in the kingdom of his grace miracles are common things.”
Tara, this is what we need to hear and do. I found my courage rising up within me as you repeated the command “courage.” I have been standing on the “stand firm” promises these past few months and love each powerful promise you have gathered together for us to feast on. Gotta go listen to your podcast! ❤️
Thank you dear Ann. I’m so glad we can stand in Courage together!
“Let nothing move you…” (1 Corinthians 15:58). I have been facing the real struggle of ‘standing firm’ in the work (calling) that God has given me in the face of, well just life. There will always be distractions, competing demands, and the frailty of our own steadfastness to contend with. Thank you Tara, for this needed word of enCOURAGEment and reminder that we can choose to face all of life’s realities with the courage that comes from knowing the One who invited us into His kingdom work.
So very true! Struggles surrounding us can make us feel frail and unable to Stand. So grateful that our Great God holds us fast.