Courage

Today, while I was typing out prayer pointers for the leaders and the senior guys, I breached the topic of courage. As usual, being the always-politically-correct head of the teaching ministry, it had always been safe to give credit to God for all types of resources. Courage must be among one of them right?

Well, they might be a chance that courage... isn't one of them.

Blasphemy, you might cry. How can something so important to the Christian faith be something NOT given by the Lord? Don't mistake me, I don't mean that God cannot give courage, I'm quite sure He can if He wants to. I'm just suggesting that courage isn't something that God gives DIRECTLY.

How can I prove it? Again, I'm just suggesting it because I think that this opinion is valid and can be substantiated. Using Biblegateway, I searched the word "courage", and 35 verses came out. Checking each one carefully, I realize that no Biblical character asked for courage. Instead, often it was something that was "stirred up" (Daniel 11:25), commanded (Joshua 10:25), "found" (2 Sam 7:27) or "taken", although not explicitly clear from where (Ezra 10:4).

Most often, courage was something God commanded his followers to "be", and not something that was requested by them for, like faith (Rom 12:3). So how do we be strong and courageous? How does God give us courage?



To be honest, I'm afraid of cockroaches and rats. As in, as long as the former doesn't fly and the latter doesn't move towards me, I'm fine. But as Murphy's Law proves, they always do. So what do I do? I run for my life. That's when I'm alone. I've as much courage as Courage the Cowardly Dog. But I've stood my ground before. I can boast of having killed rats and smacked flying cockroaches. But when does it happen?

Two things can bring about that effect. Camaraderie and love.

Where do soldiers get the courage to rush into battle, even when all is lost? Their mates. One another. War cries, battle drums, seeing their comrades fall, are all things that give courage, fuel adrenaline. The only occasions that I had killed rats were when my OCS buddies were around me stomping and stabbing the rats in the store, screaming and whacking hard enough to break bones. I don't know where the courage came from, but well, that's one avenue. It works, even when you encounter other sorts of courage-melting times e.g. stage fright. We just like to "die with someone next to us then die alone."

But more importantly, courage comes from love. God can provide people around us to stir up our courage, but if you ask me, most of the time, He gives love.

If Aragorn did not love Arwen enough to save her life, would he risk everything at the battle of Mordor?
If Leonidas did not love his country and his wife, would he have had the courage to face Xerxes' hordes?
If Aslan did not love his people and his land, would he have had the courage to face death by his enemies?

If Jesus did not love the world, would He risk everything and take on pain and humiliation through death on a cross?





When I recall, I find that the time I was bravest, most courageous, (and definitely most fool-hardy), was when you were clutching my arm and staring at me with oh so much love in your eyes. I had told you there and then, that I had enough in me to conquer the world, as long as you did not let go.





Years down the road, I pray that when I look back at my life today, I will find that I had made the most courageous decisions because I had been overwhelmed by Jesus' love for me.







I believe that when we ask God for courage, He gives us something way better: Love. -Valentino Casanova

Because of a great love, one is courageous. Lao-Tze