‘Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.’
- James 4:7-8 -
After being tempted in the wilderness for forty days, Jesus enters His own hometown synagogue and reads a prophecy about Himself from Isaiah. He then says with perfect clarity: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The lesson is this: between clarity and purpose sits courage. Jesus knew what His life meant, and that gave Him the courage to act. He showed that if we gain clarity on what God will have us to do, courage will come. Clarity is knowing what our very life is for. Clarity produces courage, and we only take risks and step out boldly when we have courage. If we lack courage, perhaps we’ve lost clarity of what life is about, but God can help us regain it.
‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he’ (Prov. 23:7). Therefore, dwell on who God made us to be. Get excited about the wondrous future God has laid up for us. Courage is leaning into fear. As Mark Twain said: ‘Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.’ When you master fear, it soon becomes courage. When Paul is jailed in Jerusalem, the Lord appears to him, saying: “Be of good cheer, Paul” (Acts 23:11). So Paul was imprisoned but never alone. We often ask Jesus to deliver us from trials, but sometimes He wants to meet us in their midst. Christ stood by Paul in his hour of need and He stands by us too. When Christ divinely visits Paul in the barracks, He tells Paul: “Cheer up! Smile! Get happy! Take courage!” This is no mere suggestion, but a command that Christ can and will empower Paul to obey.
Jesus never once wasted words. He told Paul to “take courage” because he was clearly discouraged. The apostle never needed Jesus more. The world looked dark for Paul until Jesus appeared and commanded courage. Jesus likewise tells us all to have confidence and firmness in the face of danger. The command to “take courage” is in the present imperative, which means it ought to be our habit. We are to be encouraged all the time, relying on the power of the Spirit to energize us when we’re afraid. Notice how the Lord doesn’t condemn Paul for being discouraged, yet He doesn’t let him stay that way either. Jesus says “take courage” because Paul needs to hear those words, and in Christ it is achievable.
Jesus reminds Paul that he isn’t alone. As the apostles learned, it’s better to be in a storm with Jesus than outside the boat without Him. David says: ‘Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there’ (Ps. 139:7-8). When we go through rivers of difficulty, only those safe in Christ will never drown. When we walk through fires of oppression, God’s beloved children will never burn up.
The Lord Jesus preserved Paul because He had a mission for him, saying: “For as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome” (Acts 23:11). In other words: it’s not over until it’s over. God had big plans for Paul that delayed his entrance into heavenly glory. Likewise, our purpose now is to be faithful in what God calls us to. Jesus gave His life for us, so we willingly give our life to Him. Only once God is good and ready will He call us home and graciously say: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:23).
Paul was called to witness for God and so are we. Describing the last days, Jesus says: “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). In a sense, we are already in these last days, therefore our faith is marked by boldness or coldness. Daniel says of the Antichrist to come: ‘With smooth words he will defile those who have rejected the covenant’ (11:32). That’s the bad news. The good news is what Daniel says next: ‘But the people who are loyal to their God will act valiantly’ (11:32).
Some will grow cold and indifferent to God due to sin’s influence. Yet many will be bold and valiant, achieving great exploits for God. So pray for that type of boldness! Let your life be marked by holy boldness, not unholy coldness. The boldness Daniel predicts comes from the outpouring of the Spirit that God reserves for these last days that we now inhabit. This boldness stands when others sit. It enables true believers to live out loud for the glory of God, and thanks be for such supernatural power.
The Holy Spirit gives us the courage to witness for God. As Jesus tells the apostles: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses” (Acts 1:8). This God-given power gives us a prophetic voice to tell others that Jesus is alive and God has a plan for them. Truth is, if we’re not boldly proclaiming our faith, we may not be Spirit-filled. If we stand for nothing, we’ll fall for everything. But don’t fall for the nothingness that this world is handing out! ‘Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think’ (Rom. 12:2). We are not to blend in; to look and act like everyone else. Be different. Be transformed. Stand out for Christ!
Don’t hope for the world to pat you on the back. Jesus left us here to make waves before He calls us home. When we blend in with this fallen world, the enemy gets the upper hand. James orders us to submit to God; to ‘resist the devil, and he will flee from you’ (4:7). In other words, take courage! Submit to God like never before. As the world gets darker, the children of God must get brighter and brighter. A bold faith is a daily reminder that this world is not our home. Enjoy yourself, but don’t get too comfortable. We’re in the world, not of the world. The end is near, so pray for boldness to share the Lord’s saving grace with others.
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